Fantasy Football Risers: Tutu Atwell, Jordan Addison, Sam LaPorta (Week 3)

This will be risers and fallers with a heavy emphasis on usage. We are monitoring usage week-to-week to identify players trending up in terms of production as well as utilization. The more a player is involved in a game, the more the player has an opportunity to produce. If we can get an idea of players trending up or down, we can react to said information promptly.

This will be objective and based on the numbers. We check the personal bias and wish-casting at the door, and we look at the data and dive in. Here is the full article. Below we take a look at a few risers for this week.

Fantasy Football Risers & Fallers

Week 2 Risers

Justice Hill (RB – BAL)

With J.K. Dobbins out for the year, Justice Hill took on a decent role in Week 1, and we saw him take on the larger role among the running backs in Week 2.

57% snap% (led all running backs)
Handles the receiving role among the running backs
Has 8 of the team’s 13 red zone attempts on the season. This provides touchdown upside with said RZ usage.

Pair the red zone usage with the PPR potential, and Justice Hill can be useful moving forward.

Jayden Reed (WR – GB)

It might not last long, but Jayden Reed is the wide receiver that stands out right now for the Green Bay Packers. He leads all wide receivers in the following stats through two weeks:

Air%: 31.05%
Target%: 25%
RZ target%: 33%
Rec yards: 85
Route%: 100%
T-1st in Receptions: 6

Mind you, he is doing this while being second in snap% at 56%. Which is lower than you would like to see from any player you are utilizing, but he is making those snaps count.

Jordan Addison (WR – MIN)

A rookie with tremendous upside and big play ability continues to trend in the right direction early in the season. We should see him continue to become a larger part of the offense as the season moves forward, but so far so good, all things considered. A look at Week 2:

Snap%: 69% – up from 56% in W1.
3rd among WRs – 97.3%
Route% – 19.4 aDOT – he’s the deep target/threat
Tar% 11.63% – 3rd among WRs. Was tied for 2nd most targets among WRs in W1
Slot% took a hit: from 34.4% to 18.9%

Mack Hollins (WR – ATL)

Not that we can trust anyone in this passing game, but they do need to throw the ball, and Mack Hollins did flash in Week 2. He is trending up early on. In Week 2:

71% snap% – up from 63% in W1
Led team in Air% (36.11%)
T-2nd in Target% (20.1%)
Led team in aDOT (13)
95.8% route%

Again, trust was not there, but usage was. At the very least, keep your eye on Hollins in your deeper formats.

Tutu Atwell (WR – STL)

With the BIG names like Kyren Williams and Puka Nacua being the obvious risers, people are overlooking Tutu Atwell’s role and effectiveness.

2nd on the team in Air% (30.4%)
2nd on the team in target% (19.1%)
2nd in Rec (13) and Rec Yds (196)
2nd on the team in aDOT (13.41)
Leads team in route% (97.9%)

Atwell ended up leading the receivers in snap% in Week 2 (94%). This was up from 79% in Week 1. This team will need to throw to be competitive most weeks; from the look of things, there is enough volume for him to continue to be productive despite not being the first read in the offense.

The Tight End Position

We are seeing a few notable names, such as Sam LaPorta and Hunter Henry, showing upside and potential given their usage. Henry, of the two, has carved out a more useful role and is finding the end zone consistently. We are not far off from a time when Henry was targeted for his potential and upside, and he is finally hitting on that.

Fun Fact: Through 2 Weeks, three tight ends have at least:

10 targets
10 receptions
100 yards receiving
A 90% route%

Those names include T.J. Hockenson, Evan Engram, and Hunter Henry. A couple of names that just missed include Sam LaPorta (missed due to 84% route%) and Darren Waller (only nine receptions).