Ultimate Fantasy Rookie Performances to Follow: Week 10

I was legitimately worried that single digits were going to make the top 5 countdown this week. Between bye weeks and injuries to the best players, it was down to Monday night to save us from that mediocrity. Luckily, Chris Olave came in and saved the day! 

5. Chris Olave (13.1)

This was less of an indictment on Chris Olave’s play and more about how Baltimore absolutely dominated the Saints on defense. The defensive line applied constant pressure on Andy Dalton, who still managed to find Olave 6 times for 71 yards. It may be a rough couple weeks for Olave and the Saints offense, with the Pittsburgh Steelers, LA Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the upcoming schedule.

4. Tyler Allgeier (13.8)

The Atlanta Falcons are a run first team that is now splitting the carries between THREE RUNNING BACKS.  Allgeier was the most efficient (10 carries for 99 yards), but Cordarrelle Patterson has priority for the goal line work. It will be hard to maintain value for three backs in any offense, but the Carolina Panthers are terrible at stopping the run, so next week should be fine.

A quick letter to Arthur Smith:

Dear Arthur Smith,

Please throw the ball sometimes. You are wasting both Drake London and Kyle Pitts. Your organization drafted London number 8 overall in the NFL draft. PLEASE USE HIM. 3 catches for 23 yards WAS THE THIRD HIGHEST ON THE TEAM. MARIOTA THREW FOR A TOTAL OF 129 YARDS. THAT IS NOT GOOD FOR A QUARTERBACK. I FEEL LIKE I’M TAKING CRAZY PILLS.

Sincerely, 

A concerned writer in the fantasy football community and football fan

3. Dameon Pierce (13.9)

Houston is hellbent on grinding Dameon Pierce into dust in this completely lost season. Maybe they’re just trying to make the games go as fast as they possibly can to move on to the next draft. Running backs in general are underproducing this year, so 27 carries for 139 yards is a solid number.

I’ve seen and/or heard (I consume a lot of fantasy football content and it all gets jumbled sometimes) that Dameon Pierce is the frontrunner for Offensive Rookie of the Year and I just don’t agree. First of all, Breece Hall will forever be the OROY for 2022 (RIP to his season). He hasn’t played for two weeks and is still the second highest scoring rookie in fantasy football this season. Second, Kenneth Walker is only behind Pierce by 5 points and has only been the starter for 4 weeks. We won’t know until it’s over but between the two, I think KW3 wins. And all of this is ignoring Chris Olave who is only one point away… 

My wife wanted to point out OROY is not based on fantasy points. Although technically true, I would argue that fantasy points are indicative of performance.

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2. Garrett Wilson (17.9)

Garrett Wilson is becoming fun to watch again (unless this is the week you happen to both get to watch him and you’re against him in fantasy)! THE JETS ARE A LEGITIMATE TEAM. Wilson caught 8 out of 9 passes for 92 yards. This week, stats wise, the Jets seem eerily similar to the Atlanta Falcons. Imagine what Garrett Wilson could do if he had a quarterback who threw the ball more than 25 times in a game.

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1. Kenneth Walker III (27.9)

The juggernaut that is KW3 ran the ball 26 times for 109 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also had 3 receptions for another 20 yards. One of the major differences between KW3 and Dameon Pierce is KW3 is on a team that actually wins football games. The Buccaneers in Germany may make next week a little dicey for Walker, but he is a must start.

The weekly data makes me sad this week, friends.

Season totals

It’s getting rough out there guys. I appreciate your continued readership.

Sincerely,

@MeLlamoMoron

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