Last week, I covered several prominent rookies and whether or not it was time to panic. In the ever-changing NFL landscape, it felt necessary to follow up on that piece and provide updates on how our young players are doing. Some looked better, others may be in a worse position. Here’s what to do with those questionable rookies.
Travis Hunter, WR/DB, Jacksonville Jaguars
While we haven’t hit DEFCON-5 yet with Travis Hunter, we are slowly approaching that level of concern. The worst hasn’t happened in that he hasn’t swapped out his offensive snaps for defense. However, week three saw his lowest involvement in the offense (two targets, one catch) and his highest defensive snap percentage (68.3%).
After the first two weeks, there was still reason for optimism. He gathered 14 targets but only caught nine passes for 55 yards, alluding to a bigger role if a couple of those receptions could turn into explosive plays. I didn’t expect him to have his breakout against Houston’s defense, but it was a tough watch to see him only make one play.
There is not much you can do about having Travis Hunter on your roster for now. You can’t play him until we see him have a good game because his floor is too low. You aren’t going to get any value in a trade with his defensive play and low offensive output. You’re best served by holding on and hoping for a second-half breakout, but I wouldn’t consider dropping him yet.
Matthew Golden, WR, Green Bay Packers
Last week, things looked about as grim as they could for Golden in this offense. While I was quite concerned, it was always worth holding to see how his involvement would change with the injury to Jayden Reed. It’s hard to get a read on any offense when playing the Cleveland Browns defense, but what we got was reason for optimism.
Golden took in four targets for four receptions, 52 yards, and added three rushing attempts. The promising outlook is that it seems he’ll be taking over the Jayden Reed role in his absence. This is exciting for Golden managers because that role led to several massive performances last season. Seven touches in his first game without Reed was a great first step.
However, we may need to wait a little longer before we can rely on him. A positive game script led to more opportunities, especially with Tucker Kraft banged up. This team still wants to win through defense and run game, and has a crowded field of receivers.
I’m afraid Golden is going to be a little too similar to Reed, in that he’ll have an explosive game but harshly come back to Earth the next game, leading to more frustration than fantasy success. Hopefully, that big game is just beyond the horizon.
Luther Burden III, WR, Chicago Bears
It was awesome to watch Burden have a bit of a breakout with an explosive play that went for a touchdown. Even without it, he chunked the Dallas defense with 36 more yards on two more catches. This was an impressive game from Burden that could showcase things to come, but don’t buy in yet.
While his first real work turned into big results, his four total touches aren’t something to get too excited about. Unless he turns his low usage into massive production consistently, you’re still not getting enough to reliably start him.
Could this be what the coaching staff needed to see to get him more involved? Sure. But Rome Odunze and D.J. Moore are always going to come first in the pecking order, and the rest is to be split between Swift, Kmet, Loveland, and Burden. If the Bears could play the Cowboys’ defense every week, maybe we’d have something, but I wouldn’t want this to be the norm.
This could be the perfect sell-high opportunity for deeper leagues if you can convince a buyer that this was his breakout. Otherwise, you don’t need to rush out to obtain Burden.
Colston Loveland, TE, Chicago Bears
Loveland, just like Burden, turned in an explosive play last week against the Cowboys. Whereas Burden managed to do a little more, the 31-yard reception that Loveland had would be his only production for the day. He was later hurt on an incomplete pass.
Loveland avoided a major injury, so there’s still room for an eventual breakout. However, if you were still holding onto him before this, you can comfortably drop him now. Averaging just two targets and one reception a game, there’s not nearly enough workload here to consider starting or even keeping on the bench.
Loveland was banged up through the offseason, is hurt again, and will still be competing for snaps and targets in a busy receiving room once (if) he gets to full health. I’m comfortable in saying that we can look toward 2026 for his fantasy involvement.
TreVeyon Henderson, RB, New England Patriots
Henderson is the prime example of the patience required with a majority of rookies. Last week, Henderson was grabby in pass protection and saw his snaps dwindle due to his mistakes. This week, Antonio Gibson and Rhamondre Stevenson fumbled three total times, leading to Henderson’s takeover of that backfield.
Penalties are a frustrating mistake, but fumbles are unforgivable. Stevenson and Gibson have both struggled with this issue historically, so when all three fumbles were recovered by Pittsburgh, it could have been the death knell in their involvement. Henderson didn’t turn in fantastic results, but his 14 touches are extremely promising.
That doesn’t mean that Henderson is a slam dunk going forward. The Patriots’ offense hasn’t been good through two weeks, and Stevenson and Gibson aren’t just going to go away. But still, Henderson should slowly and surely take a majority of the touches, and he is a big-play threat every time he gets the ball. Once the trade window closes, you won’t get another chance to buy him.
RJ Harvey, RB, Denver Broncos
The good news is that Harvey has taken over Tyler Badie’s offensive snaps as the latter turned in just two offensive plays and no touches. There’s no guarantee that’ll hold, but Badie’s snaps and touches evaporating without a reported injury feels pretty substantial.
The bad news is that it didn’t turn into an extra opportunity for Harvey, yet. It was a weird game for Denver, which led late in the game but was dominated in time of possession, holding the ball for just 23 minutes to the Chargers’ 36. That resulted in low volume for most of the offense, including J.K. Dobbins, who saw just 12 touches.
But the roles are still clear. This is Dobbin’s backfield until it isn’t. If this game was a sign of things to come, Harvey may have finally moved into that RB2 role, which could come with playable results in the near future. But for now, his value is at its lowest it can be. If he’s going to bear legit fantasy relevance, it’s probably not going to happen until late in the season.
Kaleb Johnson, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
I was already completely out on Johnson after the first two weeks, letting managers know in last week’s article that you can comfortably release him. It would be difficult to somehow get less usage than his one-touch per-game average to start the season, yet amazingly, he did. Johnson recorded 0 snaps in week three, not taking the field at all.
This was likely in response to his special teams mishap that resulted in a Seattle touchdown in week two. The coaching staff took the blame publicly, but it became very evident that Johnson lost his thin hold on any playing time.
It’ll take an injury to Jaylen Warren or Kenneth Gainwell before Johnson has any shot of being relevant. Even then, it doesn’t seem like he has the trust of the coaches or Aaron Rodgers. There’s a chance he becomes a player by late season, but in the near future, you don’t need to consider Kaleb Johnson in any way.
