Fantasy Football Stock Report Week 3: 5 Risers And Fallers

We saw some crazy stat lines during Week 2. Among them was Jared Goff producing five touchdown passes in a win over the Bears. There were also plenty of duds, including Michael Penix Jr. throwing for just 135 yards versus the Vikings. As we turn our attention towards Week 3 of fantasy football, let’s highlight some players who have seen their stock rise over the last week, as well as some others that it might be time to drop.

Fantasy Football Risers

Tucker Kraft, TE, Green Bay Packers

Kraft played a key role in the Packers dispatching the Commanders on Thursday Night Football. He was targeted seven times, finishing with six catches for 124 yards and one touchdown. That came on the heels of him also scoring a touchdown in Week 1 versus the Lions. Of his 70 targets last season, 15 of them came inside the red zone. That helped him finish with seven touchdowns.

The Packers suffered a blow at wide receiver in Week 2 with Jaydeen Reed fracturing his collarbone. He is expected to miss at least six weeks, which isn’t opportune for the Packers with Christian Watson still recovering from his torn ACL. Kraft, who has already proven to be a touchdown threat, should see an expanded target share moving forward.

Wan’Dale Robinson, WR, New York Giants

It’s no secret that the Giants want to get the ball to Robinson, especially on third down. He was targeted 140 times last season, which helped him produce 93 receptions. However, it was a lot of short passes, leaving him to post just 699 yards and three touchdowns. His average depth of target was a paltry 4.8 yards.

Robinson exploded in an overtime loss to the Cowboys on Sunday, recording eight receptions for 142 yards and a touchdown. Through two games, he has already been targeted 18 times. As encouraging as that is, his most promising stat is his average depth of target of 10.7 yards. The Giants finally have a quarterback who can throw the ball deep in Russell Wilson, so Robinson has the potential to rack up many more receiving yards this year.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB, Washington Commanders

Croskey-Merritt is not on this list because of what he did in Week 2. He logged only 15 offensive snaps for the Commanders, down from 19 the week prior. He was given just four carries against the Packers, which led to 17 rushing yards. It was a disappointment after he ran for 82 yards and a touchdown in Week 1 against the Giants.

The reason why Croskey-Merritt is about to see his fantasy stock increase is that the Commanders lost Austin Ekeler for the season after he tore his Achilles against the Packers. That leaves Croskey-Merritt, Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriguez Jr. as the top running back options for the Commanders. Rodriguez was inactive the first two games and McNichols has been given just four carries all season. With Ekeler out, Croskey-Merritt has a clear path to a featured role.

Fantasy Football Drops

Kaleb Johnson, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

After spending the first four seasons of his career with the Steelers, Najee Harris departed for the Chargers during the offseason. While he wasn’t overly efficient, Harris had at least 255 carries in all four seasons with the team. He came away with at least 1,000 rushing yards and six touchdowns in each campaign. Jaylen Warren was expected to make up for some of Harris’ lost production, but the Steelers also took Johnson with the 83rd pick in the 2025 Draft. Last year, he ran for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns at Iowa.

The Steelers may have drafted Johnson with the hopes that he would be their running back of the future, but he is clearly not their running back of the present. He has played a total of four offensive snaps through two games, leaving him with two carries, one of which went for negative yards. The other went for just one yard. Warren is the clear top option for the Steelers at running back, while Kenneth Gainwell is even ahead of Johnson on their depth chart. Gainwell has played at least 25 offensive snaps in both of the first two games. It’s tough to waste a roster spot given the injuries piling up across the league, so drop Johnson if you need more immediate help from the waiver wire.

Colston Loveland, TE, Chicago Bears

The Bears selected Loveland with the 10th pick in the 2025 Draft. They already had a good tight end on their roster in Cole Kmet, who has 17 touchdown receptions over the last three seasons. Through two weeks, neither player has been fantasy relevant. Kmet has caught three of six targets for 60 yards, while Loveland has caught two of three targets for 12 yards. The Bears lost by 31 points to the Lions on Sunday and Loveland still received just one target in the game. Despite him being a top-10 pick in the draft, Loveland shouldn’t be rostered in most fantasy leagues right now.