ROOKIE WATCH – WEEK 7
By Steve Uetz
As we continue to navigate through BYE week madness; the reliance of rookies remains in a unique place! Many of the rookies discussed in this weekly series have held consistent FLEX or FLEX(+) type usage for fantasy expectations and Week 7 was a bit of a doozy for some. WARNING: totally lame Halloween “jokes” looming…
We had some strong performances, some curious (both positive and negative) performances, and some devastatingly bad performances…You could say the bad performances were a bit, wait for it, spooky…
Big names that did not play this weekend…Jonathon Taylor (and injured Michael Pittman), Justin Jefferson, and JK Dobbins were all on regularly scheduled BYE…however Bryan Edwards and Jalen Reagor were out due to injuries.
Let’s dive into some of the Week 7 highs and lows…
Studs:
James Robinson, Antonio Gibson, Tee Higgins, Joe Burrow, and Justin Herbert…more on them below…
Duds:
Chase Claypool, CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy, and Cam Akers… let’s get these out of the way…
WR CeeDee Lamb - 0 catches on 5 targets, gained 1 yard on 1 carry in the dismal game against the division rival Washington Football team. It really can't get much worse…
WR Chase Claypool – an unfortunate outing as he has been considered a FLEX play by many. Claypool caught his only target for -2 yards…similar to Lamb; it really can't get much worse…
WR Jerry Jeudy – an incredibly disappointing outing for both Jeudy and the Broncos as a whole. Jeudy caught 2 of 4 targets for 20 yards…The Broncos were just simply outclassed by division rival Kansas City…better days ahead!
\RB Cam Akers – just like last week, he was “active” but didn’t receive a carry or a target…patience will be required here; a dynasty hold! He is not a dud in the same way Lamb and Claypool were due to their failed FLEX type expectations; but even as a deep bench spot placeholder, Akers is a drop candidate in redraft leagues.
You could say these players turned into, wait for it, pumpkins… (I’m sorry - please continue reading)
Here are some minor or emerging situations and stats…some new names to the mix…
RB Zack Moss – a very efficient effort! 10 total touches: 7 carries gaining 47 yards while catching all 3 of his targets for 25 yards. He is making a case to be involved more compared to starter Devin Singletary…
RB AJ Dillon – In Aaron Jones’ absence Dillon handled 5 carries but only gained 11 yards…
WR Donovan Peoples-Jones – OBJ got hurt early in this contest making way for DPJ’s increased opportunity. DPJ caught all 3 of his targets for 56 yards and a TD! With OBJ’s unfortunate season long absence, DPJ is now gifted with a great opportunity to show us what he’s got!
TE Hunter Bryant – In Austin Hooper’s absence, Hunter Bryant made the most of his opportunity catching 4 of 5 targets for 56 yards and scoring 2 TDs!
WR Marquez Callaway – In Michael Thomas’ and Emmanuel Sanders’ absence, Callway led the Saints in targets (!!) catching 8 of 10 targets for 75 yards!
WR Denzel Mims – Mims makes his return from IR and leads the (hapless) Jets in receiving (!!) catching 4 of 7 targets for 42 yards!
WR KJ Hamler – Hamler continues to get unique usage as he gained 10 yards on one carry and caught 2 of his 3 targets for 24 yards. Better days ahead for Hamler and the Broncos as a whole, I hope…
RB La’Michal Perine – Perine scores the Jets lone TD (!!) on the ground gaining 40 yards on 11 carries and caught 2 of 3 targets for 16 yards. Pretty solid usage post-Le’Veon Bell; I would like to see improved efficiency but he is an emerging player with borderline usable upside for the playoff push…
WR Henry Ruggs – Ruggs caught 2 of his 3 targets for 35 yards and gained 10 yards on 1 rushing attempt…Las Vegas just continued to spread to ball around well; would love to see Ruggs get more volume instead of *checks notes* Nelson Agholor… but hey, stranger things have transpired in 2020…
WR Tyler Johnson – Johnson caught both of his targets for 4 yards and a TD! That’s a TD two weeks in a row! An interesting situation here as now with Chris Godwin likely going to miss the two weeks with a fractured finger; Tyler Johnson gets a good opportunity before Antonio Brown joins in the action…
TE Albert Okwuegbunam – In the humiliating defeat against the juggernaut Chiefs, Okwuegbunam led the Broncos in receiving catching all 7 of his targets for 60 yards! A very impressive outing from the man whose full name contains half of the letters in the alphabet!
Now for some of the major Rookie action from week 7…
QB Joe Burrow: In the close but losing effort Joe Burrow had a magnificent performance. He was responsible for 4 TDs; throwing 3 and rushing for 1! He completed 35 of 47 pass attempts for 406 yards 3 TDs and 1 INT, while gaining 34 yards and scoring 1 TD on 6 carries. This high scoring contest accounted for 71 total points which is just delicious for fantasy purposes; Burrow did not disappoint! The race for Offensive Rookie of year is getting interesting now…
QB Justin Herbert: Justin Herbert stole the show in this winning effort! He dominated in the passing game completing 27 of 43 passes for 347 yards and 3 TD! He also gained 66 yards and 1 TD on 9 carries! He is now entering the offensive Rookie of the Year conversation… you could say that Herbert, wait for it, carved his way through the Jaguars defense like a pumpkin…
RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire: In the first game sharing the backfield duties with Le’Veon Bell, CEH still did his thing. He handled only 8 carries gaining 46 yard but got a TD! He also only caught 1 of 4 targets for 17 yards. The TD saved his day for fantasy purposes, but the real story of this game was how out of control it got for Denver as KC’s defense was supremely dominant.
RB James Robinson: James Robinson simply cannot be stopped! An absolute studly performance from Robinson as he gained 119 yards and scored a TD on 22 carries while catching 4 of 6 targets for 18 yards and a TD! That is elite usage and he continues to produce in the fantasy realm. He is now your overall RB2…whoa baby! He will now unfortunately enter the BYE week… Hopefully he can rest up and continue to put out performances that are as sweet as candy… OK THAT WAS THE LAST ONE, I PROMISE!
RB Antonio Gibson: Gibson had an impressive performance in the dominant defeat of division rival Dallas! Gibson gained 128 yards and scored 1 TD on 20 carries! Love to see it! Week 8 he is on a BYE but he will remain a solid FLEX option moving forward!
RB D’Andre Swift: Swift does it again! He totaled 14 touches for 48 yard and a TD! He wasn’t very efficient on the ground gaining 27 yards on 9 carries but did score a TD! He also contributed 4 catches on 5 targets for 21 yards. The usage alone will keep him in our lineups moving forward!
RB Joshua Kelley: Kelley lacked rushing efficiency in the winning effort gaining 29 yards on 12 carries but showed well in the passing game catching all 5 targets for 24 yards. He remains a deep league FLEX play while Ekeler remains on IR.
WR Tee Higgins: Burrow to Higgins… *swoon*… Higgins does it again! He caught all 5 of his targets for 71 yards and a TD! Another stout performance puts Higgins in FLEX territory! In this contest Green/Boyd dominated the targets share but Higgins continues to do big things with the opportunities that he is given!
WR Lavishka Shenault: Shenault led the Jaguars in receiving in the losing effort as he caught all 3 of his targets for 44 yards. The Jags now enter the BYE week with some soul searching to do; perhaps they come back to action in week 9 fully recharged!WR Brandon Aiyuk: In the dominant defeat of the New England Patriots, Aiyuk led the 49ers in receiving! He caught 6 of 7 targets for 115 yards! Aiyuk will only continue to trend up as he enters FLEX play territory with Deebo Samuel sidelined likely for week 8 and 9.
IDP
Kenneth Murray: Murray returned to action from the BYE week and totaled 5 tackles (3 solo) and 1 pass deflection. Patrick Queen returns from his BYE in week 8… so now with both of their BYE weeks passed it will be fun to see how this competition shapes up!
Krys Barnes: Ok ok ok, this guy has become of my favorite players to follow to this season. As I said last week; Barnes is a man on a mission! In the dominant defeat Barnes totaled 8 tackles (4 solo) with 1 sack and 1 tackle for loss! He led or tied for the lead in team tackles for two weeks in a row, he is cementing his place as part of this tough defensive group.
Antoine Winfield: Winfield is a prominent member of this intimidating defensive group. He was a bit disappointing for fantasy purposes; only totaling 2 tackles (1 solo) and 1 pass deflection but variance is part of the IDP game.
Jeremy Chinn: Chinn with another solid performance… I am becoming a broken record with this guy… As long as the broken record is suggesting positive progression then we will take it! Chinn totaled 8 tackles (4 solo) and 1 pass deflection! He remains IDP DB lineup cement!
Steve Uetz has over 15 years of experience in fantasy football. He enjoys writing fantasy football content and articles. He is very passionate about Auction Leagues. Other than his own fantasy football teams, Steve is a huge fan of the Philadelphia Eagles & Penn State! Steve (@FantasyLadder on Twitter) is very accessible and involved in the Fantasy Football Twitter community! Reach out to him anytime for questions or advice! His primary goal is to help you win your leagues.