If Week 5 was the week of the rookie quarterback, last week was the week of the rookie running back. We saw first-year ball carriers cement their role on their respective teams, from Sony Michel hanging 106 yards on the Chiefs, to Saquon Barkley putting up more than 200 all-purpose yards on Thursday Night Football.

At this point in the year, there’s little question to what roles rookies have on their respective teams, and we start to see players come into their own. With that being said, let’s take a look at three rookies whose stock went up this week, and three whose stocks went down.

Find and analyze trades for your team with My Playbook

Stock Up

Sony Michel (RB – NE)
Michel obviously won’t get the benefit of facing Kansas City’s defense each week, but there’s little doubt now that he’s New England’s No. 1 running back. The rookie out of Georgia carried the ball 24 times and scored twice while averaging 4.4 yards per carry. He’s scored in each of his past three games and is consistently on the field for the Patriots’ first two downs on offense while James White handles more of the pass-catching duties. Michel is owned in the vast majority of leagues at this point, but if you own him, you can start him blindly each week.

Christian Kirk (WR – ARI)
Kirk once again showed that he’s the top wide receiver in Arizona. That’s nothing against Larry Fitzgerald, who is incredibly talented, but it’s clear that rookie quarterback Josh Rosen prefers targeting Kirk. Kirk scored nearly 14 points in point-per-reception leagues in Week 6 against a talented Vikings defense and now is tied for the team lead in targets and has the most yards and catches on the team. Kirk is owned in less than 20 percent of ESPN and Yahoo leagues, so I’d recommend picking him up in most leagues, especially PPR ones.

Damion Ratley (WR – CLE)
I know most of you are probably thinking, “who?” I’ll admit that this is an out-of-the-blue player to highlight, but I think Ratley is worth noting, especially to owners who picked up Antonio Callaway midseason. With Rashad Higgins out with an MCL sprain, Ratley appears to be the No. 2 receiver in Cleveland.

The sixth-round pick out of Texas A&M was targeted eight times, catching six of them, and racking up 86 yards. Meanwhile, fellow rookie Callaway dropped two Baker Mayfield passes in the end zone, and the Browns lost another receiver when Rod Streater went down with a neck injury. Ratley is virtually unowned in all leagues, so you don’t need to rush to pick him up, but the Browns have a very favorable schedule for their passing game coming up with games against the Buccaneers, Chiefs, and Falcons in three of the next four weeks.

Stock Down

Calvin Ridley (WR – ATL)
Ridley has followed up his massive three-week stretch to start the year with back-to-back performances of four or fewer fantasy points in standard leagues. The rookie out of Alabama did have to leave Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers early due to injury (his MRI came back fine, and he’s unlikely to miss any time), but it can’t be encouraging for fantasy owners to see his production dip again. He was never going to keep up his pace of two touchdowns per game, but he’s still getting out-snapped by Mohamed Sanu and has a less-than-favorable upcoming schedule with games against the Giants (who allow the seventh-fewest fantasy points to receivers), and Redskins (15th fewest) in the next three weeks.

D.J. Moore (WR – CAR)
Moore doesn’t have much value left outside of dynasty leagues. In his homecoming against Washington (Moore played his college ball at Maryland), he lost two fumbles, which meant he finished the game with only two points despite picking up a season-high 59 yards. Moore has gotten more involved in Carolina’s offense over the past two weeks, but that’s after he opened up the year with no catches in two of his first three games. The 21-year-old could have a future in this receiving corps, but I don’t see where there’s value for this year.

Jordan Wilkins (RB – IND)
Just like Moore, I’d recommend dropping Wilkins in all non-dynasty leagues. Wilkins didn’t receive a single touch in last week’s game against the Jets. With Marlon Mack back from injury and Robert Turbin back from suspension, it’s impossible to see how he could have a productive role in that offense.

Import your team to My Playbook for instant Lineup & Trade advice

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | TuneIn | RSS

Jon Munshaw is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Jon, check out his archive and follow him @jon_munshaw.