In this series, I’ll spotlight the standout performances from the 2026 rookie class and highlight both promising and concerning trends. Let’s dive into how these rookies fared in Week 4.
Quarterback
Stock Up
Jalon Daniels: He started in Week 4 for Baker Mayfield, who was injured the week before. He completed 19 out of his 27 pass attempts (70%) for 148 yards. He threw for a touchdown but also threw 2 interceptions. His QBR was 49.7. He rushed eight times for 55 yards, so he does offer the rushing side if you need a quarterback to start because of bye weeks or injuries. He plays Dallas on Thursday night, so he should be able to score some points with their defense not being great.
Stock Down
Athan Kaliakmanis: Made his debut when Marcus Mariota got injured. He completed 15 out of his 33 pass attempts (45%) for 186 yards. He threw for a touchdown but also threw 1 interception. He rushed three times for 16 yards. His QBR was 20.7. He did not look great, but he was prepared to be the backup all week. It’s unclear who will start Week 5 for Washington, so he is a name to look for on the waiver wire if you are desperate for a quarterback.
Jack Strand: Made his debut when the Falcons were getting crushed in Week 1. He played 42% of the snaps. He completed eight of 15 passes for 59 yards and added two rushes for 16 yards. No new playing time since Week 1.
Running Back
Week 4 was relatively quiet for rookie running backs, which was expected. Nevertheless, a few trends are worth noting.
Stock Up (Above 40% of team carries)
Jeremiyah Love: In Weeks 1-4, he has had 55 carries for 223 yards, a touchdown, and 13 catches for 36 yards and a touchdown. Week 4, he played 45% of the snaps, which was down from Week 3 when he played 64%. His carry percentage also went down for the first time this season from 91% in Week 3 to 69% in Week 4. However, the drop in usage was just due to Love suffering a minor ankle injury in-game. His window to buy is probably closed.
Stock Down (Below 40% of team carries)
Emmett Johnson: In Weeks 1-4, he had 16 carries for 56 yards and five catches for 74 yards, playing on 36% of the snaps. In Weeks 1 and 3, they got up big. Week 2 was a tight game, and he did not play as much, and that was the case again in Week 4. Clear backup and handcuff to Kenneth Walker.
Kaelon Black: In Weeks 1-4, he has had 31 carries for 120 yards, and one catch for 5 yards. Week 4, he played 26% of the snaps, which was up from Week 3 when he played 15%. His carry percentage went up slightly from 21% in Week 3 to 29% in Week 4. He is the clear backup and handcuff to Christian McCaffrey.
Mike Washington: In Weeks 1-4, he has had 24 carries for 120 yards, a touchdown, and one catch for -1 yard. Week 4, he played 21% of the snaps, which was up slightly from Week 3 when he played 16%. His carry percentage also went up from 21% in Week 3 to 35% in Week 4. Clear backup and handcuff to Ashton Jeanty.
Kaytron Allen: In Weeks 1-4, he has had 12 carries for 41 yards. Week 4, he played 19% of the snaps, which was his season high so far this season. He had 3 carries in Week 4, which was 17% of the carries.
Nick Singleton: He did not play at all in Week 1. In Weeks 2-4, he has had seven carries for 12 yards. Week 4, he played 13% of the snaps, which was his season high. His carry percentage was 14% in Week 4.
Seth McGowan: In Weeks 1-4, he had 12 carries for 45 yards, and two catches for 7 yards. His snap percentage has gone up each week up to 29%. His carry percentage has gone up each week so far this season, up to 23% in Week 4. He is the clear backup and handcuff to Jonathan Taylor.
Demond Claiborne: In Weeks 1-4, he has had six carries for 13 yards, and one catch for 2 yards. Week 4, he played (12%) of the snaps, which was his season high. His carry percentage was 13% in Week 4.
Injury
Jonah Coleman: He was active but only played 6% of the snaps in Week 1. In Week 2, he played 40% of the snaps. He had 10 carries for 39 yards, and three catches for 19 yards. Big uptick in usage, but J.K. Dobbins left early with an injury, and RJ Harvey did not play in this game. His carry percentage went up from Week 1 (0%) to Week 2 (48%). He missed Week 3 and will miss the next 3 at least, since he was placed on injured reserve.
Jadarian Price: In Weeks 1-3, he has had 28 carries for 119 yards, and four catches for 21 yards. His carry percentage went down from Week 1 (50%) to Week 2 (34%) to Week 3 (28%). Missed Week 4 due to injury and was placed on the injured reserve. Seems like he will now be in a split for carries when he gets back.
Wide Receiver
Stock Up (Over 20% of teams’ targets)
Carnell Tate: In Weeks 1-4, he has had 22 catches for 268 yards. His target percentage went up from Week 1 (21%) to Week 2 (29%) but back down slightly to (26%) in Week 3. Week 4, he broke out with (43%). He is getting 2.16 yards per route run this season.
KC Concepcion: In Weeks 1-4, he has had 17 catches for 144 yards. His target percentage went down from Week 1 (23%) to Week 2 (20%) but back up to (30%) in Week 3. Week 4, he had 24%. He is getting 1.21 yards per route run this season. Buy low still if you can.
Makai Lemon: In Weeks 1-4, he has had 10 catches for 65 yards. His target percentage went down from Week 1 (19%) to Week 2 (4%), but back up in Week 3 to (16%) and back up to (24%) in Week 4. He played (74%) of the snaps in Week 4 while DeVonta Smith was out. He finally started to see some numbers we wanted to see from him. Buy now if you still can, and hope he and Jalen Hurts can get some chemistry and trust between the two of them. He is getting 0.56 yards per route run this season.
Denzel Boston: In Weeks 1-4, he has had 13 catches for 284 yards and two touchdowns. His target percentage went up from Week 1 (18%) to Week 2 (23%), down to only (13%) in Week 3, and back up to (21%) in Week 4. He is getting 2.10 yards per route run this season.
Antonio Williams: In Weeks 1-4, he has had 12 catches for 124 yards and a touchdown. He had his best snap percentage (69%) and target percentage (22%) in Week 4 of the season. Took advantage of Terry McLaurin being out in Week 4 due to a hamstring issue. He is getting 1.85 yards per route run this season.
Stock Down (Below 20% of teams’ targets)
Caleb Douglas: In Week 1, he had five catches for 94 yards on seven targets on 91% of the snaps. In Week 2, he had two catches for 19 yards on three targets on 86% of the snaps. His target percentage went down from Week 1 (26%) to Week 2 (13%). He is getting 2.05 yards per route run this season. He missed Week 3 and Week 4 due to an ankle injury.
Ted Hurst: In Weeks 1-4, he has had 8 catches for 128 yards and one touchdown. His target percentage went up from Week 1 (11%) to Week 2 (21%) but back down in Weeks 3 and 4 to (11%) and (12%). He played his lowest snap percentage (39%) of the year so far in Week 4, but it was that because Baker was out and they needed to change the offense up a little; we will see. He is getting 1.17 yards per route run this season.
Bryce Lance: In Weeks 1-4, he has had five catches for 57 yards. His target percentage went from Week 1 (8%) to Week 2 (3%) to Week 3 (8%). He got his most targets in Week 4 with 5 but could only pull one of those in. He also played his highest snap percentage of the season at (85%). He is getting 0.44 yards per route run this season.
Malachi Fields: In Weeks 1-4, he has had 8 catches for 128 yards and one touchdown. His target percentage went up from Week 1 (14%) to Week 2 (19%), then down to (10%) in both Weeks 3 and 4. He scored a touchdown in Week 4 but played his lowest snap percentage of the year so far at (66%). He is getting 1.40 yards per route run this season.
Dohnte Meyers: In Week 3, he had three catches on five targets for 29 yards. He played (56%) of the snaps in Week 3. In Week 4, he played (89%) of the snaps with Ja’Marr Chase out with a concussion. He had seven catches on 9 targets for 82 yards. He had 17% of the targets in Week 4. Could be a big sleeper when Chase or Higgins misses time.
Elijah Sarratt: Was not active for Weeks 1 and 3, but in Week 4 he finally got his first catch of the season for 13 yards on 2 targets. He played (36%) of the snaps, which is the first time all season he ran routes, so it is a start.
Injury
Ja’Kobi Lane: In Week 1, he had one catch for 11 yards on three targets(broke his wrist) on 40% of the snaps. He was placed on IR, so he did not play in Week 2 and has to miss at least the next four games.
Watch List
Josh Cameron: Not getting many targets per game, but when he does, he has been taken advantage of. He is getting 2.64 yards per route run this season. He has five catches on six targets so far this season for 74 yards and two touchdowns. Definitely worth a stash on your taxi squad.
Tight End
Stock Up (Above 15% of teams’ targets)
Kenyon Sadiq: In Week 1, he had three catches for 21 yards on three targets and a carry for a 3-yard touchdown on 42% of the snaps. In Week 2, he had two catches for 17 yards on three targets on 36% of the snaps. In Week 3, he had seven catches on eight targets for 105 yards and a touchdown. His target percentage went down from Week 1 (13%) to Week 2 (8%) but up to (22%) in Week 3. In Week 4, he played at a season high (69%), but had four targets, catching zero passes, though. He was targeted on (27%) of the passes. He is getting 2.01 yards per route run this season. His window to buy is looking like it might be closed.
Stock Down (Below 15% of teams’ targets)
Matt Hibner: In Week 1, he had one catch for 13 yards on 34% of the snaps. In Week 2, he played 33% of the snaps but did not receive any targets. In Week 3, he had two catches for 23 yards and a touchdown on two targets on 50% of the snaps. He is getting 2.12 yards per route run this season. Played season high (58%) in Week 4 but only had two targets, catching two passes for 34 yards. He was only targeted on 7% of the passes. Sneaky cheap dynasty buy.
Eli Raridon: In Week 1, he had one catch for a 2-yard touchdown on 54% of the snaps on his only target. In Week 2, he had one catch for 30 yards on 20% of the snaps on his only target. He is getting 1.29 yards per route run this season. Missed Week 3 due to a thigh injury. Played season high (58%) in Week 4 but only had two targets, catching one pass for 12 yards. He was only targeted on 6% of the passes.
Conclusion
Week 4 was a mixed bag for the 2026 rookie class. While many had underwhelming starts, these players have plenty of time to turn things around. I’ll be back next week to recap the highs and lows from Week 5’s rookie performances.
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