Week 2 Fantasy Rookie Power Rankings
What an opening week of football! We had an amazingly boring NFL opener on Thursday night, a massive blowout win by Baltimore over Miami that had several Dolphins’ players requesting trades, and our first tie of the season thanks to Kyler Murray‘s 4th quarter magic because why not. We also witnessed many rookies coming out of the gates flying, I’m looking at you, Marquise Brown, and some others who didn’t match up to the hype surrounding them coming into week one.
If you were a rookie and owned the last name “Brown”, chances are you had an eye-turning first game. Marquise Brown of the Ravens was the co-star to Lamar Jackson in their rout of the Dolphins, hauling in 147 yards and two touchdowns on four receptions. Hollywood was able to showcase his speed on a perfectly placed deep ball and a quick hitter over the middle that he took to the house, both of which occurred in the opening quarter. In Tennessee, A.J. Brown made a case for himself as to why he should be the receiver to own in the Titans offense. A.J. garnered three receptions for 100 yards on his rookie debut, as the Titans ran through Cleveland, 43-13. Outside of Delanie Walker, Brown was the only Titans’ receiver to have over seven yards receiving on the afternoon.
As to rookies who didn’t live up to the hype from a fantasy point of view, insert David Montgomery and Miles Sanders. Montgomery’s situation was a little strange against Green Bay. Only receiving six carries, which was one more than Mike Davis, and one reception, Montgomery easily looked like the most dangerous running back on the field with the ball in his hand. However, he didn’t get the ball and owned the smallest snap count out of himself, Davis, and Cohen. On the other hand, Sanders got a good amount of volume and a higher snap count than Howard and Sproles but just couldn’t muster anything against Washington. Philly falling behind by 17 and having the game flow lean heavily towards passing played a role, but Sanders was disappointing, to say the least in week one.
With some breakout performances in the opening week of the 2019 season, and some duds, let’s see how this week’s power rankings shake out:
Ranking 10-to-8
10. A.J. Brown, WR, Tennessee Titans
With Denzel Ward blanketing Corey Davis all game, someone else on the perimeter had to step up for Mariota, and second-round rookie A.J. Brown answered the call. Brown caught three passes, on four targets, for 100 yards. His longest of the day, 51 yards, allowed him to show off his power and agility, as he stiff-armed one cornerback as he was coming across the middle and juked another defensive back along the sideline. Brown will look to improve upon his stellar performance in week two against Indianapolis.
9. Miles Sanders, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
A disappointing day on the stat sheet doesn’t tell the full story for Sanders. Sanders actually ran in a 19 yard TD that was called back because of a hold on fellow Eagles rookie, 
JJ Arcega-Whiteside. The NFL actually reached out to the Eagles and Whiteside, saying the holding penalty was “erroneous” and should not have been called. To add onto this, the Eagles falling behind early in the game played into an increase in passing opportunities, which limited his work on the ground. Still, Sanders did receive the most running work out of the backfield, 11 carries to Sproles’ nine and Howard’s six, and was on the field for 48% of snaps. Sanders is the most talented back on the team and should find himself busy against Atlanta, who has given up the most receptions to opposing backs over the last four seasons.
8. D.K. Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks
Outside of Chris Carson, Metcalf found himself to be Wilson’s favorite target in their matchup against Cincinnati. Metcalf ended the day with four receptions for 89 yards on six targets. Wilson only ended up throwing 20 pass attempts on the day, six of them to Metcalf, so a 30% target share on the day is a promising sign for things to come in Seattle’s offense for D.K. Metcalf looks to have cemented his place as the WR2 is Seattle behind Lockett, who only had one reception the entire day. Metcalf is already showing to have gained Wilson’s confidence in tight contests.
Ranking 7-to-4
7. David Montgomery, RB, Chicago Bears
Montgomery carried the ball six times for 18 yards and caught one pass for 27 yards in a very disappointing game for Chicago against Green Bay. If you didn’t watch the game, it would be fair to assume to Montgomery wasn’t productive when given the chance, but that isn’t the case. Monty managed to make someone miss on just about every one of his six carries, which ties in perfectly to the Bears raving about how elusive he was in all of camp. After the game, Nagy admitted that Montgomery needed to have his name called more, so expect that to be the case in the next couple weeks. Regardless 45 total yards on seven touches is a testament to what Montgomery is able to do when the ball is in his hands.
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6. Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals
Up until the 4th quarter, Murray, and the rest of the Cardinals offense was a disaster. Murray had gone 9/26 for 70 yards, 0 TD’s and one INT through three-quarters last week, having been sacked four times for 30 yards, one rush attempt for six yards, and posting a 27.4 QBR. Thankfully, his 4th quarter heroics, which led to coming back from being down 18, saved the day for the Cardinals and his stat sheet. Murray’s 4th quarter and OT stats looked like this: 20/28, 238 yards, 2 TD’s, 0 INT’s; two rushes for seven yards. Kyler has to be more consistent for Arizona to compete on a weekly basis, but that 4th quarter gave us all a glimpse of Murray at his best.
5. Marquise Brown, WR, Baltimore Ravens
Outside of Lamar Jackson, Brown stole the show for Baltimore in week one. Brown showed why he was worthy of being a first-round pick after converting four receptions into 148 yards and two touchdowns. However, Brown only played 12 snaps, which can be seen as both negative and positive. Being targeted five times while playing only 12 snaps shows that Jackson wants to find Brown when he’s out there, but playing that limited amount of snaps shows that he could also be prone to having disappointing weeks as well. Until his volume increases, Brown is the definition of a boom or bust player.
4. Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington
Coming into the game McLaurin was listed as the WR1 on Washington’s depth chart, but those are always murky until we see it live. However, McLaurin proved that he is the best receiver for Washington in week one. Terry finished with five receptions for 125 yards on seven targets. McLaurin helped Washington jump to an early lead on Philadelphia with a 69-yard touchdown in the second quarter to make it 17-0, which showcased his ability to also be a deep threat for Washington. Going forward, Washington will most likely find themselves in many negative game scripts where the need to throw, so I don’t see McLaurin’s value dropping anytime soon.
Ranking Top 3
3. Devin Singletary, RB, Buffalo Bills
Although Frank Gore is listed as the Bills #1 running back, Singletary’s value is undeniable. Posting a 70% snap count in week one, Singletary showed that he will be the main choice as thrid down back in their offense, as opposed to T.J. Yeldon. Singletary saw five receptions, on six targets, for 28 yards and ran for 70 yards on four carries as well. It’s only a matter of time until Singletary takes over the role as starting running back from Gore, who had 11 carries for only 20 yards against the Jets defense. Singletary should be owned in all leagues headed into week two, as he looks to take advantage of a vulnerable Giants defense.
2. T.J. Hockenson, TE, Detroit Lions
Hockenson proved worthy of his high draft slot after hauling in six receptions, on nine targets, for 131 yards and one touchdown. In a game highly dominated by the Lions that saw them crumble and tie the Cardinals, Hockenson was the bright spot after a gloomy finish in his debut. T.J. was able to create space for himself throughout the entire game, finding himself wide open on many of his long gains, including his 23-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Hockenson finds himself going up against the Chargers in week two for the Lions’ home opener, where he looks to build on his A+ performance from week one.
- Â Josh Jacobs, RB, Oakland Raiders
Josh Jacobs was everything the Raiders hoped he would be in their week one victory over the Broncos. Although he only managed to garner up 3.7 YPC (23 carries for 85 yards), Jacobs put on display his unique combination of strength and speed on several occasions and added on two touchdowns as well. Jacobs was only targeted through the air once but turned it into a 28-yard reception. With the departure of Antonio Brown and everything that came with him, the Raiders relied on Jacobs a little more than they would have liked, but nonetheless, loved what they saw. Jacobs has a favorable matchup this week against a weak Chiefs defense, so look for him to play a major role once again.
Just Missing Out: Alexander Mattison, RB, Minnesota Vikings; Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys
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