Fantasy Football Stock Up/Stock Down: Ladd McConkey is Back to Being the Chargers' WR1

There's a lot that goes into trying to stay one step ahead of your leaguemates in fantasy football. Among the things you have to pay close attention to, it's crucial to keep an eye on new trends, usage, and roles for players in order to make optimal decisions when setting your lineups.

Each week is a different beast, and as the regular season progresses, we'll gather more valuable information to utilize.

While we don't want to overreact to everything that happens early in the season, which players saw their stock go up or down following the action in Week 1?

Note: All stats come from Next Gen Stats or Pro Football Focus unless stated otherwise.

Fantasy Football Stock Up/Stock Down Entering Week 9

Fantasy Football Stock Up

Derrick Henry, RB, Ravens

Immediately out of the Baltimore Ravens' bye week, the team's offense went back to leaning on Derrick Henry, as the All-Pro back handled 20-plus carries for the second straight game. Henry finished Sunday's win over the Chicago Bears with 19-plus fantasy points for the first time since Week 1 due to finding the end zone twice and handling 7 of Baltimore's 12 red-zone carries.

Lamar Jackson is expected to return soon, and we know how effective Henry can be when the Ravens are either playing with a lead or aren't being blown out. On top of that, regardless of Lamar's status for Thursday's showdown versus the Miami Dolphins in Week 9, Henry gets to face a Miami defense that is still 29th in rushing yards over expected per attempt (1.16) and 32nd in explosive runs allowed (runs of 10-plus yards; 28) to running backs this season despite surprisingly slowing down Bijan Robinson and the Atlanta Falcons' offense in Week 8.

Chase Brown, RB, Bengals

Admittedly, I wouldn't be getting overly excited about Chase Brown's outputs in recent weeks due to veteran Samaje Perine cutting into his workload and looking effective when he's on the field for the Cincinnati Bengals. That being said, the Bengals' offense has been moving the ball better with Joe Flacco under center, and Brown is still leading Cincy's backfield with a 58.5% snap rate, 50.6% route rate, 4.18 rushing yards over expected per attempt, 102.0 scrimmage yards per game, and 46.7% red-zone rushing share across the last two weeks.

After not totaling more than 71 scrimmage yards in a game through the first six weeks, Brown has now eclipsed 105 scrimmage yards in back-to-back starts, and he's coming off a two-touchdown performance. Brown will look to maintain his current momentum against a Chicago defense in Week 9 that is 30th in fantasy points per target (1.68) and 26th in rushing yards over expected per attempt allowed (0.88) to running backs.

Ladd McConkey, WR, Chargers

It was certainly a slow start to the season for Ladd McConkey, as the standout second-year wideout scored fewer than 11 fantasy points in each of his first four starts in 2025. However, McConkey has now climbed all the way up to WR17 in half-PPR points due to supplying 11-plus fantasy points in four straight outings -- including 17-plus points in two of his last three.

Over the last four weeks, McConkey has paced the Los Angeles Chargers in route rate (80.3%), target share (27.4%), air yards share (36.3%), red-zone target share (25.9%), and end-zone target share (46.7%) during that span. With the Chargers becoming a pass-heavy offense with Justin Herbert playing at an elite level and offensive tackle Joe Alt returning to bolster the team's offensive line, McConkey is poised to finish the season strong in an above-average aerial attack.

Oronde Gadsden II, TE, Chargers

If Oronde Gadsden can continue to handle the role he's seen in the last two weeks, he has league-winning potential. Across the last two weeks, Gadsden is garnering a 78.5% snap rate, 71.6% route rate, and the third-highest target share (17.9% target share).

As a result of his increased workload in recent weeks, Gadsden has already improved to TE6 in fantasy points per game due to erupting for 16-plus points in back-to-back starts. While the Chargers have plenty of pass catchers who deserve to see targets through the air, Gadsden is proving to be a talented option at tight end who can stretch the field and create mismatches, so there's a chance he remains relevant the rest of the way.

Fantasy Football Stock Down

J.K. Dobbins, RB, Broncos

At the moment, J.K. Dobbins is sitting at RB22 in fantasy points per game and is the overall RB15 in half-PPR formats. However, Dobbins' production is entirely predicated on him being efficient on the ground and getting nearly all of the red-zone carries for the Denver Broncos.

Aside from Dobbins essentially being a non-factor in the passing game, he owns just a 51.5% snap rate this season, and rookie RJ Harvey was the recipient of all three of Denver's red-zone touchdowns among the team's running backs in Week 8. Dobbins has performed well this year with 1.32 rushing yards over expected per attempt, and he just had 111 rushing yards against the Dallas Cowboys. However, he's yet to score 15-plus fantasy points in a game this season, and there's a chance Harvey sees an uptick in playing time at some point.

Rachaad White, RB, Buccaneers

Whenever Bucky Irving began missing time for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Rachaad White was the clear primary back in his absence, handling an 83.3% snap rate, 67.5% route rate, and 63.6% red-zone rushing share from Week 5 through Week 7. But in Tampa Bay's victory over the New Orleans Saints in Week 8, White earned just a 57.1% snap rate, 51.9% route rate, and 42.9% red-zone rushing share while posting fewer than eight fantasy points for the second straight outing.

Sean Tucker logged a 33.9% snap rate, 11.1% route rate, and 57.1% red-zone rushing share on Sunday against the Saints, and he scored the lone rushing touchdown between him and White. While White didn't have much competition for touches sans Irving, Tucker could begin to cut into his workload moving forward, and Irving could return in the coming weeks -- making White less trustworthy in lineups moving forward.

Rico Dowdle, RB, Panthers

With Chuba Hubbard sidelined for the Carolina Panthers in Week 5 and Week 6, Rico Dowdle made the most of his opportunities during that time, scoring 30-plus fantasy points in both games he started. The return of Hubbard has caused the Panthers to deploy a split backfield with Dowdle, which has led to Dowdle combining for only 15.5 fantasy points over his last two contests.

Over their last two games where Dowdle and Hubbard were active together, Dowdle has seen just a 40.3% snap rate, 26.5% route rate, 33.3% red-zone rushing share, and 13.0 touches per game (compared to Hubbard logging a 56.6% snap rate, 41.2% route rate, 66.7% red-zone rushing share, and 14.0 touches per game). Even though Dowdle has undoubtedly been more effective with 1.22 rushing yards over expected per attempt and 75 scrimmage yards per game across the last two weeks, he'll be tough to trust in lineups if Hubbard is active.

Matthew Golden, WR, Packers

Time is ticking for rookie Matthew Golden to become a consistently relevant option in fantasy football this season. Through the Green Bay Packers' first seven games, Golden has the second-highest snap rate (63.1%) and second-highest route rate (68.4%) among the team's receivers, but he has just a 13.1% target share.

Additionally, Golden hasn't seen much of a jump in usage amid Green Bay's injuries in their wide receiver room, Christian Watson returned in Week 8, and Jayden Reed could be back on the field in the coming weeks, as well. With the Packers still deploying a handful of different pass catchers, the chances of Golden becoming a viable weekly option in fantasy football are looking slim, especially after he produced only 1.9 fantasy points in Week 8.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.