Welcome to the Rookie Report series. This will be a recurring series that highlights fantasy-relevant rookies, how they performed in the prior weeks, and what that means for the future. Let’s dive in!
ROOKIE(S) OF THE WEEK
Will Levis (QB) - Tennessee Titans
Nothing energizes a fanbase quite like a baller rookie debut, especially when it comes from a second-round quarterback. Will Levis’s historic performance was exactly what the Titans needed to spark their franchise as the young gunslinger aired it out against a formidable Falcons secondary. The second-round rookie quarterback completed 19/29 attempts for 238 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Levis is just the third quarterback in NFL history to begin their career with four touchdown passes, joining Marcus Mariota (2015) and Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton (1961) as the only players to accomplish the lofty feat. The entire Titans offense had just three total passing touchdowns (Tannehill: 2/Henry: 1) before Week 8. Three of Levis's four passing touchdowns came from a distance of 30 yards or more, marking the most deep ball touchdown passes by any quarterback in NFL History in their first start. The Titans are far from a Super Bowl contender but they’re tied for the second-best record in the AFC South and well in the hunt for a wild card spot. Most importantly, they’ve been in need of a true franchise quarterback for quite some time. They may have just found what they’ve been yearning for. Ryan Tannehill has been an underappreciated signal-caller since joining Mike Vrabel’s run-focused Titans team but has fallen off the wagon in years past. Malik Willis is nothing more than a replacement-level backup quarterback and a waste of third-round draft capital. Levis stepping up with twice as many touchdowns as Tannehill had through seven weeks is the last thing anyone expected from the rookie, especially in this offense.
Jahmyr Gibbs (RB) - Detroit Lions
David Montgomery’s injury has paved the way for Jahmyr Gibbs to become the workhorse in the Lions backfield. After a stellar outing in Week 8, Gibbs now leads the team in rushing yards with 399 despite tallying 18 fewer rushing attempts than his veteran counterpart. The rookie’s monstrous breakout performance led to a career-best 152 rushing yards and one touchdown on 26 carries (65.0% Rush Share/5.8 YPC) while catching all five of his targets (13.5% Target Share) for 37 yards. He played 70.0% of the offensive snaps (60) representing new career highs in snap totals and team rushing share. Adding 37 rushing yards and his second touchdown of the season helped lift Gibbs to new heights as the RB1 overall in Week 8.
ROOKIE STANDOUTS
Sam LaPorta (TE) - Detroit Lions
Sam LaPorta is enjoying the rarest of rookie breakouts as the first-year tight end continues to dominate opposing defenses. LaPorta caught eight of his team-high 10 targets (27.0% Target Share) for 57 yards and his fourth touchdown of the season while leading the team in total snaps (81 Snaps/94.0% Snap Share) during the Lions Week 8 route of the Raiders. LaPorta already has 43 receptions for 434 yards (10.1 YPR) and four touchdowns, averaging 54.3 yards per game as the TE3 overall through the first eight weeks.
TOP ROOKIE PERFORMANCES
QB Will Levis: 34.6 Points - QB6
RB Jahmyr Gibbs: 29.9 Points - RB1
WR Jordan Addison: 21.4 Points - WR13
TE Sam LaPorta: 19.7 Points - TE5
TE Dalton Kincaid: 17.5 Points - TE8
ROOKIE DISAPPOINTMENTS
Puka Nacua (WR) - Los Angeles Rams
Puka Nacua’s historic rookie start hit a minor speed bump in Week 8 with the first-year wideout tallying 43 yards and 3 receptions on seven targets (21.9% Target Share). Things could not have gone worse for the Rams offense than it did in Week 8. The Cowboys' defense dominated from opening snap to final whistle while Matthew Stafford and company expectedly struggled to keep the chains moving, Every Rams receiver struggled against a monstrous defensive outing with Nacua’s season-worst WR62 finish topping the list of rookie disappointments.
Marvin Mims (WR) - Denver Broncos
Marvin Mims had seemingly been trending up as one of the Broncos' most reliable, efficient, and productive pass-catchers despite limited usage. Mims caught his only target for zero yards on a night that Russell Wilson tossed for three touchdowns in an unsuspecting underdog victory over the Chiefs.
Tank Bigsby (RB) - Jacksonville Jaguars
Tank Bigsby finished as the lowest-scoring player in all of fantasy in Week 8, amassing negative (-)2.1 fantasy points with nine rushing yards and one lost fumble.
REMEDIAL ROOKIE PERFORMANCES
WR Puka Nacua: 7.3 Points - WR62
QB Tommy DeVito: 7.2 Points - QB31
WR Zay Flowers: 6.9 Points - WR69
WR Tank Dell: 6.1 Points - WR75
RB Roschon Johnson 6.1 Points - RB 43
TE Michael Mayer: 2.9 Points - TE33
TE Luke Musgrave: 2.9 Points - TE34
WR Marvin Mims: 1.0 Points - WR110
WR Jaylin Hyatt: 0.0 Points - <WR113
RB Tank Bigsby: (-)2.1 Points - <RB178
HEATING UP
Josh Downs (WR) - Indianapolis Colts
Week 7 marked a pivotal point in what appeared to be a long trend of positive progression for Josh Downs as he led the Colts in all receiving categories, commanding six targets (26.1% Target Share) with five receptions for 125 yards and one touchdown. Downs has been the favorite target of Gardner Minshew for much of the season while fellow wideout Michael Pittman begins to show some visible frustrations with his quarterback’s favoritism. The rookie receiver on the rise cemented himself as a must-start option in Week 8 against a stout Saints secondary, catching seven of nine targets (22.0% Target Share) for 72 yards.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR) - Seattle Seahawks
Jaxon Smith-Njigba built off of his best performance of the season in Week 7 with a solid performance in Week 8, catching three of four targets for 36 yards and his second touchdown of the season as the young wideout continues to improve. Over the past three weeks, Smith-Njigba’s snap percentage has noticeably increased and his yardage totals represent the three highest totals of his career thus far. Although he’s not drawing significantly more targets than his teammates (for now) he continues to provide more and more utility with his limited work.
NAMES TO WATCH
Jonathan Mingo (WR) - Carolina Panthers
Adam Thielen has picked up the Panthers' WR1 role and run to the mountain tops with it, amassing 20.24 PPR Points (WR8 Overall) through the first eight weeks of the season. The position of secondary pass-catcher alongside the 33-year-old veteran is wide open. Jonathan Mingo appears to be slowly developing into that proposed role as he accounted for 99.0% of the team’s snaps in Week 8 with four receptions on five targets for a season-high 62 yards.
BIG ROOKIE MOMENTS
Will Levis Tosses Four Touchdowns In Debut
An unsuspecting hero was written into our story in Week 8 as Will Levis defied all odds with a historic first game. The Titans made no hesitations to name the rookie their starter moving forward. Let’s see if the rookie can make history repeat itself in his second start of the 2023 season.
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By Matt Ward & Themi Michalakis
For a second straight season, I am betting against Mahomes.