Fantasy Football Risers & Fallers: C.J. Stroud, Brandon Aiyuk, Nico Collins, Rashee Rice

Before we sit back and enjoy the greatest event of the year, let’s look at where things stand. After a wild free agency period and some unfortunate off-the-field issues, here’s the latest look at which players are trending up and trending down across the National Football League.

Fantasy Football Players Trending Up & Down

Trending Up

C.J. Stroud (QB – HOU)

One of the biggest offseason dominoes didn’t fall until just a few weeks ago. After a year-and-a-half of asking to be traded, Stefon Diggs finally got what he wanted. Bye-bye, Buffalo. Hello, Houston.

After lighting it up with Josh Allen in Buffalo, Diggs joins a star-studded Texans receiver group already featuring Nico Collins and Tank Dell. While that trio might siphon targets from each other in 2024, Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud will be the main beneficiary. Collins and Dell are two very good wide receivers, but adding someone as elite as Diggs should catapult Stroud into another fantasy dimension.

Brandon Aiyuk (WR – SF)

With many around the league projecting a trade out of San Francisco, 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk has risen to the 16th overall player (WR9) in FantasyPros’ expert consensus rankings (ECR). That’s a bit rich for his current situation on a low-volume passing offense but I have no issues with fantasy managers trying to get ahead of a potential trade.

Aiyuk is a supremely talented wide receiver who would smash if given the same volume as his peers across the league. Unfortunately, 49ers GM John Lynch threw a bit of water on that by declaring that Aiyuk and the team are “having good talks.”

It’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s not during this time of year but the Aiyuk hype might have gotten out of control. If he remains in his current situation, it’s hard to justify his current standing above Davante Adams, Chris Olave and many other true WR1s.

Trending Down

Nico Collins (WR – HOU)

Earlier we mentioned how much the addition of Stefon Diggs will help quarterback C.J. Stroud this season. On the other side of things, it’s expected to hurt the other Houston wide receivers. Fresh off a career-high 80 receptions, 1,297 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, many expected Nico Collins to ascend into low-end WR1/high-end WR2 territory.

Instead of splitting targets evenly with 2023 breakout rookie Tank Dell, the duo must settle for whatever scraps are left over. If you trade for someone as vocal as Diggs, you do so with the intent to make him happy with as many targets as possible. Collins and Dell will still have moments in 2024, but the consistent volume might not be what we expected a month ago.

Rashee Rice (WR – KC)

After breaking out late last season, Kansas City wide receiver Rashee Rice looked like a rising star in the league. That still may come to fruition, but his off-the-field actions have jeopardized that in the short term. Rice is currently facing one count of aggravated assault, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury and six counts of collision involving injury after a completely avoidable incident.

For fantasy football managers, you might want to start pivoting to other options in 2024. We don’t know every detail but Rice is expected to serve a multi-game suspension at minimum. With that uncertainty and the target competition in Kansas City (Travis Kelce, Marquise Brown, potential Round 1 WR), Rice is a tough sell at his current WR24 average draft position (ADP).

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Fantasy Draft Advice NFL C.J. Stroud Stefon Diggs Josh Allen Nico Collins Tank Dell Brandon Aiyuk Davante Adams Chris Olave Rashee Rice Travis Kelce Marquise Brown