2015 Fantasy Football: Week 7 Rookie Report
It appears Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota are starting to even themselves out in terms of success in their first NFL season. After week seven, Winston and Mariota both have nine passing touchdowns in their young career. Winston has seven interceptions to Mariota’s five, and Winston is averaging 245.2 yards per game to Mariota’s 247.8. Mariota did not play in week seven in the Titans’ matchup against the Falcons due to a knee injury, so he has one less game played than Winston and the Bucs.
Winston is a very interesting fantasy option moving forward if he can eliminate mistakes and continue to develop chemistry with his great receivers. Mariota, on the other hand, does not have near the amount of help that Winston does, which will make this process a lot tougher than we saw from him in the first couple games of the season. If Mariota is able to play this week for the Titans, he will look to get back on track against the 2-5 Houston Texans. Winston and the Bucs head to Atlanta to take on a Falcons team with a revamped defense, and a team that has always played better at home than on the road.
Stefon Diggs has only played in three NFL games, but he is hurtling on to the scene with style. Diggs hauled in his first career touchdown on what might be the prettiest touchdown catch in the NFL this season. He finished his third career game with six catches and 108 yards and a touchdown. Diggs is averaging 6.3 catches and 108 yards per game so far in the three games he has played and is proving to be one of the best young receivers in this 2015 class. Adding Diggs to the Vikings passing attack helped Teddy Bridgewater pass for a season high 316 yards in their win over the Lions.
Melvin Gordon ended up playing in Sunday’s matchup against the Raiders after dealing with an ankle injury all week in practice, but was benched in the first half. Danny Woodhead was brilliant in the passing game once again, which doesn’t bode well for Gordon owners. With San Diego being one of the most pass-heavy offenses in the NFL, don’t count on Gordon having much success in his rookie season. He had seven carries for 29 yards in the second half against the Raiders, giving him 328 yards on 85 carries this season, good for 3.9 yards per carry. While Woodhead had just just five carries for 26 yards in this game, he had 11 catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns in the passing game where he is the clear favorite in the Chargers backfield.
Amari Cooper is the first rookie receiver to have three 100 yard receiving games in his teams first six games of the season since Mike Ditka in 1961. That’s elite company, young man. Cooper had a brilliant 52-yard touchdown catch and run off of a screen play, and finished with five catches for 133 yards and a touchdown in the Raiders dominant win over the Chargers. Cooper and Derek Carr have established amazing chemistry, and it is likely that he will only get better as an NFL receiver. Cooper is a must start every week, however, he is likely to have a tough time in week eight against Darrelle Revis and the Jets.
Amber Abdullah has run into the same problem as Melvin Gordon in his rookie season, as he is stuck on a team that loves to air it out. However, Abdullah has not done much to show the Lions that he is capable of being the number one tailback, as he has 3.6 yards per carry and has not done much in the passing game either. Abdullah has three fumbles on 62 carries this season, and he has a long run of just 24 yards. The rookie out of Nebraska has shown that he has the capability of being an electric playmaker for years to come in this league, but he is going to have to do more running the football.
TJ Yeldon had the best game of his young career in London against the Bills, where he had his first 100 yard rushing game and his first career rushing touchdown as well. Yeldon had just one catch for nine yards in this game, but the Jaguars and Yeldon fantasy owners would be happy with 115 yards rushing and a touchdown each and every week. The Jaguars were leading this game for the majority of the game before the Bills comeback late, which led to 20 carries for the rookie out of Alabama. It appears there is no one competing with Yeldon for carries in Jacksonville, so look for the success to continue after their week eight bye.
Last, but certainly not least, the wonderful Todd Gurley. The former Georgia Bulldog has done nothing but dominate in his first NFL season, as he now has 433 yards in three games as the starting running back in St. Louis, and he found the end zone for the first time as well against the Browns on Sunday. He finished with 19 carries for 128 yards and two touchdowns and caught four passes for 35 yards as well. Gurney’s 128 yards against the Browns was actually a season low in his three starts, and he looks every bit the part to be an elite running back in the NFL. Gurley was just $5,000 dollars in DraftKings this week, and he piled up 35.30 points in the Rams 24-6 win over the Cleveland Browns.