Ultimate Fantasy Rookie Performances to Follow: Week 5
Finally, in the fourth week of the NFL, we had our first Kenny Pickett sighting. It’s officially time to throw money at him as offensive rookie of the year because all awards are designed to be given to quarterbacks for some reason (sorry for your consistent production not mattering, Breece Hall). The headline everyone is burying this week is how every pass Kenny Pickett threw was a completion (13 for 13)! You just have to ignore that three of those passes went to the other team. Imagine what will happen if he plays for a full half! Probably some incompletions and more interceptions. Still exciting to see someone who can actually get the ball to his playmakers on a team that desperately needs some offense.
5. Rachaad White (14.6)
I’m going to be honest – the Rachaad White stat line is very confusing to me. Tampa Bay was behind most of the game, so White and Fournette had the same number of carries (3). White also had five catches for 50 yards. There was a touchdown and a fumble mixed in there as well. Pluses and minuses. Fournette will still be the guy going forward, but it seems like they’re using White more as the season goes on. Unfortunately, he’s not a valuable fantasy asset quite yet.
4. George Pickens (16.2)
THERE’S MY GUY! 6 catches for 102 yards is an actual exciting NFL stat line! The real fun for Pickens started at halftime when Mike Tomlin finally benched Mitchell Trubisky. 41⅔% of Kenny Pickett’s targets were to George Pickens. Diontae Johnson only got 16⅔%. Although it is only a small sample size, this is potentially very exciting stuff moving forward for Pickens owners (and Steelers fans). We shall see if these rookies continue their bromance to fantasy stardom. The next five weeks are going to be a challenge though. There are some tough defenses for the Steelers and their shaky offensive line, as they have Bills, Buccaneers, Dolphins, Eagles and Saints coming up.
3. Breece Hall (16.3)
Breece Hall is the last man standing on the “been on every Ultimate Fantasy Rookie Performances to Follow” list. He has been 19th best rookie overall this season, simultaneously justifying his ADP and laughing in my face for not believing in a Jet. This week, he had 17 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown and caught 2 out of 6 passes for 12 yards. The Jets backfield is no longer an even split with Hall getting a full ⅔ of all touches over Michael Carter. Stats will only get better for Breece when they’re playing teams not named the Pittsburgh Steelers.
2. Chris Olave (16.7)
Chris Olave was Andy Dalton’s favorite target this week. He caught 4 out of 7 passes for 67 yards and a touchdown. If Andy Dalton continues to be the QB going forward it opens up an interesting paradox. With Dalton starting, they should have the ball more because he is better at taking care of it and avoiding turnovers, as opposed to Jameis Winston. However, Dalton is known for his average at-best strength, which will limit Olave’s big play potential. Hopefully, this works out in the Saints’ favor as well in the United States, as it did in London last week.
1. Dameon Pierce (25.9)
The Dameon Pierce we saw during the preseason finally showed up for a real game. He had 131 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. One of those carries was a beautiful 75-yard run. Throw in another 6 catches for 8 yards for the PPR players and this was a solid day. He was the 6th best running back of the week and is currently the 14th best on the year in fantasy points scored. In a weird year for running backs (looking at your number one overall pick in fantasy Jonathan Taylor), he’s as good of a weekly dart throw as anyone else at the position.
Sorry Wednesday readers! Technical problems and a two-hour traffic jam prevented me from making the graphs on Tuesday. I plan on circling back Wednesday night and editing them in. Thank you for your continued readership and come back for data beautification!
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