By Nicholas Billy
In our first installment of the rookie rundown, I give you my top two offensive rookies of the week and two rookies who did not fare as well. The end result of the game will only be used as a factor for tiebreakers.
Good
C.J Beathard QB San Francisco 49ers- In Beathard’s first start for the 49ers, he completed 57.9% of his passes going 22-38 for 235 yards. Beathard also rushed for 30 yards on five carries and scored the 49ers only touchdown.
Beathard did fumble twice and struggled to get the offense on track. As a result, the 49ers were manhandled by the Cowboys in what was a lopsided game. Week 7 Result- Loss to DAL 40-10
Aaron Jones RB Green Bay Packers- With Brett Hundley making his first official regular season start for the Packers, Green Bay needed a strong showing from their running game. Jones gave them exactly what they needed, rushing for 131 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.
Jones has emerged as a solid complement to Ty Montgomery and the Packers passing game. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as Drew Brees and the Saints were too much for the Packers to contain. Week 7 Result- Loss to NO 26-17
Honorable Mention- Kareem Hunt RB Kansas City Chiefs, JuJu Smith-Schuster WR Pittsburgh Steelers
Bad
Deshone Kizer QB Cleveland Browns- If you thought it couldn’t get any worse for Kizer, you were wrong. After being pulled from a game two weeks ago and not starting last week, Kizer found himself starting again only to be benched once again due to poor play.
Kizer went 12-20 for only 114 yards and two interceptions in his return to the starter’s role. If Kizer wants to be a franchise quarterback in the NFL, he will need to turn his whole game around. He also may not want to be out late Friday night into Saturday morning before a game; Cleveland already dealt with a young QB who liked to party a little too much. Week 7 Result Loss to TEN 12-9.
Christian McCaffrey RB Carolina Panthers- McCaffery struggled against the Beas in week seven gaining only 10 yards on seven attempts. McCaffery did catch passes or 36 yards but he once struggled to make an impact. In fact, you can make the case thus that McCaffery has been a disappointment up until this point. The Panthers are counting on McCaffery to be a different maker but coach Mike Shula needs to get him the ball in space otherwise McCaffery is ineffectivejust strictly being a runner. Week 7 Result Loss to CHI 17-3
Honorable Mention- Mitchell Trubisky QB Chicago Bears, Joe Mixon RB Cincinnati Bengals