Dynasty Stock Watch: Fantasy News to Monitor (August 16)

Welcome to the Dynasty Stock Watch, a weekly article where I address the changes in the dynasty fantasy football landscape. This will help us as managers stay current on the most recent headlines, while also allowing us to look at player and team trends to stay ahead of the curve.

Today, I'm looking at some more players whose stock is on the rise of falling as we head toward the start of the season.

On The Rise Zay Flowers, WR, Baltimore Ravens Even after being selected in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft in April, some people doubted whether Zay Flowers could make the leap to the NFL. In his first few weeks of training camp, he is starting to silence those doubters. His elite change of direction and twitch makes him almost impossible to cover in man situations. We have yet to see him in-game action but with high praise from the coaches and teammates. With a lack of established weapons after Mark Andrews there is a wide-open opportunity for anyone to emerge. Flowers is primed for a huge year one especially with a more pass-heavy attack with Todd Monken calling plays if he can emerge as the second target in the passing attack.

Roschon Johnson, RB, Chicago Bears Last week I touched on the fact that Khalil Herbert was trending in the wrong direction, and Roschon Johnson is one reason. Johnson was the third back in the rotation in the first preseason weekend, but he was the most impressive. He showed us much of what we saw while he was in Texas, bouncing off tacklers and wasting no time getting north and south. His 44 yards led the Bears. Johnson struggled laterally in college. That has yet to limit him at the NFL level, but it could at some point. Johnson may become fantasy relevant sooner than most of us anticipated. With continued strong practices and preseason games, he’ll have a significant role as early as Week 1.

Jalen Tolbert, WR, Dallas Cowboys We may have been a year early on Jalen Tolbert after he fell flat last year, but there is an early drumbeat starting this year. Tolbert caught both of his targets in this weekend's game for 29 yards, including an impressive touchdown catch. Although these numbers were not crazy, he looked quicker and more explosive, getting closer to the prospect we were enamored with in 2021. This week he followed up that solid performance with some strong practices that included another impressive catch. It may be hard to carve out a significant role behind CeeDee Lamb , Michael Gallup and Brandin Cooks , but he could become the fourth option or even surpass Gallup who has also struggled, creating a path to become a significant contributor down the line.

Fading Trey Lance, QB, San Francisco 49ers Trey Lance was once viewed as the franchise quarterback in San Francisco, but after two injury-riddled years and a lack of improvement, he is falling out of favor. Brock Purdy stepped in last season and stole the job down the stretch. On top of that, the 49ers added former third overall pick Sam Darnold to the room this offseason, and he has been very impressive in camp thus far. On the other hand, Lance has continued to struggle with accuracy issues while not really showing much improvement in his processing. Currently, Lance is destined for the bench or even the free agent market, making him a dispensable asset in fantasy. He is not a cut candidate just yet, but he is edging closer to that every day.

Rashaad Penny, RB, Philadelphia Eagles Rashaad Penny does not hold a significant value to us in dynasty, but he did see a boost when he landed in Philly with what looked like a lead role. We may want to pump the brakes on this though. The Eagles added D'Andre Swift on draft day, and he has looked impressive so far in the preseason and camp. Kenneth Gainwell is also still rostered and, like Swift, has had a strong camp, even earning first-team reps this past week. We are also hearing positive things about former 49ers third-rounder Trey Sermon , who the Eagles added last year — he is looking quicker and stronger than last year. None of these are positive for Penny considering he has been very pedestrian so far and has a history full of injuries. As a result, some murmurs have surfaced that Penny may even be cut prior to the start of the season. If possible, I am moving off Penny anywhere I can.

De’Von Achane, RB, Miami Dolphins De'Von Achane is the shiny new toy in Miami and has garnered all the hype, but it’s time to slow down a bit. Achane is undersized back at just 5-foot-9 and 187 pounds, but he marries great speed and quickness with incredible vision and feel. All positives, but after massive camp hype he was the last running back to play in Miami's preseason game, even after Salvon Ahmed and Myles Gaskin . It could have just been the rookie treatment, but this should not be overlooked. Achane only managed a mere 2.5 yards per carry on his 19 carries but looked explosive in the passing game, averaging over 10 yards per reception. This is not anything to push him up the depth chart. The Dolphins will likely roll out a committee this year headlined by Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson while sprinkling in Achane leading to no significant fantasy value.

Dynasty Stock Watch: Fantasy News to Monitor (August 16)

On The Rise

Zay Flowers, WR, Baltimore Ravens

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