Rookie Stock Market: Week 6

What is up, party people, and welcome back for the sixth edition of the “Rookie Stock Market”. It has been a crazy season thus far. The season has had its ups and downs, and so has this rookie class. Eb and flow are to be expected for rookies, but it has not stopped a few from being within the top 12 of their positional scoring. James Robinson (RB7), Clyde Edwards-Helaire (RB11), Justin Jefferson (WR7), and CeeDee Lamb (WR10) have all been great and contributors in your lineups as their dynasty values rise. Not all the rookies can be studs and some rookies appear to be studs when they really aren’t. Let’s dive in once again.

Risers

D’Andre Swift – RB Lions

Week 6 Snap Shot

“Finally!”, all the D’Andre Swift owners exclaimed in unison. It took six weeks, but the Lions finally decided to give Swift a real shot as a legitimate workload, and he exceeded expectations. On just 37.7% of the RB snaps, Swift produced a monster 27.3 point game. He clearly outplayed aging veteran Adrian Peterson (15 carries 40 yards, one reception 18 yards) and made Kerryon Johnson (four carries for nine yards, one reception for 11 yards) look like an afterthought. My intel/imagination tells me Swift approached Peterson after the game and said:

My hope is Matt Patricia saw this interaction. After Swift averaged 8.3 yards per carry, I think it will be hard for the Lions to not give an expanded role moving forward. Even if the Lions do not give Swift more touches yet, his dynasty value is still on the rise based on his Week 6 performance and the only thing between him and a bell-cow role is a 35-year-old RB on the brink of retirement.

Fallers

Cam Akers – RB Rams

Week 6 Snap Shot

While one rookie RB had a field day another spent his Sunday in timeout. As seen in the Snap Shot, Akers saw just one snap this past week. OUCH! This came as a surprise to most, as in Week 5 Akers lead the team in rushing with just nine carries. Sean McVay has been alluding to getting Akers more work, but after this past Sunday, McVay is looking like a long-nosed puppet. Just one snap for your second-round pick makes it seem you have little faith in him. With a coaching staff’s lack of faith also comes a dynasty owner’s lack of faith, and a drop in value is sure to follow. The Rams seem to be playing Russian Roulette with their backfield, and Akers has come out on the wrong side more times than not. Until Akers carves out a consistent role in the offense, he is very hard to trust.

Buys

KJ Hamler – WR Broncos

The second-round pick from Penn State was a buy of mine a few weeks ago, and he is back as a buy once again. Hamler seems to be the forgotten and often hurt WR of the Broncos. Unfortunately, he has been banged up, but when is on the field and healthy, he has shown lots of promise. The fantasy points do not show a lot of success, but when you take a closer look he appears to be a discounted version of his rookie teammate Jerry Jeudy. Take a look at the two in Hamler’s healthy games his year:

KJ does not have the yardage receptions and touchdowns that Jeudy has, but he is getting snaps and targets. What may come as to surprise to some is the way the Broncos are using Hamler and Jeudy. Jeudy is being used primarily in the slot (65.8% snaps from the slot) while Hamler is getting almost all of his work from the outside (16% snaps from the slot). Down the stretch, this may mean Hamler will end up getting more snaps and work in times when the Broncos are not in 11 personnel. The usage is there and I believe it just a matter of time before he produces. Due to the injuries and lack of production, I believe you could acquire KJ Hamler for a third, and with the upside, he possesses he is well worth it.

Sells

Chase Claypool – WR Steelers

The big-bodied rookie did it yet again in Week 6. He had another great week with 74 receiving yards and a rushing touchdown. However, I do not believe Claypool is set up for consistent and long term success. His teammate Diontae Johnson was out once again, giving Claypool an increased role. Even with his increased role, James Washington still out targeted him and had a receiving touchdown. Diontae Johnson is set to return to the lineup this week and that means Claypool is taking a step back. As I mentioned last week, second-round pick WRs with a 21-year-old breakout age, only have a 30% chance of having a top 24 fantasy finish, and I don’t like betting on outliers. If I owned Chase Claypool I would be looking for dynasty owners willing to bet on Claypool and sell high while you still can.

Thanks for reading my article, I hope you found it useful! You can follow me on Twitter @RookieWhisper for more content.