Without a doubt, Week Six was headlined by the performances of rookie QB duo, Kyler Murray and Gardner Minshew II (sorry Daniel Jones). Kyler Murray was able to orchestrate the Cardinals first win of the season in a close one in Cincinnati, while Minshew’s efforts fell just short in a loss to the Panthers. Regardless, both signal callers talents were on full display in their respective contests.
Murray found plenty of success in both the passing and running game against a suspect Bengals defense. Although he didn’t find the endzone through the air, he still threw for 253 yards and kept the ball safe while doing it. Another positive from his performance is that he was only sacked one time, which should be a confidence boost for their offensive line in the coming weeks. Murray also saw himself have his best game on the ground this season, churning out 93 yards and a touchdown to add on to his impressive performance.
Minshew threw for a ridiculous 372 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his 34-27 defeat to Carolina last weekend. It’s looking more and more likely that the Jaguars wasted a lot of money by bringing in Nick Foles this offseason, who just saw himself get Nick Foles’d by Minshew. Gardner now has 10 touchdown passes this season to just one interception, which is crazy for a rookie quarterback who was the backup coming into his first season.
Will Murray and Minshew’s performances see them rise in this week’s rookie power rankings? Let’s take a look!
Per usual, TNF between New England and the New York Giants will be reflected in the Week 7 edition.
10. D.K. Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks (Previous Week: NR)
Metcalf finds his way back into the top-ten after posting his first touchdown reception since week two, to go along with 44 yards on two receptions. In a highly anticipated TNF contest, Metcalf found himself on the end of one of Russell Wilson’s four touchdown passes and was third in receiving yards. Metcalf has solidified himself as Wilson’s third target, behind Lockett and Dissly, which holds some value in a Wilson led offense. Metcalf’s fantasy value as it stands is a depth player that holds more value in deeper leagues or three WR leagues.
9. T.J. Hockenson, TE, Detroit Lions (Previous Week: 9)
Hockenson was on a BYE week in week five so he remains at nine. Hockenson is finding it difficult since his week one breakout game to create chunk yardage down the field, which is surely a testament to his inexperience and brief rapport with Stafford. On paper, Hockenson should find the sledding tough in his upcoming matchup against a formidable Green Bay pass defense.
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8. Mecole Hardman, WR, Kansas City Chiefs (Previous Week: NR)
Hardman has a successful day in week five against Indianapolis, hauling in four receptions on six targets for 79 yards. With Tyreek Hill sidelined, the Chiefs are continuing to feed their young core of receivers. In this contest, it was rookie Byron Pringle who paced the team in yards and receptions (six catches for 103 yards) but Hardman was second to Pringle in both categories. Mahomes has only thrown one touchdown over the last two weeks which has hindered their receiving game, but in a favourable matchup against a porous Texans’ defense, look for the Chiefs offense to get back on track.
7. Miles Sanders, RB, Philadelphia Eagles (Previous Week: 3)
Once again, Sanders couldn’t muster up anything on the ground against the Jets, carrying the ball nine times for just 15 yards. Sanders took a backseat to Jordan Howard in week five, who had 13 carried for 62 yards and a score. Although Sanders was effective on the receiving front, four receptions for 49 yards, his lack of yardage on the ground and losing the primary role to Howard hurts his value moving forward. Head Coach Doug Pederson said after week five that they would ride the hot hand in the coming weeks, but it looks as if Howard has carved out a bigger workload for himself.
6. Marquise Brown, WR, Baltimore Ravens (Previous Week: 5)
Brown found paydirt for the first time since week one, but only showed 22 yards to go along with it. It’s beginning to seem like those first couple of weeks for Brown may be an outlier in his production. Jackson’s comfort blanket clearly lies at the tight end position, no matter if it’s Mark Andrews, Hayden Hurst, or Nick Boyle, so Hollywood isn’t going to be receiving the love we saw him get early in the season. Brown has moved out of the category of being an every-week starter, but can still be a decent FLEX play with enormous upside.
5. Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals (Previous Week: 8)
I was fortunate enough to watch Murray play last weekend in Cincinnati and saw his legs on display, and I can say first hand that he is just as electrifying in person as he looks on TV. Murray posted a solid game through the air, 253 yards, zero TD’s, zero INT’s, but was magnificent on the ground, 10 carries for 93 yards and a touchdown. Part of his success had to do with his opponent in the Bengals, but nonetheless, Murray was great en route to the Cardinals first win of the season. Murray now finds himself inside the top-ten at the QB position in fantasy and should be able to maintain that moving along through the season.
4. David Montgomery, RB, Chicago Bears (Previous Week: 4)
Still having Monty this high might be because of my personal bias for him, actually it definitely is, and this might be the last week I’m comfortable doing that. Montgomery found the endzone last week, but on a measly 11 carries and 25 yards with it. The Bears found themselves trailing the Raiders the entire game which might have a role in his low production, but Monty was only used once in the pass game as well. The entire Bears offense has been atrocious this season, ranked 30th in total offense, so it will be difficult for Montgomery to produce if the offense can’t get it going either.
3. Gardner Minshew II, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars (Previous Week: 6)
Outside of Minshew’s three (!!!) fumbles, he was lights out against Carolina. Posting a 374 yard and two touchdown stat line to pair with 42 yards on the ground, Minshew couldn’t have been much more effective for Jacksonville. If it wasn’t for McCaffrey carrying the entire Panthers offense on the other side of the ball, there’s a good chance Minshew would have just led the Jags to their third straight victory. Minshew currently finds himself at #11 at the QB position in fantasy this season, and it wouldn’t be outrageous to see him slide into the top-ten very soon.
2. Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Redskins (Previous Week: 2)
Coming off of an injury, McLaurin was facing New England, so we can all assume how that went. McLaurin has three receptions for 51 yards on seven targets in a matchup where nobody was expecting much, if anything, from the Redskins. We’ll give McLaurin the benefit of the doubt this week and for not finding the endzone for the first time in his early career. In a contest against Miami this week, expect Terry to return back to top-15 receiver form.
- Â Josh Jacobs, RB, Oakland Raiders (Previous Week: 1)
Jacobs had the best game of his rookie tenure in week five against Chicago, running for 123 yards and a couple of touchdowns on 26 carries. Jacobs was once again the catalyst in an Oakland offense that needed someone to step up if they had a chance to beat the Bears. Jacobs was also used some in the passing game to the tune of three receptions for 20 yards. Jacobs is beginning to prove that his lofty third-round ADP was actually too low for the 11th ranked fantasy RB thru five weeks. Jacobs has a legitimate chance to be a top-ten running back in his rookie season, which would be a surprise to many, including myself.
Just Missing Out: A.J. Brown, WR, Tennessee Titans; Daniel Jones, QB, New York Giants; Byron Pringle, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
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