X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

Trade For These Rookies Before They Break Out

Javonte Williams - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Justin Carter evaluates NFL rookies who should be targeted in trades by fantasy football managers as buy-low candidates for the second half. These RB, WR, and QB could break out during the 2021 fantasy playoffs.

Sometimes, rookies come out of the gate with a bang, putting up big numbers like Ja'Marr Chase is doing in Cincy.

Other times, they take some time to get going. That's where a good fantasy football manager can pounce, taking advantage of managers who are ready to give up on slow-developing rookies. That's our goal today: to identify some rookie NFL players who you can target right now.

Below are some rookies to trade for before they break out.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

Javonte Williams (RB, Denver Broncos)

Some of us RotoBallers have a group chat and there was a spirited debate in it about Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon the other day, led –of course – by resident RotoBaller arguer Kev Mahserejian.

I don't want to get into that argument now, but in the risk of reigniting some flames, I have to say this: I think Javonte Williams has a ton of upside going forward this season.

To show this, I decided to turn to one of my favorite resources: AddMoreFunds.

Looking strictly at rushing first, here is the full season comparison of Denver's backs:

From those numbers, the argument that Gordon is the back you want to roster is a pretty good argument. He has a higher snap rate. He has more of the positional attempts. While they've split red zone work, he's been more efficient down there. As for receiving numbers, Gordon has one more target and one less reception, but more yards before he's been better after the catch.

But in the words of  Lee Corso, "not so fast, my friend."

Recency matters here. Over the last three games, Gordon is still getting the most work, but those red zone numbers have flipped, with Williams getting 60 percent of the red zone work. The overall workload is 28-26 in Gordon's favor in terms of carries, but Wiliams has seen his yards per carry jump to 6.23 over that span, while Gordon is at 5.00, which is still good.

Williams was struggling to get positive plays early on, but he isn't now. Factor in the red zone usage and he's someone I really want on my roster going forward, even if he'll still be splitting work with Gordon and getting the short end of the stick when it comes to total touches.

 

Justin Fields (QB, Chicago Bears)

Bears quarterback Justin Fields has not been very good this year. A quick glance at his metrics on PlayerProfiler can confirm that:

  • 31st in adjusted yards per attempt
  • 32nd in accuracy rating
  • 27th in fantasy points per dropback
  • 49th in Expected Points Added

Yeah, not great!

However, there are some encouraging signs. The Bears are just 31st in team pass plays per game, but Fields leads all quarterbacks in air yards per attempt at 10.3, and he's 15th in deep-ball completion percentage. There's upside here, especially if he can start to hit those short and medium routes more often, and if Matt Nagy can just learn to trust his young quarterback. Please, Matt? I was way too invested in Fields for this to not work.

Fields gets Tampa this week, which has struggled this season in pass defense. If there's ever a perfect time for a breakout game to occur, this is it. He also has meetings with Pittsburgh, Detroit, Seattle, and the Giants upcoming. Fields has a shot to be a great QB2 in two-quarterback leagues and can be had for next to nothing right now.

 

Rashod Bateman (WR, Baltimore Ravens)

Is it finally time for Rashod Bateman?

After missing the first part of his rookie season with a groin injury, the No. 27 pick in this year's draft made his NFL debut against the Chargers. He was targeted six times, catching four passes for 29 yards. Not the best numbers from a player everyone was high on, but let's dig a bit deeper.

Bateman played 65 percent of the offensive snaps, which was more than every Ravens wideout not named Marquise Brown. Not that many Ravens receivers played. Devin Duvernay was the only other receiver to play more than five snaps, as he played 34 for a 49 percent snap share.

Bateman instantly being the No. 2 receiver here is a good sign. Sure, we can go down the whole "will Lamar Jackson throw to another wideout who isn't Hollywood?" rabbit hole, but Sammy Watkins averaged 7.3 targets per game in that role over the first four weeks.

Now, Watkins having a hamstring issue is opening up chances for Bateman, but there's an obvious concern about Watkins returning and forcing Bateman into a smaller role.

My response to that: c'mon y'all, we're talking about Sammy Watkins.

Bateman is the No. 2 wideout now in Baltimore. You can get him for cheap right now from people who were disappointed by his numbers in his debut game.

 

Michael Carter (RB, New York Jets)

Yes, I am about to write positive things about a Jets running back. No, I am not currently being held hostage by a Jets fans. This is not one of those "tweet something that would make your followers realize you are in danger" things. This is just me thinking Michael Carter might be Good At Football™.

Over the past two games, Carter has played 51.28 percent of the Jets offensive snaps, while Ty Johnson has played 35.9 percent. However, Carter has 62.16 percent of the running back carries over that two-game sample, with Johnson and Tevin Coleman trailing at 18.92 percent each.

Over that same span, Carter has been targeted six times, while Johnson is at five and Coleman is at three.

It's becoming clear that Carter is the lead back in New York. And while that might not mean a ton, anyone getting 60-plus percent of a team's backfield touches is notable, especially when he's got four red zone attempts and two red zone touchdowns over the past two games.



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!

More Fantasy Football Analysis




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Griffin Conine

To Have Shoulder Surgery On Tuesday
Luke Keaschall

Twins Prospect Luke Keaschall Suffers Broken Forearm
Logan Gilbert

Leaves Friday's Start With Forearm Tightness

Vikings Select Tai Felton To Finish Day 2

Seahawks Select Quarterback Jalen Milroe With The 92nd Pick Overall

Browns Select Dillon Gabriel 94th Overall

Packers Pick Savion Williams At No. 87 overall

Steelers Snag Kaleb Johnson In Round 3

Broncos Select Wide Receiver Pat Bryant With The 74th Overall Pick

Texans Select Jaylin Noel With 79th Pick

Lions Select Wide Receiver Isaac TeSlaa With The 70th Overall Pick
Jack Leiter

To Start On Sunday

Patriots Add Wide Receiver Kyle Williams In Round 3

Browns Draft Harold Fannin Jr. With 67th Pick
Garrett Mitchell

Makes Early Exit
Luke Keaschall

Removed Early On Friday
Blake Snell

Likely Avoids Major Injury
Cole Ragans

Dealing With Mild Groin Strain

Broncos Add RJ Harvey To Backfield With 60th Pick

Raiders Select Jack Bech With 58th Pick

Chargers Add Wide Receiver Tre Harris In Round 2
Detroit Lions

Lions Acquire 57th Pick From Broncos

Seahawks Draft Elijah Arroyo 50th Overall
Carolina Panthers

Panthers Acquire 51st Pick From Broncos
Arizona Cardinals

Cardinals Snag Will Johnson At No. 47

Jets Add A Pass-Catcher With Mason Taylor At No. 42

Rams Select Terrance Ferguson With 46th Pick
Houston Texans

Texans Acquire 48th Pick From Raiders, Draft Aireontae Ersery

Saints Snag Tyler Shough At No. 40
Brenton Doyle

Out For Personal Reasons On Friday
Brandin Podziemski

Not On Injury Report For Game 3
Jimmy Butler III

Warriors Optimistic About Jimmy Butler III Playing Saturday
Jae'Sean Tate

To Remain Out Saturday
Jock Landale

Unavailable For Game 3
Terry Rozier

Out On Saturday
Jrue Holiday

Ruled Out For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Orlando
Kevin Love

To Miss Saturday's Game
Jaylen Brown

Available For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Magic
Gary Payton II

Iffy For Saturday's Action
Jayson Tatum

Officially Available On Friday For Game 3 Against Magic
Will Smith

Back From Injury On Friday
Luke Kennard

Questionable For Game 4 On Saturday
Darius Garland

Listed As Questionable For Game 3
Ja Morant

To Miss Game 4 On Saturday
Rui Hachimura

Available For Game 3 In Minnesota
Aaron Ekblad

Available To Return Saturday
Erik Swanson

Ryan Burr Progressing
Daulton Varsho

To Return On Tuesday At The Latest
Max Scherzer

Takes Positive Step On Friday
Aleksander Barkov

Questionable For Saturday
Gabriel Landeskog

Set For Larger Role In Game 4
Calvin Pickard

To Start Game 3 For Oilers
Randy Arozarena

Resting For First Time This Year
Jonas Siegenthaler

To Play Limited Minutes In Game 3
MLB

Red Sox-Guardians Game Postponed On Friday
Luke Hughes

Remains Out On Friday
MLB

Tigers-Orioles Postponed On Friday
Patrik Laine

A Game-Time Decision Friday
Yainer Diaz

Out On Friday Against Royals
Iván Herrera

Ivan Herrera Hopes To Start Rehab Assignment Next Week
Salvador Perez

Sitting Out For First Time This Season
Jaylen Brown

Questionable For Game 3 On Friday
Brendan Donovan

Back In Action On Friday
Jimmy Butler III

Could Miss Game 3 On Saturday
Coby Mayo

Getting On A Roll At Triple-A
Carlos Prates

Looks To Remain Undefeated In The UFC
Ian Machado Garry

Set For UFC Kansas City Main Event
Cade Cunningham

Collects Double-Double In Loss
Jalen Brunson

Drops 30 Points In Game 3
Karl-Anthony Towns

Leads All Scorers In Game 3 Victory
Zhang Mingyang

Scheduled For Co-Main Event
Anthony Smith

Set For His Final UFC Bout
David Onama

Set For Featherweight Bout
Giga Chikadze

Looks To Bounce Back
Abus Magomedov

Looks For His Third Consecutive Win
Michel Pereira

Returns To Action At UFC Kansas City
Nicolas Dalby

An Underdog At UFC Kansas City
Randy Brown

A Favorite At UFC Kansas City
Andre Muniz

Set To Open Up UFC Kansas City Main Card
Ikram Aliskerov

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Sergei Bobrovsky

Shuts Out Lightning In Game 2
Cam Fowler

Finishes Thursday's Win With Five Points
Robert Thomas

Posts Four Assists In Game 3 Win
Pavel Buchnevich

Celebrates Hat Trick During Four-Point Performance
Dylan DeMelo

Battling An Illness
Marcus Johansson

Exits Early Thursday
Aleksander Barkov

Hurt In Game 2
Jrue Holiday

Tagged As Questionable For Friday
Jayson Tatum

Likely Out Again On Friday
Anthony Cirelli

Good To Go Thursday
Andrei Vasilevskiy

Looks To Bounce Back In Game 2
Rasmus Ristolainen

To Miss Training Camp
Jonas Siegenthaler

Returns To Practice
Aliaksei Protas

Traveling With Capitals
Gabriel Vilardi

Still Out On Thursday
Max Pacioretty

Set To Join Maple Leafs Lineup For Game 3
Cam Davis

Looking For Better Fortunes At TPC Louisiana
Adam Svensson

Making Third Apperence At Zurich Classic
Max Greyserman

Aiming For Similar Success At TPC Louisiana
Lee Hodges

A High-Upside Player In New Orleans
PGA

Nico Echavarria Looks To Ride Off Of Elite Putting In New Orleans
Gary Woodland

A Player Worth Watching In New Orleans
Max McGreevy

Returns To The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans
Rasmus Hojgaard

In Search Of Consistency Ahead Of Zurich Classic
Sam Stevens

A Boom-Or-Bust Candidate In New Orleans
Nicolai Hojgaard

Looking To Turn Season Around At Zurich Classic
Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Looks To Sway A Hot Putter In Teams Favor At Zurich Classic
Akshay Bhatia

Looking To Bounce Back At TPC Louisiana
Carson Young

Looks To Turn Things Around At TPC Louisiana
Erik Van Rooyen

Looking For Momentum In Louisiana
Andrew Novak

Making Start At TPC Louisiana After Near Miss At Harbour Town
Ben Griffin

Making Third Career Start At Zurich Classic
Taylor Moore

Competing With A New Teammate In New Orleans
Wyndham Clark

Making Return To New Orleans
Kurt Kitayama

Teeing It Up Again In New Orleans
Collin Morikawa

Back At Zurich Classic For Fifth Time
Thomas Detry

Making Third Appearance At New Orleans Team Event
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF