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Jordan Reed tops Week 3 TE Fantasy Stock Watch panic
There have been 15 Earth rotations since the National Football League season began its 2017 cycle. In that time, the fortunes of fantasy football's have ebbed and flowed as if dictated by the moon's gravitational pull. But as this campaign's third week opens, we glance back at the assembled knowledge from the previous fortnight and forge ahead into autumn's glory with wielding history as a shield and hope as a cudgel. Allow the Fantasy Stock Watch to carry the banner into your weekend confrontation.

When someone shows you who they are, believe them. Reed has shown us that he's a tantalizing mixture of exhilarating performance combined with frustrating injury concerns. This season, we haven't seem much of the former but plenty of the latter. Reed is once again in the process of pain management while tending to chest and toe injuries. The talented tight end could still suit up this week but the idea of a underperforming player in a scattershot offense sounds slightly more appealing than a candy corn casserole.

Just when it seems like things are turning around in Cleveland ... Brownsing happens. Corey Coleman is on injured reserve with a broken hand and Kenny Britt looks like he'd rather be anywhere else than on a football field. But this isn't your typical "someone has to catch the ball" take. Higgins looks like a talent who can make plays downfield and should be a big part of Cleveland's game plan against a suspect Colts pass defense. Going Hollywood normally isn't something I'd advise. In this case, I'll make an exception.

The Seahawks thought they needed a playmaking tight end. To do that, they gave up an offensive lineman. Now their offensive line isn't good enough to allow the quarterback to get the ball to the playmaking tight end. Didn't see that coming. But enough about the big picture. The short view is that Graham is banged up and questionable for this week's game against the Titans. Why can't we have some happiness at tight end?

After one week, there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth about Hunter Henry not seeing a single target in the offense. In Week 2, dry eyes and happy smiles were the order of the day as Henry saw that ball thrown in his direction plenty of times. Now that the Chargers have finished with the pesky business of chasing records for Antonio Gates, it's time to get back to the business of running the offense. That means more Hunter Henry. That means happy fantasy people. Huzzah!

The current state of the tight end position in fantasy football is such that I'm writing a positive post on Ed Dickson. Like ... I'm really writing that Ed Dickson is going to have some matchup-based value for the Panthers over the next couple of months while Greg Olsen rehabs his broken foot. I'm even going to tell you that this week against the Saints might be a good time to stream him. This is really happening. When you ask why we can't have nice things, remember this moment.

Speaking of not having nice things ... wherefore art thou, Tyler Eifert? Actually, it's likely that Eifert art on the bench this week. The oft-injured Bengals tight end is dealing with back and knee issues and seems destined to be inactive in Week 3. Tyler Kroft will likely start in his place and you can put him in your lineup if you choose to live life on the razor's edge. But you might want to think about other streaming TE options like Ben Watson or Austin Hooper instead.

This might not be the changing of the guard in the Titans backfield that we believed after last Sunday's game. But with DeMarco Murray operating on just one good hamstring, this could be the week that Tennessee unleashes the full capability of its Death Star-sized running back. It would be nice if Henry had a better matchup than the stout Seahawks this week ... but we're just happy for the potential volume without any real vulture threats. It's the little things that keep us going.

Since we're on the subject of running back turnover, Baltimore is in a bit of a transitional period. Buck Allen has taken over for Danny Woodhead but he's not filling the exact same role. Allen is a better pass-catcher than West and should see more targets but the USC product will line up as a traditional running back. That means fewer snaps potentially for West. You know what else could mean fewer snaps for West? An injured thigh that's kept him out of multiple practices this week.

It's all bad for tight ends. It's all bad for running backs. It's just all bad. Especially for Robert Kelley. Just when you thought things might be looking up for the Washington runner, he's been limited in practice with a rib injury this week. That's not what you want to hear when Chris Thompson has been making plays on the field and Samaje Perine is morphing into the bruising back many thought he'd be when he was drafted. May I repeat ... it's all bad, man.

Don't get too excited. Darkwa's arrow is pointing up ... but it's a slight tilt upward. Ben McAdoo has shown an affinity for the running back though it hasn't been enough to get him more than a small increase in his workload. Not to mention that Darkwa getting more work doesn't make the Giants offensive line not be ungood. That rebuilding project is going to take a lot more than a change at running back. You can consider adding him to your roster for depth.