Cam Skattebo, Emeka Egbuka Rise In Week 4 Fantasy Football Rookie Stock Watch
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Rookie news looms very heavily in the NFL this week. Mostly so as Jaxson Dart was named the Giants Week 4 starter just yesterday. Without even playing a game, he is already among the favorites to be Offensive Rookie of the Year. He goes with his counterpart, Cam Skattebo while Harold Fannin Jr, Tetairoa McMillan, and Quinshon Judkins begin to show great promise. On the other hand, Cam Ward, TreVeyon Henderson, and see their own stock plummeting. This is where rookie's stand after Week 3.
NFL ROOKIE STOCK WATCH AFTER WEEK 3
Quarterbacks
Cam Ward - Plummeting
He continues to struggle mightily through three games. His offensive line surely is not helping the matter as they ranked in the bottom third of win rates, but Ward must show improvement. Ward is averaging 168 Yards per Game with 2 Touchdowns and 1 Interception. This week, Brian Callahan relinquished play-calling duties, so we will see if that helps or not. Either way, that is not a good sign.
Jaxson Dart - Rising
Just yesterday, Dart was named the starter for the New York Giants. I fully expect Dart to be good with the team rallied around him, but we do not know until we know. Wait and see what happens here, but Dart playing is better than him not playing.
Running Backs
Ashton Jeanty - Falling
As good as Jeanty is, his offensive line is doing him no favors. Be assured, he will have some elite fantasy performances this season, but I see his upside limited behind that run-block.
Omarion Hampton - Rising
I was here last week stating that you should not panic on Hampton. Surely enough, he performed to standard last week. Hampton ran for 19 Carries 70 Yards and 1 Touchdown. He also added 6 Catches for 59 Yards in the passing game. With Najee Harris out for the season, his stock only continues to rise back up. This is a premier Buy-Low Candidate.
Quinshon Judkins - Very High
The rookie has stepped in to his expected role of Browns starting running back. Judkins now has 28 Carries for 155 Yards and 1 Touchdown through two games. In Week 2, Judkins carried 10-of-22 team attempts, and 18-of-19 in Week 3. He is the clear lead back in Cleveland.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt - Neutral
The Commanders continue to be unpredictable. One day, they say that Croskey-Merritt will be the lead back going forward. Week 3, Chris Rodriguez leads the team in carries, two weeks after he was a healthy-scratch. Dan Quinn has now said this week that they will have a healthy balance. Croskey-Merritt is startable, but with week-to-week caution.
TreVeyon Henderson - Falling
Notable concern continues to be aired in the pass-blocking ability of Henderson. This seems to be a prime reason to his reduced snap-counts. Henderson only has 25% of team carries through three games. With his explosiveness, we can hope that he becomes more involved going forward.
Cam Skattebo - Rising
Skattebo seems in line to be the full-time starter in New York. Tracy is out now 2-4 weeks with a dislocated shoulder, so Skattebo will be taking full advantage of his new workload. I could see Dart and Skattebo having a very good next few weeks. Skattebo could be a Buy-Low Candidate.
Bhayshel Tuten - Neutral
In his two weeks without Tank Bigsby, Tuten has seen a workload around 25-30% . To put it simply, this is not viable enough to start, but he does remain a great stash should Travis Etienne Jr have to miss any unexpected time.
Dylan Sampson - Plummeting
With Judkins back with the team, he seems to have the full workload. This drastically has cut down to share of Sampson, who had just one carry in Week 3. If Jerome Ford does in fact get traded, the value as a handcuff goes up, but I do not love rostering Sampson right now.
Ollie Gordon - Slight Rise
The goal lines carries plus a touchdown on Thursday Night Football does come with some note. My prime takeaway is that Gordon is a bigger, north-south running back meaning that he may see some goal-line work. Gordon is not startable, but a solid handcuff.
Wide Receivers
Tetairoa McMillan - Neutral
The target-share of McMillan has been fantastic. In total, McMillan has 27 targets through three games. The reason that this stock isnt "rising" is because Bryce Young needs to play better. Despite 27 targets, McMillan only has caught 14 of those balls. The connection needs to grow the fantasy valuation here.
Travis Hunter - Falling
Hunter has a 16% target share with minimal explosive output. In 10 Catches, Hunter has just 76 Yards and 0 Touchdowns. Of 78 qualified wide receivers (Min 10 Targets), Hunter ranks as the 71st best, per PFF.
Emeka Egbuka - Very High
He has been nothing short of amazing. Egbuka is making highlights and heavy-fantasy output like its nothing to the rookie. Currently, Egbuka is ranked as a Top-10 Fantasy Wide Receiver. This will remain to be the case.
Elic Ayomanor - Slight Rise
Ayomanor sits right behind Calvin Ridley in target share, with 21%. The rookie also has 2 Touchdowns in this time. My main concern is that he has only caught 56% of his targets. Ward must improve and then the ceiling here can truly be met.
Matthew Golden - Slight Dip
I will still have some patience with Golden, but he continues to be average, at best. Up the seam, he could have easily gone for a long touchdown, be he lingered out of bounds. Golden just had a 16% target share in Week 3 against the Browns. I would like to see more work going forward. I am sure the Packers will work on that, but I would not start Golden.
Dont'e Thornton - Neutral
He is not startable by any means, but still worth a stash for now. Thornton had a 16% target share in Week 3. He maintains a 12% target share on the season. As a starter, they have tried to take shots to him. If they begin to connect, a breakout game can be in store just like Tre Tucker had this week. Stay tuned...
Luther Burden III - Rising
All the rave this preseason was not so much Burden, but the ability of Ben Johnson to feed his slot receivers. Burden reaped the benefit last week. He was only targeted on 3-of-27 pass attempts, but Burden caught all three for 101 Yards and a Touchdown. Johnson could have him more involved going forward. I like what I am seeing in Chicago.
Jayden Higgins - Very Low
Any hype with this rookie has diminished. He only has 4 Catches in 4 Games. I must see more from him. Until then, he is not rosterable
Tight Ends
Tyler Warren - High
It surely helps that the Colts offense is thriving, but fear not, Warren will be heavily involved regardless of success. He leads the Colts with a 24% target share, resulting in 193 Yards. His first career touchdown is due very soon.
Harold Fannin Jr - High
The fact remains that the Browns are making sure to prioritize their tight ends. Fannin Jr has a 16% target share an appears to be going nowhere. However, I do prefer Njoku this week.
Colston Loveland - Very Low
When the Bears drafted Loveland, I truly scratched my head. Picking him over Tyler Warren? I was not so sure. Loveland has a 7% target share through three games. He has only even played 41% of passing snaps. I would drop the rookie.
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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.