5 players trending down

Including Kyren Williams, AJ Brown, and more.

September 18, 2025

Yooo!

We got some great feedback from yesterday’s newsletter (you’ll see some at the bottom of this email), and one takeaway was that you want to hear more of our thought process. So we’ll be adding our takes to all insights moving forward — essentially how we’re reacting and taking action (or not taking action) on the insights we share each day.

Giddy up.

RB - Kyren Williams (LAR)

  • Despite Williams' recent three-year, $33 million contract extension with $15.1 million guaranteed, his workhorse role appears to be diminishing as the Rams implement a more balanced backfield approach.

  • In Week 2, Williams played 43 snaps and ran 17 routes, recording 17 carries for 66 yards and two receptions for 14 yards, but had to share significant playing time with Blake Corum.

  • Coach McVay's post-game comments confirmed that the Week 2 backfield split (69.5% for Williams, 30.5% for Corum) represents their intended usage moving forward, leading to Williams being downgraded to a low-end RB2 in fantasy.

  • Our take: Feels like we’ve been talking about a reduced workload for Kyren for 2+ seasons. But now it’s finally starting to happen. He’s never been the most efficient back, so this reduction would concern me as a manager. But maybe fresher legs will lead to a little more burst? He’s a HOLD/SELL for me.

RB - Kaleb Johnson (PIT)

  • Kaleb Johnson has been nearly invisible through two weeks, logging just one carry in each game and making a costly special teams gaffe that resulted in a Seattle touchdown.

  • Concerns over his pass protection are keeping him buried on the depth chart behind Kenneth Gainwell and Jaylen Warren, leading to speculation he could even be a healthy scratch soon.

  • Dynasty outlook remains bleak — once hyped as a potential early producer, Johnson now looks like a long-term stash needing injuries ahead of him to gain opportunities.

  • Our take: Warren has always been an efficient back, so it was surprising to see so many people crown Kaleb as the guy this offseason. I guess people have a bias towards the shiny new toy. But I’m certainly not writing a guy off after just two games into his career. All you can do is HOLD and hope for the best. Selling low seems like it would return little upside.

WR - Calvin Ridley (TEN)

  • Calvin Ridley was slammed as the week's top faller, failing to top 10 fantasy points in either of his first two games, most recently catching 6 passes for 57 yards on 6 targets.

  • Elic Ayomanor’s emergence combined with Tennessee’s low-volume passing attack raised alarms, with one analyst calling Ridley a 'roster clogger' in dynasty formats.

  • While some argued he could be a cheap buy window for contending teams, others stressed that at 30 years old with limited target share, Ridley’s dynasty value has all but evaporated.

  • Our take: I was really high on Ridley coming into this year. I can give him a pass for week 1 vs. Surtain. I was expecting more last week in a better matchup. I wouldn’t give up on him just yet. His trade value is low, but I expect him to deliver some better games later this year. You just might have to bench him in tougher matchups.

WR - A.J. Brown (PHI)

  • Brown's fantasy value has plummeted more than any non-injured player in the first two weeks of the season, dropping from a top-10 receiver draft position to performing like a boom-or-bust WR2/3. Through two weeks, Brown has failed to record 30 receiving yards in either game, significantly underperforming his draft position.

  • The Eagles' offensive scheme appears to be a major factor in Brown's struggles, with formations that telegraph their plays and minimal pre-snap motion or play-action usage. The loss of offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has notably impacted the passing game's effectiveness and creativity.

  • The volume concerns for Brown are significant as Jalen Hurts is averaging just 22.5 pass attempts per game, down from last year's already-low 24.1 attempts. The passing game has become extremely conservative, with Hurts' intended air yards per attempt dropping to 6.0 from previous years' numbers of 7.8-9.0, severely limiting Brown's downfield opportunities.

  • Our take: Historically, this would feel like a major buy-low window, but that highlighted sentence above gives me the most concern. It’s 100% possible they turn things around, and we’ll look like fools for not aggressively buying. But I’m okay letting someone else take that gamble. I’d be looking to SELL.

TE - Mark Andrews (BAL)

  • Mark Andrews is experiencing concerning usage issues, with only a 9.5% target rate per route this season. Despite being healthy and seeing his route percentage increase from 59% in 2024 to 76% in 2025, his involvement in the offense has been minimal.

  • Andrews's role has been significantly diminished, being relegated to primarily a safety option rather than a downfield threat. This is evidenced by his mere 10 air yards through two games, an incredibly low figure for a player of his caliber.

  • The outlook for Andrews appears pessimistic, with the article suggesting his situation won't improve significantly. With Isaiah Likely returning and Andrews being heavily touchdown-dependent, the analysis recommends looking elsewhere for tight end production in fantasy football.

  • Our take: I’ve owned Mark Andrews for 5 years in one league. And I can tell you nobody in my league wants anything to do with him. The Ravens just scored 40+ points in back-to-back weeks, and he only had TEN AIR YARDS. I hope it’s not over, but it kinda feels like it’s over.

🤝 Want the latest insight on a player not featured here? Reply to this email with the player you’re interested in, and I’ll send you the newest insight we have on that player + our take on the situation.

Yesterday’s poll results:

🥇 Best subscriber comment (I loved it!): “Reading the articles, as written everywhere else, to me is the lowest end of your value. I'm retired - I read a ton of them on my own, just not all of them. That part is more "the working man" value. But what you did today fed me. We that do read a lot of articles, form opinions. Some alter our draft and season play. The ability to read another between-the-lines opinion to compare and mentally debate, to me, is priceless.”

Our take: Glad to see that 97% of yesterday’s voters appreciated the deep dive breakdown into the rankings analysis. Will keep mixing in things like that every now and then!

Today’s poll:

What's your biggest challenge in fantasy/dynasty football each week?

(Vote to see live results)

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

That’s all for today!

See ya pizza,

Joe

P.S. In case you missed it, catch up on our most recent newsletters below: