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 OF THE WEEK
Aidan O’Connell (QB) - Las Vegas Raiders
Imagine looking at the schedule early in the season and seeing a Week 15 matchup between the Raiders and the Chargers. Now imagine what you thought the final score could be. Even in our wildest dreams (or nightmares), we could not have expected an absolute thrashing for the Raiders, led by Aidan O’Connell. Antonio Pierce showed this team can hum on offense after getting shut out 3-0 nothing the week prior. A combined score of 84 points seemed wholly impossible after nearly half of the Chargers offense got hurt. Nothing could have prepared us for this and Aidan O’Connell deserves a lot of the praise. It’s not his fault that this is the state of the Chargers franchise and he simply took advantage of their dysfunction. Four passing touchdowns in the first half is a crazy accomplishment for any quarterback, let alone a 4th-round rookie.
ROOKIE STANDOUTS
Sam LaPorta (TE) - Detroit Lions
Sam LaPorta is pacing toward the greatest rookie tight end season in NFL history. The rookie added three touchdowns to his impressive totals in Week 15 and currently ranks as the number-one scoring tight end in fantasy. If LaPorta can maintain his top ranking for the remainder of the season he would become the first rookie tight end to finish as the TE1 overall since Mike Ditka accomplished the feat in 1961.
Jordan Addison (WR) - Minnesota Vikings
Jordan Addison took advantage of weak coverage assignments with Justin Jefferson back in the lineup in Week 15. The rookie wideout found the endzone twice, catching six of six targets for a team-leading 111 receiving yards.
Jahmyr Gibbs (RB) - Detroit Lions
Lions fans are reveling in rejoice with the pair of rookie offensive superstars. Jahmyr Gibbs joins LaPorta as the two rookie standouts finished amongst the top 20 overall scoring assets in fantasy this week. Gibbs finished with 100 rushing yards on 11 carries (9.1 YPC) with two receptions for eight yards and a touchdown both on the ground and through the air.
TOP ROOKIE PERFORMANCES
QB Aidan O'Connell: 33.9 Points - QB3
WR Jordan Addison: 29.1 Points - WR1
TE Sam LaPorta: 28.6 Points - TE1
RB Jahmyr Gibbs: 24.8 Points - RB3
WR Rashee Rice: 23.1 Points - WR8
WR Tre Tucker: 20.7 Points - WR15
WR Jayden Reed: 17.2 Points - WR18
TE Tucker Kraft: 15.7 Points - TE6
WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 14.8 Points - WR23
WR Dontayvion Wicks: 14.7 Points - WR24
TE Elijah Higgins: 14.4 Points - TE7
TE Michael Mayer: 13.9 Points- TE8
ROOKIE DISAPPOINTMENTS
Bijan Robinson (RB) - Atlanta Falcons
Whether or not Arthur Smith should care about our fantasy teams is irrelevant. The Panthers are one of the weakest run defenses in the league and 1st round rookie RB Bijan Robinson got a whopping 7 carries. I’m not even against giving Tyler Allgeier a big workload as it worked out the last time these teams met, but this is just borderline insane. Winning a game is not as simple as saying “Here’s a weak matchup, EXPLOIT IT!” but Week 15 was an active admission of irresponsible incompetence from the Falcons head coach. I hate to see talent waste on this team because a nepo baby wants to prove that this strange brand of football is either palatable or successful. I’m over it.
Dalton Kincaid (TE) - Buffalo Bills
After finishing as a TE1 in 5 consecutive weeks, Dalton Kincaid has slowed down significantly. What Sam LaPorta is doing is rare and not a baseline for someone like Kincaid - at least not right now. Buffalo was running so effectively that they didn’t need to throw, and the return of Dawson Knox was never going to be good for the rookie. He did get 2 targets but there’s only so much passing a team can do when their leading running back is averaging 7.2 yards per carry.
Zay Flowers (WR) - Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens attempted just 24 passes, completing 14, in their resounding win over the Jaguars in Week 15. Isaiah Likely took charge as the team's top pass-catcher, leaving Zay Flowers as a forgotten option in a low-volume passing game plan. The rookie managed a meager seven yards on one reception and two targets as the offense walked to a victory with ease.
REMEDIAL ROOKIE PERFORMANCES
QB Bryce Young: 6.6 Points - QB31
WR Josh Downz: 4.9 Points - WR74
RB Tyjae Spears: 4.7 Points - RB48
WR Zay Flowers: 1.7 Points - WR102
RB Zach Charbonnet: 1.6 Points - RB72
WR Jalin Hyatt: 0.0 Points - >WR116
TE Dalton Kincaid: 0.0 Points - >TE62
RB Tank Bigsby: (-)0.2 Points - RB165
RB Bijan Robinson: (-)0.6 Points - RB167
HEATING UP
Chase Brown (RB) - Cincinnati Bengals
After seeing only two rushing attempts and three targets in his first six games, Chase Brown is seeing a notable uptick in opportunities. He has been fed at least nine touches per game with three targets in both of his last two games. One of those targets went 54 yards to the house as he
showed off his blazing speed. Joe Mixon is still the lead back but Brown is emerging as a nice change-of-pace option for a Bengals offense that was already loaded with talent. The Bengals could perceivably move on from Mixon as early as next year but he is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2025. Brown can still show off his talents but a full workload is not in the cards right now.
NAMES TO WATCH
Dontayvion Wicks (WR) - Green Bay Packers
While Jayden Reed makes his name heard across the fantasy football landscape, fellow rookie wideout and Packers teammate Dontayvion Wicks is flying under the radar as a legitimate producer. Wicks is coming off a career-best outing where he hauled in six of his seven targets for 97 yards. The late-round rookie remains behind a sneakily stacked depth chart of youthful development projects but could easily carve out a sustained role for himself within this offense.
BIG ROOKIE MOMENTS
Jaxon Smith-Njigba Calls Game
The Seahawks rookie had a quietly pedestrian outing before catching a game-winning air missile from Drew Lock with only 33 seconds remaining on the clock, ultimately ending the Eagles’ hopes of locking up the NFC East in Week 15.
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By Matt Ward and Themi Michalakis
For a second straight season, I am betting against Mahomes.