Fantasy Football Rookie Stock Watch: Harold Fannin Jr Soars, Kaleb Johnson Plummets
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Week 1 of the NFL season saw its fair share of breakouts and busts. This runs especially for rookies, whom provide common the high-risk high-reward stamp that can win leagues. Some popular league-winning gambles have included Travis Hunter, TreVeyon Henderson, Kaleb Johnson, and Tyler Warren. That is just the beginning of the list. Valuation of these rookies will vary throughout the season, but this is where there stock is trending after Week 1.
NFL ROOKIE STOCK WATCH AFTER WEEK 1
QUARTERBACKS
Cam Ward - Slight Dip
The first overall pick had a brutal matchup to begin his NFL career. The Denver Broncos are considered the best defense in football, and Cam Ward found that out very quickly. He went 12-28 for 112 Yards and 6 Sacks. On the brightside, Cam Ward threw no picks, but he did suffer a fumble. I think better days are ahead, but he is not startable in fantasy football.
Jaxson Dart/Shedeur Sanders - Neutral
The duo of quarterbacks in waiting remain so. Russell Wilson struggled against the Commanders in Week 1, but Brian Daboll named Wilson the Week 2 starter. The story is the exact same scenario for the Browns as Flacco will remain the starter indefinitely.
RUNNING BACKS
Ashton Jeanty - Neutral
The rookie was limited to just 2.0 yards per carry, but credit is due to the Patriots for schematic success. This came with a sacrifice that let Geno Smith throw for 362 Yards. Ashton Jeanty found his first career touchdown and had nearly 80% of team rushing attempts.
TreVeyon Henderson - Neutral
The Patriots ran this backfield just as expected — a pure split between Stevenson and Henderson to start. TreVeyon Henderson had 5 rushes for 27 yards while Rhamondre Stevenson had 7 rushes for 15 yards. Henderson was a notable asset in the passing game on 6 catches for 24 yards.
Quinshon Judkins - Rising
He signed his rookie contract the other day and is now in the ramp-up process to play. Dylan Sampson owned this backfield in Week 1, but neither him or Jerome Ford did any better than 2.4 yards per carry. Judkins has plenty of upside here.
RJ Harvey - Rising
This was unique because JK Dobbins carried the majority of carries, out-rushing RJ Harvey 16-6. However, Harvey broke out a 50 yard rush, bringing his stat-line to 6 Rushes,70 Yards. Big runs equal further opportunity. Stay tuned in Denver.
Broncos rookie running back RJ Harvey reached a top speed of 20.43 mph on his 50-yard run, his first explosive play of his career, and the second-fastest play by a Broncos RB since the start of last season.#TENvsDEN | #BroncosCountrypic.twitter.com/cQwtSaty8x
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 7, 2025
Kaleb Johnson - Very Low
This backfield was commanded by the veterans in Pittsburgh, Kenneth Gainwell and Jaylen Warren. This does not surprise in the slightest after what we saw Arthur Smith do in Atlanta. Kaleb Johnson had 1 carry for -2 yards.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Travis Hunter - Up
Well, the Jaguars used him the way we anticipated. Travis Hunter played the majority of snaps on offense in Week 1, but will vary throughout the season. In 28 offensive snaps, the two-way rookie had 8 Targets while Catching 6 Balls for 33 Yards. It will be vital to stay tuned on Liam Coen's reports each week in regards to playing time for Travis Hunter.
Tetiaroa McMillan - Neutral
He was used as expected, but with no true breakout performance. Tetiaroa McMillan had 9 Targets for 5 Catches and 68 Yards, all solid, notable numbers. His target share was 25.7%.
Matthew Golden - Falling
I would have liked to see more work for the Texas product against the Lions. His matchup against the Lions secondary was not poor by any means, but production was not there. Target share for Matthew Golden was 9% (2 Catches, 2 Targets, 16 Yards). Golden was on the field for 22 offensive snaps. I am not blown away.
Jayden Higgins - Neutral
This game was not ideal to measure Jayden Higgins as a premier rookie option. The Texans struggled mightily against the Rams defense, but the team will almost definitely look up in the coming weeks. Jayden Higgins did lead the team is receiving yards, but not ahead of blowing anyone away. On 27 pass attempts by CJ Stroud, target share was 11% for Jayden Higgins (3 Targets, 2 Catches, 32 Yards).
Dont'e Thornton - Neutral
Dont'e Thornton was among the most popular Week 1 pickups in Fantasy Football. In a moderately crowded receiving core, he will take at least a few weeks to make his mark, if there is one to be had. Dont'e Thornton had a 12% Target Share (4 Targets, 2 Catches, 45 Yards).
Luther Burden III - Falling
I had thought that Burden could have a nice Week 1 debut, but that did not happen. Luther Burden luckily had 18 offensive snaps — not too poor — but he reeled in just 1 catch for -3 yards. I need to see progress here. This WR room belongs to DJ Moore and Rome Odunze.
Isaac Teslaa - Neutral
A fan favorite, we will give Teslaa a mention. He caught his first career touchdown in his season debut. Take this with a huge grain of salt. Teslaa scored while trailing by 21 point with less than a minute left in the game. He played 3 total snaps in the game.
Isaac Teslaa’s first NFL touchdown: pic.twitter.com/BManUMSNlD
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 7, 2025
TIGHT ENDS
Tyler Warren - Skyrocketing
It seems that Tyler Warren has been rising for two months now, but he will keep going until his finds his ceiling, which may be TE1 in fantasy. Tyler Warren had a 31% Target Share in Week, catching 7 of his 9 Targets for 76 Yards.
Colston Loveland - Neutral
He did not breakout in Week 1, but things will look up in future weeks. Loveland played 38 offensive snaps. He only had 2 Catches for 12 Yards, but expect this to rise in better matchups.
Harold Fannin Jr - Rising
It is time to put some respect on the name of the legendary Bowling Green Tight End. Last season, Harold Fannin Jr averaged 155 Yards Per Game at Bowling Green with 117 total receptions and 10 Touchdowns. Many thought that Fannin would take a backseat to David Njoku, but he did not. Lets talk about 9 Targets for 7 Catches and 63 Yards. He will stay involved going forward as a sleeper tight end.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.