The Rookie Report: Week 14

In fantasy football, rookies are often the most confusing players to evaluate. Due to their inexperience and lack of sample size in the NFL, they are susceptible to inconsistency and volatility, creating chaos for your fantasy team. To help get a better understanding of how to deal with rookies, each week, I’ll be writing a column breaking down some of the most important rookies for fantasy and helping you decide how to value these players moving forward. Welcome to the Rookie Report.

Notes: Touches for running backs are calculated by adding carries and targets. An asterisk (*) next to a player indicates that they were on bye in Week 14.

Quarterbacks

Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars

Lawrence was putrid once again, throwing a career-high four interceptions as the dumpster-fire Jaguars were shut out by the Titans. Given the Jaguars’ struggles, Lawrence can safely be dropped for the fantasy playoffs.

Zach Wilson, Jets

Wilson was nothing special as the Jets were blown out by the Saints on Sunday. He’s nowhere near fantasy-relevant for the playoffs.

Trey Lance, 49ers

Lance continues to be the backup quarterback for the 49ers, and will not be fantasy-relevant as long as that remains.

Justin Fields, Bears

Fields had a solid performance on Sunday Night, throwing for two touchdowns and running for over 70 yards. However, despite the promising performance, Fields is probably a bit too unpredictable to be relied upon during the most important weeks of the fantasy season.

Mac Jones*, Patriots

Mac was on bye this week, but still shouldn’t be considered for fantasy in the home stretch of the season.

Running Backs

Najee Harris, Steelers

Najee was fantastic yet again, going over 100 scrimmage yards and running in two touchdowns. He has the most touches in the NFL (and 3rd most targets amongst RBs) and is a surefire top-10 option each week.

Javonte Williams, Broncos

Javonte’s breakout has officially started, as the former UNC running back had two touchdowns and 15 carries despite splitting the backfield with Melvin Gordon. It doesn’t look like Gordon is going anywhere, but Williams is still a low-end RB2 / FLEX for the fantasy playoffs.

Chuba Hubbard, Panthers

With Christian McCaffrey done for the season, Chuba was fantasy-relevant operating as the Panthers’ RB1. The Panthers' offense is not great, so Chuba likely doesn’t have much upside, but he’s a low-end FLEX option for the rest of the fantasy season.

Michael Carter, Jets

Carter missed this week as he remains on IR. However, he is expected to make his return in Week 15, and would instantly be a top-24 option at the position—before getting injured, Carter had seen four straight games with at least 15 touches, making an impact in both the passing and running game.

Rhamondre Stevenson*, Patriots

Stevenson was on bye this week, and will likely continue to split time with Damien Harris in the New England backfield. Because of this timeshare, he likely won’t have a whole lot of upside, but Stevenson is FLEX-able for the fantasy playoffs.

Elijah Mitchell, 49ers

Mitchell missed this week due to a concussion, but should hopefully clear protocol and return to action in Week 15. If he does return, fire up Mitchell as an RB2—Since Week 7, he’s the overall RB10 in half-PPR.

Wide Receivers

Ja’Marr Chase, Bengals

Chase had a bounce-back performance for his fantasy managers, scoring twice and eclipsing 60 receiving yards for the first time since late October en route to a top-3 finish at the position. Last week, I advised to trust the talent of Chase and continue to treat him as a top-15 option, and that fact remains moving forward.

Jaylen Waddle*, Dolphins

Waddle was also on bye this week and was unable to build off of his hot streak. He’s a legitimate top-24 option for the fantasy playoffs and should be started in all leagues.

DeVonta Smith*, Eagles

Smith was on a bye this week and is a WR3 for the fantasy playoffs with a boost in PPR leagues.

Rashod Bateman, Ravens

After goose-ing fantasy managers last week, Bateman bounced back with over 100 receiving yards despite Tyler Huntley being under center for most of the game. He’s too streaky to be started moving forward, but should still be rostered.

Elijah Moore, Jets

Moore was surprisingly placed on IR on Saturday, keeping him out for at least the next three weeks. He won’t be eligible to return until Week 17 at the earliest, rendering him nothing more than an IR stash in hopes of a championship week return. It’s a disappointing end to what was a very promising rookie campaign for Moore.

Amon-Ra St. Brown, Lions

St. Brown had his second consecutive solid fantasy performance, once again seeing 12 targets. Given his increased opportunity in the last couple of weeks, St. Brown is worth a pickup in 14 and 16 team leagues as a high-floor backup option.

Tight End(s)

Kyle Pitts, Falcons

Pitts was once again nothing special for fantasy this week, catching five passes for 61 yards.

It’s looking more and more like Pitts’ 100-yard games in Weeks 5 and 7 games are outliers, which is rather disappointing. He’s a low-end TE1 option for the rest of the fantasy season.

Pat Freiermuth, Steelers

Freiermuth continues to make the most of his limited opportunities, catching his seventh touchdown of the season on Thursday Night. He’s a legitimate red-zone threat and is also a low-end TE1 the rest of the way.