Fantasy Football Week 9 Rookie Report: "This is a rest-of-season top-five tight end" — on Oronde Gadsden II and more

https://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/article/fantasy-football-week-9-rookie-report-this-is-a-rest-of-season-top-five-tight-end--on-oronde-gadsden-ii-and-more-150327718.html

Five rookies whose roles are growing or in question — that is the list this time. Each week is its own story in the NFL. Injuries hit and suddenly a backup is taking the first snap of a series. We follow usage, not vibes. Snaps, routes and touches tell you where the ball is going next. At this stage of the season, upside matters more than name value. You want rookies with fresh legs and schemes that create layups. If the role grows, you are ahead of the waiver run. If it stalls, you move on fast. Simple process.

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Let’s dive into the five names you need heading into Week 9.

Oronde Gadsden II, TE, Chargers

The rookie is real. The role has exploded and the production followed. After a slow open, Gadsden’s route rate has climbed every week, jumping from 29% in Week 3 to 94% in Week 8. That is full-time tight end usage on a pass-first offense run by Justin Herbert. The result is bankable volume with splash-play upside because Gadsden wins like a jumbo receiver from the slot and out wide. Through six games, he sits fifth among tight ends with 385 receiving yards, trailing only Trey McBride, Tucker Kraft, Travis Kelce and Tyler Warren. The film backs the numbers. He separates on corners and seams, plays through contact and gives Herbert a clean target in the red zone.

Usage says this is sticky. Over the last three weeks, his Trinity score checks in at 7.58, which is the neighborhood where alpha receivers live. He is second among Chargers pass catchers by that metric, behind Ladd McConkey at 8.15 and Keenan Allen at 6.85. The route consolidation has come as Quentin Johnston took a step back during this stretch. When the staff needed chain-moving answers, they leaned into 12 personnel with Gadsden detached as the featured mismatch.

Matchups will sometimes be hit or miss, but the role holds. Gadsden is running near every dropback with a growing slice of first-read looks and two-minute snaps. The aDOT sits in the sweet spot where tight ends can stack efficient yards without living on broken plays. Even when the touchdowns regress, he carries a yardage floor that holds.

Tight end is a onesie-position where difference-makers tilt weeks. Gadsden already fits that description on usage alone.

Ray’s Rookie Read: Trade for him if you can because this is a rest-of-season top-five tight end with weekly TE1 ceiling.

Jaxson Dart, QB, Giants

Dart gave us the classic streamer arc. Since taking over, he’s stacked multiple top-12 weeks with a top-four finish in Weeks 6 and 7. The appeal is simple. He runs as well as passes and the staff is calling his number near the end zone. He has 4 rushing touchdowns and he has scored on the ground in four of his five starts. He has also thrown a touchdown in every start, which kept the weekly floor alive even when the passing game sputtered. In Week 8, Dart pushed close to 20 fantasy points despite losing rookie back Cam Skattebo midgame.

Here is the concern. Skattebo is out for the season and this offense already lacked a true perimeter hammer with Malik Nabers also done for the year. The passing game has been choppy. When the backfield loses its best creator, the red zone compresses and defenses play heavy hands on rollout looks that fuel Dart’s fantasy value. Since Week 6, the only Giants receiver giving us startable lines is Wan’Dale Robinson from the slot, which forces long drives to stack short gains. That is a tough way to live for a rookie quarterback.

Dart’s future still looks bright. The rushing piece is real and the staff trusts him in the red zone. But the situation around him got worse. With Skattebo out, the designed run rate could dip and the play-action game loses bite.

You need more than aura to survive as a starter in fantasy football. You need weapons that turn throws into yards and this offense does not have enough of them right now.

Ray’s Rookie Read: Out of streaming territory until the Giants get healthier or show us a functional pass game.

Chimere Dike, WR, Titans

This is the Titans rookie you add before your league mates wake up. The role has grown fast and the production finally popped. Over the last two games, Dike stacked 4 for 70 with a touchdown against New England, then 7 for 93 at Indy. The tape matches the box score. He is the field stretcher in an offense that needs speed and he is earning trust on money downs. In Week 8, Dike logged 63 snaps, 39 routes and 8 targets. That is starter usage tied to a vertical skill set that fits Cam Ward’s big arm.

Zoom out and the trend says this is real. Through eight games, Dike sits at 20 receptions on 30 targets for 189 yards with one score, with a long of 38 yards. Tennessee has sprinkled in a few gadget carries but the value is through the air, where he separates on digs and posts. Per the Trinity usage model at DDFantasyFootball.com, Dike’s recent two-week surge pushed his score to 5.90, which leads this Titans receiver room by a healthy margin.

Translation for fantasy: The team is calling Dike’s number and Dike is delivering.

The matchup invites volume. Tennessee goes up against the Chargers as double-digit home underdogs which projects pass rate and negative script. Wide receiver Calvin Ridley has been out with a hamstring injury the past few weeks, funneling snaps and targets to the rookies with Dike the clear winner. Ward has had rookie struggles, yet his best throws come when he lets it rip. Dike’s speed forces safeties to honor the third level, which opens intermediate access for chain movers and keeps the rookie in the splash-play mix. He also handles return work, which creates extra chances to flash.

You chase growing roles on bad teams because garbage time still pays. Dike checks that box with juice to spare.

Ray’s Rookie Read: As long as Calvin Ridley is out, Dike is a priority add with boom-bust WR3/4 juice in Week 9.

Dylan Sampson, RB, Browns

Sampson’s role dipped after Quinshon Judkins returned in Week 2, but Week 8 flipped the script. Judkins left the game with a shoulder injury believed to be an AC sprain and Sampson immediately took over as the Browns’ RB1 over Jerome Ford. From that point, he delivered 7.9 PPR with a workhorse profile: 73% snaps, 75% of the rush attempts, 68% routes, 32% targets and 1.93 yards per route run. That is feature-back usage tied to a skill set we have seen produce. In Week 1, he led Cleveland backs with 93 scrimmage yards on 20 touches.

The fit with this offense is clean. Cleveland is not pushing the ball downfield, so the quick game and running back involvement are staples. Sampson brings burst with reliable hands, which helps screens, angle routes and hurry-up. If the Browns keep leaning on short throws to stay on schedule his route share makes him a high-value touch magnet while Judkins is sidelined or limited.

Short-term, this is a stash then smash. Cleveland is on bye in Week 9, so you cannot deploy Sampson right away, but you should still prioritize the add. If Judkins’ shoulder lingers after the week off, Sampson profiles as the lead back with Ford mixing in for change-of-pace work.

The usage spike after Judkins exited was not noise — it was a clear signal from the staff about who they trust to handle volume and the passing-down role in a conservative attack.

Aggressive managers win by getting ahead of the waiver run. This is that move.

Ray’s Rookie Read: Pick him up now and plan to flex him after the bye if Judkins sits or is limited.

Devin Neal, RB, Saints

Here is the angle: New Orleans looks stuck and that often triggers a usage tweak. In Week 8, Devin Neal played close to 50% of the snaps, caught three balls for 11 yards but did not log a carry. Alvin Kamara had only four backfield carries through the third quarter while Tyler Shough and Spencer Rattler were next with three each. Kamara is averaging 3.6 yards per carry and is on pace for the fewest receiving yards of his career with one touchdown. Kendre Miller is done for the season. The runway is open for a different split.

Neal fits the early-down mold. He squared up blitzers against Tampa Bay which keeps the staff comfortable handing him grinder work between the tackles. That would free Kamara to live where he wins best right now, as a motion piece and outlet receiver. If that shift happens, Neal becomes the hammer for the boring yards that sustain drives and the goal-line taps that swing weeks.

This is not a takeover call. It is a bet on role clarity on a team searching for answers. In half-PPR, the early-down back with touchdown equity holds real value even when the box score is dusty. If Neal starts taking the first snap of series and owns the A-gap work, he can slide into bye week lineups while Kamara soaks up space touches.

Add Neal in deeper leagues and watch the first-snap and short-yardage usage over the next two games.

Ray’s Rookie Read: Stash as a potential early-down grinder with goal-line juice if the Saints tilt Kamara to a receiver-first role.

https://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/article/fantasy-football-week-9-rookie-report-this-is-a-rest-of-season-top-five-tight-end--on-oronde-gadsden-ii-and-more-150327718.html