Breakdowns

12/21/21

5 min read

Week 15 Rookie Report: St. Brown a Budding Star

Whether they are high draft picks, late-round value picks, or undrafted free agents, we’ll take a look each week of the NFL season at how NFL rookies are doing. Here’s this week’s report:

Stock Up Offensive Players

QB: Justin Fields - Fields had another good game in primetime, despite the offense not being able to finish in the red zone. He went 26/39, 285, 1/0, had a passer rating of 96.6, and a grade of 73.5. 

RB: Javonte Williams - While not as explosive as last week, Williams still had a very solid day with the ball in his hands. He had 15 carries for 72 yards and also had 4 catches. He finished with a grade of 77.4. 

WR: Amon-Ra St. Brown - St. Brown has put together a lot of good games down the stretch, and might have had his best on Sunday. He had 8/90/1, as he earned a grade of 78.8.

OL: Teven Jenkins - Despite 2 penalties, Jenkins looked much improved from last week. Still at LT, he allowed just 2 pressures and was very solid in the run game. He finished with a grade of 67.2.

OL: Liam Eichenberg - Eichenberg, who has struggled much of the season, played a clean game on Sunday. He allowed just 2 pressures, finishing with a grade of 74.3.

OL: Quinn Meinerz - Meinerz had another very solid week. Despite allowing a sack, he allowed just one other pressure and played very well in the run game. He earned a grade of 79.5.

Stock Down Offensive Players 

QB: Mac Jones - Jones has played well all season long, but did not get things going until late in the second half in Saturday’s loss to the Colts. He finished the game 26/45, 299, 2/2, had a passer rating of 74.2, and a grade of 62.5.

RB: Rhamondre Stevenson - Stevenson has run the ball well all year, but on a tough night for the Patriots' offense, he also struggled. He had 11 carries for just 39 yards and also fumbled. He earned a grade of just 46.8. 

WR: Ja’Marr Chase - Chase has normally been a monster but was not very heavily involved on Sunday. He was targeted just four times and had 2 catches for 49 yards, finishing with a grade of just 58.6.

OL: Jalen Mayfield - Mayfield had been playing well but allowed 5 pressures and a sack in pass protection on Sunday, as he finished with a grade of 41.0.

OL: Spencer Brown - Brown has played pretty well so far in his career, but did struggle a bit on Sunday. He allowed 5 pressures in pass protection, as he earned a grade of just 42.1.

  

Stock Up Defensive Players

DL: Joe Tryon-Shoyinka - Tryon-Shoyinka has been pretty solid all season long but has not been able to consistently get to the QB. On Sunday, he had a sack and 5 total pressures, finishing with a grade of 88.8.

LB: Nick Bolton - Bolton has been reliable for the majority of the season and excelled on Thursday night. He totaled 14 tackles and 3 PDs, as he finished with a grade of 90.7.

DB: Tyson Campbell - Campbell has played well of late and performed really well on Sunday. He was targeted 6 times and allowed just 2 catches for 9 yards, including coming up with an INT. He finished with a grade of 92.5.

DB: Brandin Echols - Echols struggled against the run, but made some key plays in coverage as he makes his debut on the stock-up portion of this list this week. On four targets, he allowed just one catch and had an INT, which he returned for a TD. He finished with a grade of 84.2. 

DB: Thomas Graham Jr - Graham Jr made his career debut on Monday night and performed really well. He allowed just 2 catches for 10 yards on 4 targets and had 3 forced incompletions. He earned a grade of 90.7.

 

Stock Down Defensive Players

DL: Odafe Oweh - Oweh has been great all year but did not generate much pressure in the pass game, and was not very disruptive in the run game against the Packers. He had just 1 tackle and finished with a grade of 49.2.

 DL: Jaelan Phillips - Phillips had been playing great going into the dolphins’ bye week but did not play very well on Sunday. He generated just one pressure against a damaged Jets OL, as he earned a grade of just 46.7. 

LB: Derrick Barnes - Barnes cannot seem to get off this portion of the list. While he played better than last week, he still was not great. He had 5 tackles and allowed 3 catches on 3 targets. He finished with a grade of 42.2.

DB: Michael Carter II - After a hot start to his career, Carter II has had a rough go of things down the stretch. He allowed 2 first-down catches and did not play well in the run game on Sunday. He finished with a grade of 36.5. 

DB: Ambry Thomas - Like last week, Thomas struggled on Sunday, as allowed 4 catches for 95 yards and a TD. He finished with a grade of 38.4.

 

Week 16 Matchups

Going into Week 16, there are some noteworthy matchups of rookies that will be worth keeping an eye on. 

Kyle Pitts VS Derek Barnes - Pitts has gone a couple of weeks without a dominating performance, but he is always a matchup nightmare. Barnes is looking to turn things around, as he has struggled the majority of the season. 

Zach Wilson VS Trevor Lawrence - Wilson and Lawrence have both had tough seasons to start their careers, as every play they have made has been under a microscope. On Sunday, the first and second overall picks will get the chance to face one another.

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