Fantasy Football Trade Value Risers & Fallers: Davante Adams Ascends

We normally do family dinners on Friday nights. Sundays are too chaotic with soccer games and me trying to pack my brain with as many instant football reactions as I can. So, the end of the work week is our time.

But it's taken me a while to adjust to the ever-changing palates in my house. My wife likes pasta dishes, but my oldest hates noodles. I love spicy foods, while my youngest barely has a tolerance for pepper. I can hear their objections as I mentally cycle through each recipe. Still, if I know the general type of meal I want to make, I can come up with a plan that works.

Most fantasy managers are in a similar spot. We don't know exactly what to do after two weeks. Some results make sense. Others have us scratching our heads. But we've got enough evidence to point us toward what's likely to come. And by assessing each player's shift in value, we can make the right moves before everyone else does.

Risers In Fantasy Football Trade Value

Davante Adams | WR | Rams

There’s some redundancy in putting Davante Adams here. I get it. If you had him in your lineup, he was likely your savior to come out of Week 2 with a win.

Davante Adams stepped up as the Rams’ WR1 with Puka Nacua out and went off against the Giants.

8 REC, 195 YDS, 2 TD

The vet still looks sharp in year 13. https://t.co/qmZR0HiWNk pic.twitter.com/w4UjYWvH2S
— Football Performances (@NFLPerformances) September 22, 2026

However, if we want to get ahead of our leaguemates, we need to dive past the box score. Of course, earning ten targets from Matthew Stafford is worth a roster spot. Undoubtedly, having six of your eight catches go for 15 yards or more is good. But how Adams found himself right behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the WR ranks on Tuesday should be our focus.

Normally, I’d be concerned about a 33-year-old receiver running more downfield routes. But let’s look at what should’ve worked against the Giants in Week 1.

George Pickens has ANOTHER drop.

2 DROPS for George Pickens#NFL #Cowboys #DallasCowboys #Giants #NYGiants pic.twitter.com/lxR3Z0vaNq
— Dom (@ZeroChillSports) September 14, 2026

Depending on your charting service, Dallas wound up with three drops on the ten intermediate to deep throws Dak Prescott attempted. The opportunity was there, but mishaps happen. More importantly, that doesn’t mean the coverage isn’t susceptible to similar lapses. Enter Matthew Stafford and Davante Adams.

Puka Nacua won’t play on Sunday, but Denver’s strength in coverage is on the perimeter. Let’s assume yet another shift in his on-field deployment, further signifying his value to the offense and fantasy rosters. Adams should be in the high-end WR2 tier with upside until we know more about Nacua’s season-long status.

Breece Hall | RB | Jets

There are ten RBs with over 60% of their team’s RB carries, a double-digit target rate, and over half of the goal-line attempts. Nine of them had a first- or second-round price tag about a month ago. Breece Hall was the only question mark among the bell cows. But he’s answered them over two weeks.

3rd and BREECE HALL 🔥

GBvsNYJ on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/GUEByypkfM
— NFL (@NFL) September 20, 2026

Hall’s grip on the backfield, or “would he get the touches,” wasn’t up for debate. Truthers could point back to his 90-target season in ’23 as evidence of his high-end usage. And despite the Braelon Allen hype, only one “B” has popped in the rankings for the Jets.

Four of Allen’s 15 carries have come in the fourth quarter with the Jets in the lead. That last part is where most of our interest should lie. Surprisingly, things are looking up for Gang Green.

Yards (per Game): 326.0 (2026), 263.6 (2025)
Red Zone Drives: 3, 2.2
Offensive Points Scored: 20.0, 15.9

To be clear, I’m not saying the Jets are the new Chiefs. But being league average across multiple offensive metrics is good! Hall hasn’t had three straight games of double-digit PPR points since the start of 2024. And he’s already poised to do it this weekend. Simply put, if his situation is improving, the combination with his talent should have him in the low-end RB1 ranks for the rest of the season.

Tony Pollard | RB | Titans

Admittedly, Tony Pollard is more of a low-level riser. I’d mark him as a buy-low candidate, but only if you don’t need him right now. Let’s say you’re 2-0 and, at least for now, the core of your roster looks playoff-ready. Pollard’s schedule of the Lions, Colts, Raiders, and Steelers from Week 14 on might have some appeal. Besides, at first glance, Pollard’s contextualized usage doesn’t come across as an asset most gamers would want to keep anyway.

However, two things to consider here. First, Pollard is handling all of the short-yardage snaps. The worry was Nick Singleton (at 219 lbs) would take that job, splitting Pollard’s touches even further. But through two weeks, he’s been the primary option with a few yards to go. And let’s zoom in on that 46% route rate from last Sunday.

Snap Share (Week 2, 4th Quarter): 56.3% (Pollard), 46.3% (Spears)
Route Rate: 50.0%, 16.7%

Sure, we’re dealing with a one-game (one quarter!) sample. But as the Titans found themselves in a tight race with the Eagles, Pollard was leading the way. And he wasn’t just a ball-carrier, but a potential receiver for Cam Ward. Plus, with Tennessee’s shift in passing rate (+5.4% PROE in Week 1 to -20.1%), Pollard may be seeing more work to move him into the high-end RB3 ranks.

Fallers In Fantasy Football Trade Value

Cam Skattebo | RB | Giants

I’d like to think that even when disaster strikes, coaches try to lean on as much of their original plan as possible. For the Giants, OC Matt Nagy had to work around Jameis Winston’s abilities rather than having Jaxson Dart on the field. However, personnel groupings are also part of the scheme. And that’s why I have concerns about Skattebo’s role moving forward.

I'm already over the Najee Harris red zone experiment for the Giants. YES, I see the OL gets beat here, BUT Skattebo has a jump cut, gets skinny through this gap much quicker, MUCH lower to the ground and then barrels his body low through 37. We've seen it countless times.. pic.twitter.com/FuDTvRalpG
— Dan Schneier (@DanSchneierNFL) September 22, 2026

To be fair, Najee Harris only played 15% of the snaps. But the team was already positioning itself to have the veteran RB active after his healthy scratch in Week 1. And of his eight snaps, two included a couple of cracks at a TD from inside LA’s 10-yard line.

Coincidentally, Skattebo earned the same opportunities in Week 1. He found the end zone on his carries. You can see how Harris’ tries turned out. Luckily for us, Skattebo does have another lever to pull and accrue points for us.

Let’s give Winston a full week of practice to settle into his new (old) job. Facing the Titans (allowing the 13th-most points to RBs) should also give him more time to get into a rhythm. But with a potential deeper split within the backfield, Skattebo falls to a low-end RB2, and we should continue to monitor the Giants’ offense after the QB change.

Khalil Shakir | WR| Bills

If you looked at Khalil Shakir’s Week 1 usage relative to his teammates, you’d come away thinking he had the same role as last year.

Despite DJ Moore’s emergence and Dalton Kincaid’s resurgence, a 19% target share out of the gate was encouraging. He led the Bills in red-zone targets. Josh Allen was still looking his way when under pressure. But without Moore in Week 2, nothing changed for Shakir.

Everybody else saw more work. Kincaid jumped to a 28.6% target share. Keon Coleman saw more than five targets for the first time since Week 10 of last year. Even Josh Palmer got into the mix with a deep shot for a TD. Shakir had the same game as always. And Moore will be back on the field on Sunday.

Buffalo’s Week 3 matchup against the Chargers does project for a high-scoring affair. In other words, Shakir’s situation would prop him up as a viable WR4. But without it, he’ll be a roster clogger worth dropping for other priority pickups.

Jameson Williams | WR | Lions

I’m willing to give Jameson Williams another week. However, the “it’s always something” line of thinking keeps running through my head when assessing his value.

A good pass rush can fix a lot of problems because Jameson Williams would still be running if Greg didn't get home. pic.twitter.com/RPI6Xv3CCK
— Carl Jones (@Jones11_) September 18, 2026

During Week 1, Williams got a red-zone target, and he fell at the one-inch line. In primetime, Buffalo pressured Jared Goff on 47.7% of his dropbacks. The result highlighted a potential issue with Williams’ development.

Williams finds himself in a worse situation than Shakir. At least the Bills’ WR could maintain his job despite an environmental change. Detroit couldn’t keep Jared Goff upright, and he went elsewhere with his pass attempts.

Jahmyr Gibbs soaked up eight looks. Isaac TeSlaa’s targets jumped up to five after a lone attempt in Week 1. Williams even ran shorter routes (14.2-yard aDOT in Week 1 vs. 9.3) and still couldn’t get the ball. Facing the Jets (20th in pressure rate), Panthers (25th), and Cardinals (26th) over the next few weeks should brighten the Lions’ passing game outlook. But Williams’ involvement in it is still uncertain, lowering him into the mid-WR3 ranks.