Week 3 Rookie Report

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:

Jayden Reed (WR) - Green Bay Packers 

Christian Watson’s continued absence has allowed Jayden Reed to take the target share lead in Green Bay. After Romeo Doubs, no other WR has earned targets quite like Reed in this offense. We have to be realistic, though. Reed is the half-PPR WR15 at the moment but over 84% of his points have come from his two TDs. Unless he goes through a wild TD hot streak like Christian Watson did last year, it is going to be nearly impossible to sustain those numbers for more than a few weeks. Once Watson returns, it’ll be even harder. Regardless, his 13 targets lead the team and eight of them came this past Sunday. The Falcons were a difficult matchup, especially with Aaron Jones out, but they still scored 24 points. This offense could be legit and Reed should continue to be a high-upside option, especially as matchups improve. 

Anthony Richardson (QB) - Indianapolis Colts 

The final statline won’t give you the context you need since Richardson left the game with an injury but the rookie QB was on an incredible pace. The young signal-caller only played 32% of snaps but finished as the QB19. Richardson finished 6/10 for 56 passing yards and added 35 yards and 2 TDs on 3 rushing attempts. Richardson has had two very ideal matchups so far but it is good to see him playing so well so early on in his career. He will need to start protecting himself more though if we want to see him on the field on a regular basis. 

TOP ROOKIE PERFORMANCES:

QB C.J. Stroud: 21.5 Points - QB13 

RB Bijan Robinson: 19.2 Points - RB8 

WR Marvin Mims Jr: 18.3 Points - WR9 

WR Puka Nacua: 15.1 Points - WR14 

WR Jordan Addison: 13.2 Points - WR20 

TE Sam LaPorta: 8.8 Points - TE8 

ROOKIE DISSAPOINTMENTS:

Tank Bigsby (RB) - Jacksonville Jaguars 

Tank Bigsby offseason hype continued through Week 1 after the rookie ran seven times and scored a TD in his first career game. While there was little offensive success to be found for the Jaguars in Week 2’s loss to the Chiefs, it is notable that Bigsby did not receive a single carry or target despite playing just two fewer snaps than he did in Week one. Even D’Ernest Johnson was able to get a carry and a target in this game. It is unlikely that you started Bigsby outside of very deep leagues but he is still rostered quite highly and was expected to carve out a role as a goal-line back alongside Travis Etienne. The Texans present an opportunity for a get-right game but his short-term future is murky at best.

SLOW STARTS:

RB Zach Charbonnet: 3 Points - RB48 

RB Sean Tucker: 0.7 Points - RB64 

WR Rashee Rice: 2 Points - WR90 

WR Quentin Johnston: 0.7 Points - WR107 

NAMES TO WATCH:

Jalin Hyatt (WR) - New York Giants 

The Giants drafted Hyatt in the 3rd round as a speedy receiving option after a phenomenal junior season at Tennessee. Hyatt was held without a catch in his first NFL game as the Giants failed to find any success on offense. In a much friendlier situation, Hyatt was able to make a downfield impact in Week two against the Arizona Cardinals. His 89 receiving yards lead all Giants WRs and only trails TE Darren Waller, despite just three targets. Don’t rush to add Hyatt just yet. His efficiency is nice but this is an extremely limited sample in nearly perfect conditions. He’s not even playing half the snaps of the top 3 WRs yet. A 2nd half boom could be in the cards. 

Dontayvion Wicks (WR) - Green Bay Packers 

Jayden Reed is getting all of the hype but Dontayvion Wicks had a great showing against the Falcons. On the first offensive play, Wicks nearly caught a bomb from Jordan Love that was called for DPI, and later caught a 32-yard TD. With a 16% target share while finishing third among Packers WRs in both snaps and routes run, Wicks could emerge as another threat for the Packers. Similar to Jayden Reed, you should expect a hit to his volume when Christian Watson returns, but the TD potential for these WRs is sky high. Wicks should be watched very closely to see how he fits in as the team gets healthier and more in sync.

Jaleel McLaughlin (RB) - Denver Broncos 

The Broncos have not had many red zone rushing attempts but no player has received more than one through two games. McLaughlin is one of five players to receive a single red zone rushing attempt and is the only one to turn that carry into a TD. McLaughlin is a deep backup add at best but you should be checking in on his usage every week or so. 

HEATING UP:

Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR) - Seattle Seahawks 

JSN was regarded as the best WR in this draft class but his slow start may be off-putting. It is a crowded receiving room in Seattle but Smith-Njigba has already hit 11 total targets and 5+ in each of his first two games. While that has only amounted to 47 receiving yards, he is tied with D.K. Metcalf for the 2nd most targets on the team behind Tyler Locektt’s 14. Only one other WR - Jake Bobo - has a target on the team while three TEs have 4+ each. Seattle may not throw the ball 41 times every week, but Geno Smith is continuing to show that he can string together some really impressive performances. JSN should continue to operate as the WR3 and better performances are certainly in his future. This is a rookie we knew we had to be patient with so don’t be afraid to continue to roster him in 12+ team leagues. The big games will come. 

Jahmyr Gibbs (RB) - Detroit Lions 

Even with an injury to David Montgomery late in the game, Gibbs wasn’t used as the team’s RB1. At least that clears up any doubts about his role on this offense for now. Still, he finished with 7 rushing attempts for the second week in a row and increased his targets from 2 to 9, boasting a 25.71% target share in the shootout loss. Gibbs has a chance to make a big impact in the receiving game but his rushing role is still very much complementary.

Tank Dell (WR) - Houston Texans 

Nathaniel “Tank” Dell won’t get as many looks as he should with Nico Collins being the talk of the town. The 3rd round pick was targeted 10 times and caught seven balls for 72 yards and a TD in Week 2, his first week seeing relevant snaps. C.J. Stroud threw the ball 44 times in Week 1 and 47 times in Week two against the Colts. As a team with a projected negative game-script nearly every week, that number isn’t too far off from what his season-long finish can be, even if it does seem very high. A juicy away game against the Jaguars next week should make Dell and the rest of the Houston receivers startable, albeit with low floors across the board. 

Marvin Mims Jr. (WR) - Denver Broncos 

Concerns about the Broncos offensive line continue on with Russell Wilson getting sacked a whopping seven times against the Commanders in Week two. Russell Wilson and the passing game looked much better overall, though. Wilson threw for 308 yards, 3 TDs, and 1 INT. A chunk of that production came on a hail mary at the end of the game but we still saw some great production from the WRs. Despite making two big plays, including a long TD, Mims is still the odd man out in the Broncos WR pecking order despite the insane production on limited routes and targets to start the season. It will take some time for Mims to cement himself in a larger role in the offense it seems but it is encouraging to see his big play potential.

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By Themi Michalakis