Todd Gurley looks to have taken over bell-cow duties for the Rams

Every week I will be doing a short review of the top five performances by rookies of the previous week in terms of fantasy scoring and what to expect in their following matchup. All point totals are in standard scoring

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Duke Johnson – RB – Cleveland Browns – 17.60
Johnson had eight carries for 31 yards and caught 9-of-10 targets for 85 yards with a touchdown in Sunday’s 30-27 loss at San Diego. Johnson caught a 34-yard touchdown in the second quarter where he used his speed to run under a deep ball in the corner of the end zone. Johnson almost had a second touchdown, but was stopped short at the one-yard line, though it is nice to see him getting goal-line carries. The Browns other RB, Isaiah Crowell, was productive enough and managed 12 carries. We will likely see the two splitting carries for the majority of the season until one of them really steps it up. The Browns travel to Baltimore next week and although they gave up 21-points to Le’Veon Bell in Week 4, I don’t expect Johnson to find the same success. However, anything can happen in a rivalry game, so I wouldn’t be too surprised if he scores once or twice.

Todd Gurley – RB – St. Louis Rams – 12.60
Gurley ran for a career-high 146 yards on 19 carries and caught 2-of-2 targets for 15 yards in Sunday’s 24-22 win at Arizona. After a very, very quiet first half, Gurley broke off a 52-yard run in the second half of the game. Gurley also had a 20-yard run, and a 30-yard run in the final drive in which he intentionally went to the ground to seal the victory for the Rams. He most likely could’ve scored had the situation been different. He showed power and speed in what was his first real action as a rookie coming off of an ACL injury in college, and he will definitely keep it going in Week 5 against the Packers. Gurley is most likely going to be a workhorse back from here on out as fellow running backs, Tre Mason (totaled -1 yard on two attempts) and Benny Cunningham (totaled zero yards on two attempts), couldn’t get anything going and had very minimal chance to carry the ball with Gurley finally healthy.

Terron Ward – RB – Atlanta Falcons – 15.00
Atlanta running back Terron Ward carried 19 times for 72 yards and a touchdown and caught one pass for 18 yards in Sunday’s 48-21 win over the Texans. The Falcons jumped out to 42-0 lead in the game, which explains Ward’s high volume of touches Sunday. Starting RB Devonta Freeman ran for 149 yards and found the end zone three times on Sunday, so he is firmly the No. 1 back in Atlanta. Unless the Falcons continue to jump out to massive leads, I don’t expect Ward to get nearly as many touches or opportunities, as Freeman and Tevin Coleman are both still ahead of him on the depth chart.

Karlos Williams – RB – Buffalo Bills – 13.00
Williams rushed 18 times for just 40 yards Sunday against the Giants, though he did catch three passes on four targets for 30 receiving yards and a touchdown. I expected a lot from Williams in LeSean McCoy’s absence but the Giants seemed to have an answer to him. If Williams clears the concussion protocol I still believe he can have an excellent game in Week 5 against the Titans because of his straightforward style of running. However, if Williams can’t go, Boobie Dixon will likely be the starter, as McCoy could miss up to four more weeks.

Jameis Winston – QB – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 12.68
Winston completed 26-of-43 passes for 287 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions in Sunday’s 37-23 loss to the Panthers. He also gained 12 yards on four rushes. Winston making my top five is because of a lack of high-scoring rookies. I do not like Winston in any matchup as he has shown that he can’t protect the ball with seven interceptions and one lost fumble in the first four weeks. Winston has been able to redeem his bad performances from a fantasy perspective by getting a lot of garbage points late in games that have already been decided. Week 5 the Bucs take on Jacksonville in what I expect to be an ugly game. The Jaguars don’t have the best defense so Winston has a chance to put together a good game, however, I simply do not trust him with all the turnovers.

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Honorable mentions

• Although he didn’t quite crack the top five rookies this week, unless you are in a PPR league, Amari Cooper (WR, Oakland Raiders, 10.90) managed his second touchdown of the season and has shown that he can be pretty consistent.

• T.J. Yeldon (RB, Jacksonville Jaguars, 10.90) had his first 100-yard rushing game of the season.

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Nathan Holmes is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Nathan, check out his archive and follow him @TheNathanHolmes.