Rookie fever is a disease that plagues the fantasy football community year in and year out. There is no vaccine. There is no cure. It is untreatable. No, not even more cowbell can stop it. Once it hits you, it feels like you just got run over by a freight train and while it is somewhat manageable at times, no one is immune. Some say they are, but then Ashton Jeanty walks in and they succumb to it immediately.
When Jeanty was drafted by the Raiders, those tagged by rookie fever ignored everything from a weird coaching hire to an offensive scheme that made little sense to a subpar offensive line. Images of him rushing for 65-yard touchdowns on the blue turf of Boise State danced through their heads and they became powerless to the pyrexia. Whether they made their fantasy playoffs or not; whether they were able to reap the benefits of his season-best Week 16 performance, the fever got a hold of them early and recovery chances were slim.
And that’s the way it goes when you’re a fantasy owner who has come down with rookie fever. The rollercoaster of emotions is probably the worst of all the symptoms. Remember the delirium for those afflicted by Buccaneers receiver Emeka Egbuka? Five weeks of euphoria followed up by 10 weeks of nausea and anxiety? Week 10 was a surprising return to greatness, but most had him sitting on their bench, further aggravating the infection.
Running backs like R.J. Harvey, Omarion Hampton and Quinshon Judkins all tantalized us with their talents. So did Cam Skattebo, Bhayshul Tuten and Dylan Sampson, but injuries and a lack of opportunity, two of the worst traits of rookie fever, kept fantasy owners under the weather. Flashes of a full recovery were witnessed, but the negative aspects of the fever were too strong.
If you had the fever and wide receivers and tight ends were your pleasure, you probably found yourself in the emergency room known as the waiver wire on more than one occasion. Travis Hunter, Matthew Golden, Tre Harris, Jayden Higgins, Luther Burden III, Colston Loveland and Mason Taylor were added and dropped more times than you probably had to run to the bathroom after seeing their weekly fantasy production.
If you did manage to land on Tetairoa McMillan or Tyler Warren, you were at least treated to some weeks of lucidity. It took McMillan some time to get going — just two scores in the first 10 weeks — but he did help with a playoff push if you stuck with him. And Warren managed to provide a high-floor at a weak position, but even those numbers didn’t stifle the negative aspects of the fever.
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And rookie fever with quarterbacks, probably the most dangerous there is, may have taken the most fantasy lives of all. Anyone hoping for production from Cam Ward was immediately shipped to the fantasy morgue, while Jaxson Dart owners breathed easy for a short time, but eventually met their demise in concussion protocol.
Try not to let a season like this deter you from having hope for first-year players. A new crop is already on its way, ready to be over-drafted by those who have no rookie immune system. Hope is a good thing, but don’t surrender to it completely. The NFL game is much more difficult than the collegiate one. Remember that for next year’s drafts.
Howard Bender is the head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on X @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy football news and advice.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
