Welcome back to the Rookie Report! We’re another week deeper into the NFL season and we’ve seen another week of rookies making a big impact, especially at the QB position. Daniel Jones dazzled in his NFL debut despite a shaky start and some turnovers, Gardner Minshew continued to impress and Kyler Murray finally broke out the rushing ability. All 3 of these QBs finished the week with more fantasy points than Aaron Rodgers, Jared Goff, and Baker Mayfield. Marquise Brown saw his numbers come back to earth a bit, but Terry McLaurin kept chugging right along and Mecole Hardman made the most of limited targets. Tony Pollard and Alexander Mattison took advantage of garbage time to post big days, and Miles Sanders finally cracked double-digit PPR points. There’s plenty more to talk about for this week, so let’s dive in. One quick housekeeping note first - there are plenty of guys who will be listed under the same header this week, so I wanted to post a reminder that the players at the same position within each header are listed in the order I would play them this week. Here’s a look at what to expect from week 4…

Rookies to Start:

QB Kyler Murray, ARI (Wk. 4: vs. Sea.):  Murray’s situation has proven to be a perfect recipe for early fantasy success for the reigning Heisman winner. The Cards’ defense has been awful, which keeps the offense pushing the tempo and airing it out. Murray leads the NFL in passing attempts through 3 weeks and offset an inefficient passing day Sunday by finally using his legs and scoring some rushing points. The Seahawks have held 2 straight opponents to fewer than 200 passing yards, but those opponents were the Saints without Drew Brees and the Steelers without Ben Roethlisberger for half of the game. Andy Dalton torched them for nearly 400 yards in week 1. I’d roll with Kyler this week unless you have a locked-in QB1 option ahead of him.

WR Terry McLaurin, WAS (Wk. 4: @NYG): In week 3 against the Bears McLaurin became the first receiver in league history to have at least 5 catches, 60 yards and a touchdown in each of his first 3 games, and now he draws a Giants’ defense that has been shredded by perimeter receivers. Through 3 games, they’ve given up huge games to Amari Cooper (6-106-1), Michael Gallup (7-158), John Brown (7-72), and Mike Evans (8-190-3). Although McLaurin will probably lay an egg this week just because fantasy football doesn’t like us to have nice things, on paper he looks like a high-end WR2 this week. He’ll be in my lineups where I have him, and at $4,500 on DraftKings he’s an absolute steal in DFS lineups.

WR Marquise Brown, BAL (Wk. 4: vs. Cle.): Brown had a lackluster output in week 3 (2-49-0), but it wasn’t for lack of trying. Brown was targeted 9 times on the day and had some missed connections on a few deep balls. He averaged an absurd 30(!) air yards per target. This week he gets to face a Cleveland defense that has both starting outside corners struggling with hamstring injuries. They’re going to have trouble keeping Brown in front of them if they’re able to play at all. Fire up Brown as a WR2 this week and enjoy the results.

WR DK Metcalf, SEA (Wk. 4: @Ari.): Metcalf has proven to be a lot more consistent than expected given his reliance on the deep ball. He’s averaging just 3 catches per game but hasn’t come up short of 60 yards in a game yet. This week he matches up with a Cardinals’ defense that is still missing Patrick Peterson and is going to have a lot of trouble containing him. This may be his best matchup of the season so far. He should be plugged in as a WR3 this week, especially in leagues that aren’t full PPR.

Borderline Rookies:

QB Daniel Jones, NYG (Wk. 4: vs. Was.): It feels rushed to list Jones as a borderline starting option in just his second NFL start, especially with Saquon Barkley out, but Daniel-san (this is what I’m going to call him - you know it’s better than Danny Dimes, and think of the Eli as Mr. Miyagi memes) gets a great matchup this week and has acquitted himself well every time he’s been on the field as a pro. Washington has given up 3 passing scores in each game this year, and Jones’ rushing ability gives him a nice cushion in case he isn’t quite as sharp as he was against Tampa. Washington ranks 27^th in Football Outsiders’ pass defense DVOA stat. Jones is a borderline top-12 option this week with the upside for another big day.

RB Miles Sanders, PHI (Wk. 4: @GB): There are some warning signs we’re seeing with Sanders so far. His snap share has dropped each week of the season and was at just 34% last week, and he did lose a fumble on Sunday against the Lions. On the other hand, he also finally flashed his big play ability in the passing game posted his best game of the season. If he has his usual 10-12 carries and a few targets this week, the opportunity for another big game is there. The Packers have given up more than 350 rushing yards to opposing backs in the last 2 weeks. I’m willing to take a chance on that upside in a flex spot if you don’t have any locked in options or are scared to go back to Sony Michel or Peyton Barber again.

RB Josh Jacobs, OAK (Wk. 4: @Ind.): Like Sanders, Jacobs has seen his snap share drop each week. In week 2, the issue seemed to be that he was fighting through an injury. Week 3 made it clear that the issue was game script. The Raiders have been playing from far behind in each of the last 2 weeks, and Jacobs has seen less than 50% of the offensive snaps in each game as a result. The Colts are a touchdown favorite this week, which puts a damper on Jacobs’ outlook again. There are reasons for optimism though. The Raiders coaches spoke this week about wanting to get Jacobs more targets going forward, and this week he faces a run defense that ranks 30^th in run defense DVOA so far and allows 5.4 yards per carry. He’s in play as a reasonable flex option again this week.

RB David Montgomery, CHI (Wk. 4: vs. Min.): Montgomery put on a show in the 4^th quarter on Monday night flashing his signature elusiveness as he helped the Bears put the game away, but his overall usage was alarming. Prior to the game’s final drive, Monty had seen just 6 carries for 19 yards. On a positive note he did play his highest snap % of the season and finished with a respectable line. He’s the clear lead back for the Bears now, but the play calling is going to make him a bit volatile from week to week. The Vikings have been solid against the run outside of week 2 when they were carved up by Aaron Jones, but they played with big leads in the other 2 games. Game script might not be as positive here with the Bears favored. Montgomery is worth considering as a flex option, but I’d prefer both rookie RBs listed above over him this week.

WR Mecole Hardman, KC (Wk. 4: @Det.): Hardman has proven to be a reliable big play threat over the past couple weeks, but there is still a bit of boom-or-bust to his fantasy outlook, and that prevents me from making him a sure start this week. The Lions have good enough corners to not be completely helpless, but obviously any receiver in this offense is capable of having a monster game, especially on the fast track indoors. I’d feel comfortable with him as my WR3 but know that he does come with some baked-in risk if he doesn’t hit on a big play. The biggest difference between Hardman and DK Metcalf is that the there are a lot more passing targets to spread the ball to in Kansas City.

TE TJ Hockenson, DET (Wk. 4: vs. KC): I’m sure if you have Hockenson on your fantasy team and are reading this you’re thinking there is no way you’d start Hock this week. I understand that sentiment. After setting the NFL record for tight end receiving yards in a rookie debut week 1, TJ has totaled just 2 catches for 8 yards on 7 targets since. There is a chance for him to get back on track this week. The Lions haven’t trailed by more than 4 points all year. That’s likely to change this week. I’d expect Stafford to be north of 40 pass attempts for the first time since week 1, and that means at least a few more balls head TJ’s way. He was targeted in the red zone twice last Sunday and narrowly missed his 2^nd TD of the season. We’ve seen the floor is low here, but I think Hockenson gets back on track a bit this week with 50+ yards and a shot at a TD.

Rookies to Sit:

QB Gardner Minshew, JAX (Wk. 4: @Den.): I told you to bench Minshew last week and it came back to bite me. The usually run-heavy Jaguars have shown a willingness to let the kid throw the ball, even in neutral and positive game scripts. The Jaguars threw on 60% of their offensive plays on Thursday despite never trailing and have the 10^th-highest % of pass plays in the league so far. Minshew finished week 3 with just 204 yards but found the end zone twice and should have found it a 3^rd time if not for a Dede Westbrook drop. Week 4 brings his toughest challenge yet. Denver has allowed about 205 passing yards per game and just 2 TDs total in 3 games. I think Minshew will be hard-pressed to match what he did last week when he finished as the QB16. I’d keep him sidelined this week. If he comes up with another solid day it may be time to start viewing him as an every-week QB2 option.

RB Devin Singletary, BUF (Wk. 4: vs. NE): It seems as though Singletary will be a long shot to play this week, but if he is able to get back out there he gets to face a defense that has allowed just 100 TOTAL rushing yards to opposing running backs through 3 weeks and hasn’t allowed an offensive TD all year. If you want to roll the dice that Singletary is the guy to break through against them be my guest, but I’d wait a week to get him back in any lineups even if he does play in this one.

RB Alexander Mattison, MIN (Wk. 4: @Chi.): Mattison’s fantasy production has been entirely game script dependent through 3 weeks. In the Vikings’ 2 blowout wins he’s posted 21 carries for 107 yards and a touchdown. In their one loss he saw just 4 carries for 25 yards. This week the Bears are 2-point home favorites against the Vikings, rank 3^rd in run defense DVOA and have allowed the 4^th-fewest RB fantasy points. Mattison seems unlikely to get extended opportunity in this game and unlikely to cash in on it even if he does.

RB Darwin Thompson, KC (Wk. 4: @Det.): Thompson has seen a total of just 11 snaps in the first 3 weeks. With Damien Williams out last Sunday, it was Darrel Williams who stepped in and made an impact, not Darwin. Williams didn’t play at all in the first 2 weeks but was on the field for 37 snaps against the Ravens. LeSean McCoy did re-aggravate his injury in the game, so there is an outside chance that Thompson sees some additional work this week if both Damien and Shady are out, but I’m not confident enough in that to put him in lineups or pay up the $4,300 he costs on DraftKings to take a flyer in DFS tournaments and find out.

RB Tony Pollard, DAL (Wk. 4: @NO): Pollard finally got the chance this week to show people why he was a coveted player when it looked like Zeke may hold out back in the preseason. The Dolphins are of course a punchline this season, but Pollard’s 21.8 PPR points and RB7 finish for the week count just the same. He even outscored Zeke. He’s unlikely for a repeat performance with an actual competitive team on the schedule this week. The Cowboys are road favorites, but by just 2.5 points in The Big Easy. Pollard played just 17 snaps in week 2 against Washington, a contest that should look more like what we’ll see for the RB split in most weeks. He’s still a priority handcuff for Zeke, but he won’t have much standalone value outside of blowouts.

RB Justice Hill, BAL (Wk. 4: vs. Cle.): Hill has seen his playing time decrease each week. He was on the field for just 11 snaps in week 3, and although he saw a season-high 3 passing targets he didn’t turn any of them into catches. It looks like this backfield is going to be mostly Mark Ingram in competitive games with some Gus Edwards mixed in. Until Hill starts getting more work in the rotation, he’s best left on the waiver wire in most redraft leagues.

RB Darrell Henderson, LAR (Wk. 4: vs. TB): Darrell hasn’t played an offensive snap in the last 2 weeks. The time has probably come (and passed) to drop him in redraft leagues. I do think the Rams will eventually get him more involved, but at this point there is no reason to waste a roster spot waiting around for it outside of deep leagues.

WR Diontae Johnson, PIT (Wk. 4: vs. Cin.): Diontae did find the end zone last week, but the Steelers have the look of a much lower volume passing attack this year with Mason Rudolph under center. Rudolph has thrown the ball just 46 times for 286 yards in a game and a half at the helm. Johnson was the target of 9 of those passes, so he’s likely to be involved but Cincinnati is much easier to attack on the ground than through the air. I’d look for the Steelers to lean on James Conner on Monday. The Bengals have allowed the 2^nd-most RB points per game and 5.24 yards per carry. There just won’t be enough passing volume to rely on Diontae this week.

WR KeeSean Johnson, ARI (Wk. 4: vs. Sea.): Johnson should see his snap share go back up a bit this week after the Cardinals cut Michael Crabtree, but he hasn’t been doing enough with the targets he’s been getting to be relied on for fantasy as the Cards’ WR4. He’s turned 16 targets into just 8 catches for 90 yards on the year. The offense continues to run through Kirk and Fitzgerald, and Johnson and Byrd will fight for the scraps.

WR AJ Brown, TEN (Wk. 4: @Atl.): Given the limited opportunity that the Titans’ passing attack gives its receivers on a weekly basis (they rank 29^th in the league in pass attempts and just 55% of the targets have gone to WRs), Brown will need a couple splash plays like he had in week 1 to return value. Only the New England Patriots have allowed fewer 20+ yard passing completions than the Falcons have this year. The Falcons are content to let teams throw underneath and dink & dunk their way down the field. That doesn’t bode well for Brown’s outlook this week.

WR Hunter Renfrow, OAK (Wk. 4: @Ind.): Renfrow should find his way to a bit more playing time going forward with Ryan Grant cut this week, but Renfrow has yet to top 30 yards in a game this season and gets to face off with a Colts’ defense that has allowed the 7^th-fewest WR points thus far. With Darren Waller hogging 30% of the targets and the team talking about Josh Jacobs getting more as well, it’s hard to see Hunter getting a big share this week.

WR JJ Arcega-Whiteside, PHI (Wk. 4: @GB): Alshon Jeffery is off the injury report this week and is going to play on Thursday night. After Mack Hollins and Nelson Agholor each played 99% of the offensive snaps in week 3, JJ appears to be the odd man out. At best he would likely be splitting snaps as the team WR3 with Mack Hollins, and the Packers have allowed the 3^rd-fewest WR points in the league so far. Keep Arcega-Whiteside sidelined this week.

TE Noah Fant, DEN (Wk. 4: vs. Jax.): The Jaguars have struggled to contain heavily targeted TE1 types so far this year, but they’ve made them work for their production. They allowed lines of 3-88 on 8 targets to Travis Kelce and 7-64 on 9 targets to Delanie Walker, but Noah Fant isn’t that type of tight end (at least not yet) and the Jags haven’t allowed a TD to the position yet. Fant has played less than 70% of the offensive snaps each of the past 2 weeks and has averaged 4 targets per game for the year. He’ll need a lot more work than that to have productive day against the Jaguars.

TE Dawson Knox, BUF (Wk. 4: vs. NE): Knox seems to have emerged as the Bills de facto starting tight end for as long as Tyler Kroft is out. He’s led the unit in snaps each week and tallied 4 targets in each of the last 2. He posted his best game of the season last weekend with a 3-67-1 line. Unfortunately, he faces the Patriots this week. New England has allowed just 6 catches to opposing tight ends all year and zero total offensive touchdowns. Knox would be a desperation dart throw this week.

Rookie on a bye this week: WR Deebo Samuel, SF

Deep-League Sleepers, Stashes, and Cheap DFS Options:

QB Dwayne Haskins, WAS (Wk. 4: @NYG): As of Wednesday, Case Keenum isn’t practicing and is in a walking boot. The expectation is that Keenum will play this week, but if that changes between now and kickoff Sunday Haskins would be an interesting play in a GPP DFS tournament or as a sneaky QB2. The Giants have been demolished through the air. They’ve allowed the most passing yards in the league (332 yards/game), rank 31^st in pass defense DVOA, and have coughed up an 8:1 TD:INT ratio. Haskins may be risky since we haven’t seen him in a game yet, but he should have an immediate comfort level with college teammate Terry McLaurin as his WR1. This would be the softest landing possible for Haskins’ NFL debut if he gets the chance to make it this week.

RB Ty Johnson, DET (Wk. 4: vs. KC):  Ty Johnson didn’t see an uptick in usage in week 3 despite CJ Anderson being cut during the week, but the Lions only trailed for a few minutes in that game. This week will almost certainly be different. They get to face Patrick Mahomes playing what is somehow his first game indoors as a college or pro QB. The Lions will need to score to keep pace, and I expect Ty to be at least a little more involved than he was a week ago. The Chiefs have allowed the 10^th-most RB points per game so far, which is a far cry from last week’s opponent, the Eagles, who have allowed the 5^th-fewest. I’m not advocating Johnson as anything more than a dart throw in DFS tournaments. This is still Kerryon’s backfield, but Ty costs the minimum in DraftKings. He may get enough opportunity to post a surprising day.

WR Preston Williams, MIA (Wk. 4: vs. LAC): The Dolphins are a massive underdog yet again this week which will undoubtedly keep them throwing, and Josh Rosen has actually been better than the numbers would indicate. Williams leads the team in targets, catches and receiving yards through 3 games and the Chargers’ secondary hasn’t been a shut down unit thus far. They’ve allowed the 14^th-most WR points per game and rank 28^th in pass defense DVOA. Look for Williams to be peppered with targets. He’ll likely be a bargain in all DFS formats and a decent deep league WR3 option.

WR Parris Campbell, IND (Wk. 4: vs. Oak.): TY Hilton re-aggravated a quad injury in the first half last week and sat out the remainder of the game. He looks questionable to play this week at best. If he were to miss this game, Campbell will be the biggest beneficiary. He played a season-high 46% of the offensive snaps last week and was the only WR who saw a significant increase due to the injury. With a full week of practice as the starting slot WR, he’ll have a great chance to make an impact against a defense that has allowed the 5^th-most WR fantasy points. Brissett’s conservative passing game should be a great match with Campbell. The Colts’ QB averages just 5.6 air yards per attempt, and Campbell thrives on turning short catches into bigger gains. Campbell’s average target depth at OSU was just 6.58 yards, but he averaged 12.4 yards per catch. He could end the week as a WR4 and is an interesting option in deeper PPR leagues.

WR Darius Slayton, NYG (Wk. 4: vs. Was.): With Golden Tate due to return for game 5, this could be Slayton’s last chance to shine for a while. He saw his first snaps of the year in week 3 and made the 2^nd-string QB-to-WR narrative look accurate for at least one night, as he hauled in 3 catches for 82 yards on 5 targets from Daniel Jones. I’d expect that performance has earned him some extra opportunity this week, and he’ll face off with a defense that has coughed up 588 yards and 8 scores to opposing WRs through 3 games. He’s a cheap flyer for DFS tournaments this week at just $3,200 on DraftKings.

WR Jakobi Meyers, NE (Wk. 4: @Buf.): Meyers gets mentioned this week due to the injury to Julian Edelman. It doesn’t sound like New England is too worried about it, but if Edelman isn’t able to play it should make Meyers a near full-time player Sunday. He played mostly in the slot in college so it would be a natural fit for him. The Bills boast a fearsome secondary, but their best corner, Tre’Davious White, will mostly be tangling with Josh Gordon. I’d look at Meyers as a dart throw in DFS tournaments if Edelman is out.

TE Irv Smith Jr., MIN (Wk. 4: @Chi.): Smith is mostly listed here as a guy to stash in deep leagues where you may have to start 2 TEs or have a bunch of flex spots and TE-premium scoring. Kyle Rudolph is still a full-time player, but Smith has been on the field for just under 50% of the offensive snaps and has been targeted almost as often as Rudolph. There isn’t a ton of volume in this passing attack, but there will be weeks where they’ll have to throw more. It’s not out of the question that Smith becomes more of a receiving TE while Rudolph is used primarily as a blocker. At the very least it’s a situation to monitor.

That’s all I’ve got for this week. Hopefully it helps you with your toughest lineup decisions involving rookies. Keep a close eye on the injury updates throughout the week. There are plenty of questionable players to monitor and make sure you aren’t playing an inactive player or a backup where the starter ends up active. If you want to yell at me about anything written above or have any specific questions, feel free to hit me up on twitter and let me know (@Shawn_Foss). As always: Good luck, trust your gut, and have fun. It’s just a game.