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Fantasy football stock watch: James Conner steps up for Cardinals

tony holm
·2 min read

These players saw their fantasy values increase or decrease most based on their performances in Week 9:

Sizzlers

QB Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers: The Eagles secondary had no answers for Herbert, who completed 32-of-38 passes for 356 yards and two touchdowns, plus another one rushing. It was a tremendous bounce-back game after he struggled against New England two weeks ago.

RB James Conner, Arizona Cardinals: An early injury to Chase Edmonds opened the door for Conner, and he came through big-time. Erupting as a one-man wrecking crew with QB Kyler Murray and WR DeAndre Hopkins also out, Conner racked up 173 total yards and three scores. He's now tied with Derrick Henry for the league lead with 10 rushing touchdowns -- and he has some great matchups ahead.

Cardinals running back James Conner carved up the 49ers defense in Week 9 for 96 rushing yards and two touchdowns, plus 77 receiving yards and another score.
Cardinals running back James Conner carved up the 49ers defense in Week 9 for 96 rushing yards and two touchdowns, plus 77 receiving yards and another score.

RB Jordan Howard, Philadelphia Eagles: With starter Miles Sanders on injured reserve, the Eagles have employed a three-headed backfield committee. But Howard has gone from the practice squad to the front of the line. He rushed for 71 yards on 17 carries and scored his third touchdown in two weeks.

WR Marquise Brown, Baltimore Ravens: Yes, the Ravens have the NFL's top rushing offense, but that's only opened things up for Brown through the air. He was targeted 12 times against the Vikings, catching nine for 112 yards. And the Dolphins are up next.

WR Hunter Renfrow, Las Vegas Raiders: Renfrow becomes even more important to the Raiders offense with Henry Ruggs gone. QB Derek Carr targeted him nine times, good for seven receptions, 49 yards and a TD.

Fizzlers

WR Tyler Boyd, Cincinnati Bengals: Boyd has gone from a PPR league sleeper to an afterthought in the Bengals offense. This past week against Cleveland marked his lowest target total of the season with two.

WR Jarvis Landry, Cleveland Browns: Fellow wideout Odell Beckham is moving on, but Landry failed to pick up the slack with only three receptions for 11 yards.

WR Julio Jones, Tennessee Titans: Even with the loss of bellcow running back Derrick Henry, the Tennessee passing game still sputtered. Jones has had just one good fantasy performance this year (6-128), and it was way back in Week 2.

WR CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys: In a blowout loss to Denver, Lamb was targeted nine times but caught just two for 23 yards. It continues to be an up and down year for Dallas receivers, even with Dak Prescott back.

WR Jakobi Meyers, New England Patriots: Meyers was targeted an astonishing 26 times in Weeks 3 and 4, and seemed on the cusp of a breakout season. Five weeks later, New England has become a run-heavy team, leaving precious little in the way of fantasy stats for any receiver.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fantasy football stock watch: James Conner up, Tyler Boyd down