I have the privilege to take over writing about rookies in a year where rookies seem… fine. The lack of a clear-cut favorite does lead to an exciting race for Fantasy Rookie of the Year, though!
My favorite thing about doing this rookie recap is seeing how nobody really knows anything. Dameon Pierce looked amazing preseason, crept up in fantasy drafts to be a lot of teams’ RB 2, and put up a whopping 4.1 points. Vegas darling George Pickens had one catch for three yards. I still trust my eyes and believe these players will be good, but I also need to update my prescription on my glasses. The following is a list of the top 5 rookies of the week last week, based on PPR scoring.
Embed from Getty Images5. Garrett Wilson (9.2)
Slow start to the rookie MVP race. Garrett Wilson caught half the balls thrown his way (4/8) for 52 yards. Only one ball came Wilson’s way in the first half. The rest came in the fourth quarter where Flacco threw the ball THIRTY ONE times. To put that in perspective, Josh Allen threw the ball 31 times the whole game and actually scored multiple touchdowns.
4. Breece Hall (10.1)
It is quite humbling to see the first two players on my column be Jets. Jets nation, I apologize. Breece Hall was the first running back off the board in this year’s NFL draft. Admittedly, I didn’t think he’d do much based on the fact that he’s a Jet and Michael Carter didn’t get enough credit last year. Carter did outpace Hall, but they both performed fine against the Ravens. At best, Hall is a Flex play for now, but if Michael Carter goes down, Hall could really take off.
3. Isaiah Pacheco (12.2)
Remember when Clyde Edwards-Helaire was overdrafted in fantasy heading into his rookie season? A solid running back going to the high-powered Chiefs’ offense taken in the first round had to be fantasy success, right? A lot of fantasy managers were sad after realizing they threw away a first-rounder on a kid that would end up being the 46th best RUNNING BACK in fantasy. Well, this year the Chiefs went the opposite way and drafted Isiah Pacheco in the seventh and, compared to Edwards-Helaire’s rookie season, Pacheco is already off to a better start. To be fair, most of his touches came in the second half when the game was already out of control, but it will be interesting to watch going forward. The other problem is that all of the running backs in Kansas City were productive, so it’s hard to say who’s going to get the ball or even if they’re any good. Maybe the Cardinals are just really bad…
2. Drake London (12.4)
Drake London tied Kyle Pitts for first in targets on the Atlanta Falcons this past weekend against the Saints. On one hand, the other Falcons receivers are, unsurprisingly, not good. On the other, he tied the monster that is Kyle Pitts in targets and outproduced him. He is the most talented receiver on the team and should continue to have steady fantasy production.
1. Jahan Dotson (18.5)
Jahan Dotson was the big surprise of the week! With 3 catches for 2 touchdowns, Dotson led all rookies in fantasy points for the week. It feels like those numbers are unsustainable for the long haul, but we will see. It’s unlikely he’ll outpace Terry McLaurin on a week to week basis, but who knows. Maybe the Penn State product is the real deal. Congratulations on coming out of the gate strong for Fantasy Rookie of the Year!
Here’s how the rookies look so far according to my fancy Google Sheets bar graph. Tune in next week when it turns into a line graph!
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