Week 4 Fantasy Rookie Power Rankings

Who knew that the Giants could win without Saquan Barkley?

Daniel Jones absolutely stole the show in Week 3 after his amazing comeback performance against the Buccaneers, which surely has Giants fan second-guessing their opinion about Jones after his warm welcome to New York on draft day. Jones proved to the league last week that he has plenty of talent, enough to hold his 6th overall draft selection to that standard. He also proved that Eli Manning has been holding back the offense amid the offensive line struggles and weak depth at wide receiver. It seems as if the changing of the guard is finally taking place in the Meadowlands.

On the darker side of the spectrum, T.J. Hockenson only gained one more yard through the air than everyone that watched him from their couch! Now with two receptions for eight yards in his past two weeks, it’s looking like Hockenson’s Week 1 headliner might be a fluke and a glimpse of what he can turn into once he becomes more established in Detroit’s offense.

Week Three, for the most part, was a quiet week for rookies as a group with the exception of a few names. Let’s dive in and see how their performances have shaken up this week’s edition of rookie power rankings.

Per usual, TNF between Philadelphia and Green Bay will be reflected in the Week Five edition.

10. Gardner Minshew II, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars (Previous Week: NR)

Minshew led the Jaguars to their first win of the season in week three, a 20-7 snoozefest against the Titans. Minshew once again showed how efficient he can be, throwing for 204

yards and two touchdowns with a 66.67% pass completion rate. Through two starts, Minshew’s passer rating sits at 102.7 to go along with his three touchdown passes and zero interceptions. His ability to run, 80 yards on 11 carries, also offers a bonus to his fantasy value. Minshew will look to bring the Jaguars back to .500 on the season this weekend against Denver, where he should be seen as a low-end QB play in most leagues.

9. Devin Singletary, RB, Buffalo Bills (Previous Week: 4)

Singletary did not play in week three, as he sat out with a hamstring injury. Regardless, during the first two weeks of the season, Singletary looked very efficient when he had the ball in his hands. Frank Gore is still the starter in Buffalo and will hammer down that role even more if Singletary continues to miss time, but I still expect Singletary to take over the job midway through the season.

8. Daniel Jones, QB, New York Giants (Previous Week: NR)

336 yards passing, 28 rushing yards, and four total touchdowns in his first game as the

starter for the New York Football Giants. Jones led the Giants from a 28-10 third-quarter deficit all the way back to win, 32-31, with the help of the Buccaneers’ kicker at the end of the game. His performance against Tampa Bay all but locked himself in as the Giants’ starter moving forward in the season. Jones was able to showcase his mobility on multiple occasions, especially his touchdown run to the pylon in the third quarter. With Golden Tate’s arrival on the horizon to give Jones another weapon, paired along with his running upside, Jones could very well be a viable fantasy starter even with Saquan Barkley’s injury.

7. Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals (Previous Week: 5)

After back to back 300+ yard passing performances to open up his NFL career, Murray struggled mightily against the Panthers last week. Passing for 173 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, Murray found it hard to make things happen through the air and his 4.0 YPPA is a testament to that. He did have some success on the ground, eight carries for 69 yards, but his inefficiency through the air was too much for the Cardinals to overcome. Murray’s completion percentage has improved every game so far, but the Cardinals keep finding themselves coming from behind. Murray is still a decent choice at the QB spot going forward.

6. Mecole Hardman, WR, Kansas City Chiefs (Previous Week: 10)

Hardman has now recorded a touchdown in two straight games, this time with 97 yards in his stat line as well. Hardman has struck gold landing in Kansas City and has been one of the beneficiaries of Tyreek Hill’s injury. Although the volume isn’t quite there, only six receptions in the last two weeks, being the primary deep threat in Patrick Mahomes’ offense carries plenty of upside. Hardman has a favorable matchup this week against a Lions’ defense that almost let the Eagles comeback against them last week.

5. Miles Sanders, RB, Philadelphia Eagles (Previous Week: 9)

Sanders once again improved on his week two rushing performance in week three and was a threat in the air as well, hauling in two receptions for 73 yards. Doug Pederson’s faith in Sanders is showing week by week by letting Sanders slowly handle a larger and larger role in the offense. Still, Jordan Howard is still there behind him and Sanders has yet to do enough as the starter to confidentially take the lion’s share away from the rest of the backfield in Philadelphia.

4. David Montgomery, RB, Chicago Bears (Previous Week: 6)

Montgomery was able to make fellow running back, Mike Davis, irrelevant once again with his performance against Washington. Gaining 67 yards on 13 carries to go along with 14 yards on three receptions, Montgomery had his best YPC on the short season and caught more passes than in the first two weeks combined. Monty did get unlucky again, as Trubisky threw a touchdown pass to Taylor Gabriel as they were on the one-yard line. Montgomery has a tough matchup this week against Minnesota, but should still see a healthy volume of carries.

3. Marquise Brown, WR, Baltimore Ravens (Previous Week: 2)

In a game which was looking to be a shootout, and still finished 33-28, Brown did not find much success. Although targeted nine times, Brown only caught two passes for 49 yards. Lamar Jackson struggled through the air all to all of his receivers against the Chiefs, so there wasn’t much Brown could do to help his case. Hollywood will take on a suspect Cleveland defensive secondary this week where he looks to get back on track.

2. Josh Jacobs, RB, Oakland Raiders (Previous Week: 1)

Jacobs ran the ball 10 times for just 44 yards last week in their contest against Minnesota. Oakland found themselves down from the get-go, so running the ball was a second option for most of the game. Jacobs didn’t record a reception either, although he was targeted twice. Starting the season off with two solid performances was very promising from Jacobs, but he is still a part of an average NFL offense, and with that will come some bumpy performances here and there as the team struggles as a whole. Jacobs is still a high-end RB2 moving forward.

1. Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Redskins (Previous Week: 3)

McLaurin is beginning to show that he isn’t a one-game wonder in the fantasy world, but that he is a legitimate every week starter and sits as the WR8 through three weeks. McLaurin caught another touchdown pass in week three and now has caught a touchdown in every game this season. He also has at least 60 yards in all of these games as well. Keenum and McLaurin have created a great rapport with each other in a very short time, and when the time comes that Dwayne Haskins takes over behind center, he and McLaurin already have a relationship built from their time together at Ohio State. As he faces the Giants this weekend, the time to buy low on McLaurin is running out, as he is primed to have another impactful game in week four.

Just Missing Out: D.K. Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks; Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys; T.J. Hockenson, TE, Detroit Lions; Alexander Mattison, RB, Minnesota Vikings

ATTN Dynasty Commissioners: Do you want to do something cool for your league? How about a 1-hour live show dedicated to YOUR league? Team-by-team breakdowns, rankings, and more. For details and to book a show, visit: GoingFor2.com/plp.