NFL Rookie Battle Royale: Week 2

The week is pretty much in the books, and there was actually a lot of rookie action during the games, so ill try to keep it short to cover all the recaps. There were definitely some surprises as well, and a few possible contenders for rookie of the week, in addition to those who were also coming off good games in Week 1.

Mark Sanchez

Who wouldve thought that a rookie QB could actually beat the almighty Patriots. I didn’t. Sanchez played well, and even threw a nice TD en route to another win. I would think that after this week, in addition to last, his cards should continue to soar in price. I wouldn’t go out and buy any until he comes down from this high, though he may not actually do so if the Jets continue to have a good season. Regardless, 163 and a touchdown is always a good performance against a stingy defense.

Matt Stafford

After the first half, I was sweating the Lions play against my Vikings, as Stafford was actually hanging in there. He wasn’t counted on much, mostly handing off to a rushing game that was having success. Then, when the second half started, and the Vikings were gaining momentum, he crumbled as most rookies would. He ended up adding to his interception total rather than his small TD total, which led to the kitties losing again. His cards were a bad hold to start, and though he will probably end up with a good career, this year will not be a good one for his card value. He will throw more INTs than TDs, and should end up with one win, four at the most. I will say this, the Lions do look BETTER than the Browns this year.

Percy Harvin

Harvin had another good week, though he was playing against a defense that could be one of the softest he plays all year. He had a few key third down catches, as well as a touchdown, which should raise card and fantasy value even more than it already is. One thing I noticed watching him was that like Peterson, Harvin refuses to go down. There was one play where he had four Lions trying to push him back and still ended up falling forward for a few more key yards. He is going to be great.

Johnny Knox

Mr Knox had another good game, catching 6 passes and touchdown for 70 yards. With Forte sputtering (YES!), Knox has been there to pick up some of the slack, something I would guess Cutler is quite happy about. His values started climbing last week, and will continue this week, as he proves himself to be a vital part of the Bears' young receiver corps. Knox looks good, and could potentially be a star one day, so those fans looking for a Bear to collect should go to him.

Julian Edelman

Who the fuck is Julian Edelman, right? He had a great week for the Patriots in the absence of Wes Welker, thus proving that Brady needs a goofy white guy to throw to each game, haha. Edelman was one of the last picks of the draft, and wasn’t even invited to the combine, though had a great pro day. He obviously made the team, and could end up as a good four guy for the Pats. I wouldn’t expect long term success, but he did look amazing in his role. Considering the Pats have two great receivers already, he may not be a good one to invest in quite yet.

Knowshon Moreno

The Broncos made Moreno more a part of their offense this week, and he responded with the best performance out of a rookie back so far this year. He put together close to 100 total yards, and though he didn’t get a TD, im sure he will continue to be a good option for a team that lost their best player. Moreno should end up being great, but right now its obvious that he is still feeling things out. Im guessing he will be the first one to break a big one of all the rookies this year. Not Chris Johnson or Matt Forte style from last year, but still good. Donald Brown still has yet to play, so we will see what is going to happen with that.

Beanie Wells

The Cardinals played MUCH better this week, and therefore Beanie wasn’t as much of a focus. Hightower got their rushing score, and Wells managed 7 for 44 yards. Not awful, but not great either. He is going to need to prove his worth, especially with Fitz and Boldin being the lynchpins of the offense. I would say he should be a good back eventually, but its going to take a big game for him to gain the trust to handle more stuff. Hightower will get the goalline carries, so that's also going to be a problem for the people who collect him. He has an OSU following, so his cards wont be cheap, but they wont be worth much more until next year probably.

Maclin and McCoy

These two guys could end up being the best rookie tandem of the year, but so far Maclin has done nothing. He had 2 catches for 22, which doesn’t bode well coming off a shutout last week for him. McCoy had a decent game with 55 total yards, which was great with Westbrook in front of him. It shows that the Eagles want him there, and should solify some of his card values. McCoy should develop nicely this year, and with the starter being kind of injury prone, he could move up quite quickly.

Next week is also looking like it could be a good week for the rookies, and you can bet that this is the time where the teams are also cementing depth chart roles, as well. We should see a big rookie week next week, and I am looking forward to seeing how Stafford and Sanchez come off their games respectively. If Sanchez wins again, look for astronomical prices, the opposite happening for Stafford if he continues to throw picks. Marky Mark got lucky playing for a good team, so it will be great for his values once the end of the season comes. Oustide of that, we shall see how Harvin and Knox continue, as well as seeing if Britt and Hey Bey grow in their roles.