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I hope everyone had a successful Week 1, but win or lose, you have to adjust to the market quickly. Without overreacting, we can enter Week 2 with valuable insight about players and trends that analysts only imagined and projected throughout the offseason. However, it can also cause us to overreact to NFL Week 1 risers and fallers.
In this article, I will not be hyping up players whose production came solely from touchdowns. While a large source of fantasy points, touchdowns will come and go. I care much more about targets and touches. Additionally, I will also not be knocking anyone who picked up an injury. Obviously, missing weeks will cause a player’s stock to drop some, but anyone can identify that. Here are my NFL Week 1 risers and fallers.
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Week 2 Risers and Fallers | NFL Dynasty Fantasy Football
3 Players Trending Up
Christian Watson | WR | Green Bay Packers | Age: 27.3
Christian Watson definitely had momentum heading into the season. Romeo Doubs’ exit to New England vacated targets. Watson received a 4-year, $110-million extension. Many analysts considered Christian Watson as the Packers WR1, and his stock hovered around WR32 throughout the offseason. He was often available for the price of around a late 2026 1st, depending on your league.
Watson rewarded his believers Week 1 by proving that he is the focal point of the Packers offense. He tied Matthew Golden for the most receptions with 6 each. Additionally, Jayden Reed had 3 catches on 7 targets, and Kraft had 3 catches on 6 targets. Watson clearly had the biggest impact of all the weapons. Watson exploded for an 81 yard touchdown catch, with the bulk of the yards coming after the reception. If he can be more consistent this season, Christian Watson will finish the season as a WR1.
Jalen Coker | WR | Carolina Panthers | Age: 24.8
Jalen Coker had a massive playoff performance in the loss against the Los Angeles Rams in the wild card round last season. His value still sat around WR45 throughout the offseason, and it typically would have taken around an early second round pick to get him. A former UDFA, Coker may spend his whole career underrated.
In Week 1, he exploded against the respectable Bears defense for 8 catches on 9 targets for 138 yards and 2 touchdowns. He led the Panthers in targets and is proving to be one of Bryce Young’s favorite and most trusted weapons. Coker is going to benefit from Tetairoa McMillan being the main focus of the defense. Coker eats up single coverage and has very strong hands. I expect Coker to finish as a top 30 WR this season.
David Montgomery | RB | Houston Texans | Age: 29.2
David Montgomery received an offseason stock boost when he got out from under Jahmyr Gibb’s massive shadow. Although the Sonic and Knuckles duo was fun, it ultimately hurt both of their fantasy values. Montgomery seemed poised to dominate the Texans backfield; however, some reports suggested a 50/50 split between Montgomery and Woody Marks. It’s clear now that’s simply not happening.
Montgomery dominated touches with more than double the carries (20 vs 9) and triple the targets (3 vs 1). Montgomery converted this massive opportunity into 28.9 PPR fantasy points. His efficiency wasn’t ideal (3 YPC), but Montgomery is going to get more breakaway runs as he continues to get more opportunities. The Texans O Line isn’t the best, but their elite defense will give the offense plenty of drives with great field position. As long as Montgomery stays healthy, he has a firm grip on this starting job and should receive plenty of goalline work.
3 Players Trending Down
Drake Maye | QB | New England Patriots | Age: 24.0
The NFL MVP runner up last season had a very bad first game. I want to be clear as a dynasty analyst that he will be fine longterm, but Maye may not be a QB1 this season. The reason I think he could finish outside the top 12 is because his top receiver, A.J. Brown, went down with a high ankle sprain. He’s likely to miss 6 weeks. He may not be 100% when he returns. Brown was supposed to be Maye’s top target and could be a big blow to his overall fantasy performance.
Furthermore, Maye’s decision making was poor against the Seahawks. Despite playing perhaps the top defense in the league, some of Maye’s choices were inexcusable. Throwing a jump ball to Mack Hollins off his back foot while in field goal range is ill-advised to say the least. I was really hoping Maye would take another step for his 3rd year in the league with Brown helping him take that jump. I now believe it’s more likely that Maye finishes in the QB13-18 range in 2026 with a tough schedule.
Colston Loveland | TE | Chicago Bears | Age: 22.4
Colston Loveland’s value may have gotten out of hand this offseason. While a talented player, Caleb Williams is simply too good of a distributer. We may have spent too much time debating if Colston Loveland, Rome Odunze, or Luther Burden III would be Williams’ top target. Maybe the answer is none of them. Kalif Raymond led the team in targets Week 1. I wouldn’t be surprised if Raymond got a single target next week. Maybe Williams is just the type of quarterback who refuses to fixate on one weapon and takes what the defense gives him. It may be hard to rely on any of his weapons week in and week out.
Loveland’s Week 1 couldn’t have been worse. He only received 2 targets and caught neither of them for 0 fantasy points. I wouldn’t be surprised if he catches 7 balls for 80 yards and a touchdown next week. That’s not the point. The very nature of having Williams as his quarterback will make Loveland a boom-or-bust fantasy player, not a 2nd round startup pick that is a centerpiece of a fantasy team. Loveland could still finish as TE2 this season and have a great career, but I think it’s more likely his value and potential outweigh his production moving forward.
Quinshon Judkins | RB | Cleveland Browns | Age: 22.8
Quinshon Judkins is a sell for contending teams. This is not a knock on the talent level of the player. Judkins is extremely talented and will have a great future in the NFL. I don’t think he’ll have a good year in 2026. Simply, his team is not good enough, and he doesn’t catch the ball enough to score in the teens consistently. The Browns are not going to score many touchdowns this year. This offense is going to be held under 20 points more often than not, unless something unforseen changes. Unfortunately for Judkins, that means stacked boxes, bad game scripts, and little-to-no goal line carries.
Judkins’ value could drop low enough to make him a popular buy for rebuilding teams. I think he’s a solid buy already for rebuilding teams. Typically, I don’t like to have running backs on teams that aren’t competing, but Judkins will not hurt your max PF too much this season. By the time the Browns upgrade their offensive line and add a new quarterback, Judkins will still be in the prime of his career and will be a dominant fantasy asset.
NFL Week 2 Sign Off
Thank you so much for tuning into this week’s NFL reaction article. Obviously, the fun part about dynasty is staying closely invested in the ebb and flow of dynasty values. Hopefully, this article helped keep you in touch with weekly trends, and I will aim to keep you up to date with rising and dropping values as much as possible this season.
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