Freshman Quarterbacks Shine, Arch Manning Panic and NFL Action is Back

The first week of college football has us filled with panic and excitement in a way no other week could. Pair that with the first week of NFL action and we have a lot to get into. In this week's edition of the Rookie Big Board:

• 4 devy quarterbacks we (might) need to panic about
• 6 dynasty waiver wire targets available in less than 31% of leagues
• 18 devy risers from the first week of college football
• Play for prizes in the NFL and CFB pick'em contests hosted by the RBB

I will refer to my rankings throughout this article. You can check them out here.

Devy Panic Meter: 4 QBs off to a Slow Start

Few things strike fear into devy managers more than a poor Week 1 performance.

Arch Manning: Panic Meter 1 (Not Panicked)

Manning clearly struggled in his de facto college football debut. He completed just 57% of his 30 passing attempts for 170 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception in Texas' Week 1 loss to Ohio State. He lacked confidence, was underthrowing his targets, and his throwing motion lacked consistency. Manning was unable to use his athleticism to break open the Buckeyes defense. He rushed the ball 10 times for just 38 yards. Still-a tough outing in his third career start against likely the best defense he will face all season is hardly a reason to panic. Manning is on the 2027 plan, meaning he has two seasons to develop. His next three games against San Jose St., UTEP and Sam Houston should give everyone a confidence boost.

Ty Simpson: Panic Meter 5 (Very Panicked)

Simpson led an Alabama offense that looked completely lost against a solid, but not top-tier Florida State defense. The box score was bad: he completed just 53% of his 43 passing attempts for 254 yards. The play calling is more concerning. The coaching staff clearly did not trust him to push the ball downfield or into tight coverage. It is hard to see him having success against Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, LSU and Auburn later this season. If Alabama finds themselves staring down a 7 or 8 win season, head coach Kalen DeBoer will have to turn the reigns of the offense over to true freshman Keelon Russell.

Cade Klubnik: Panic Meter 3.5 (Panicked)

Klubnik looked lost against LSU while completing just 50% of his 38 passing attempts for 230 yards and an interception. His accuracy, poise under pressure and ability to hit targets over the middle were the highlights of my summer scouting review. None of that was present in Week 1. Clemson will not face another respectable defense until November, when they host Florida State. Hopefully by that time Clemson will have worked out a decent running game to take pressure off Klubnik. Unless that happens, Klubnik looks doomed to enter the NFL Draft process with a reputation of falling short in big games. That will effect his draft capital.

Fernando Mendoza: Panic Meter 2 (Just a bit Panicked)

Mendoza's poor Week 1 performance is flying under the radar, but I think it needs to be addressed. He went 18/31 for 193 yards without a passing touchdown against Old Dominion. He did rush 6 times for 33 yards and a touchdown. The entire offense looked out of sync, but I am willing to chalk it up to a lot of new pieces in a scheme that does require time to come together. Kennesaw State and Indiana State are up next then it is Illinois, Iowa and Oregon. Let's hope the Hoosiers have things firing on all cylinders by then. That three game stretch could make or break Mendoza's first-round NFL Draft hopes.

Scour the Waiver Wire

6 players rostered in less than 31% of leagues that you should bid on.

Editors note: if you have played in a Rookie Big Board league over the past six seasons you know Becks. He has brought home over a half dozen championships and built a few perennial powerhouses. A key piece of that success is his ability to scour the waiver wire to find value. He will be providing weekly targets that are rostered in 40% or less of leagues on Sleeper. These are his picks and they are all RBB approved.

1. LeQuint Allen, RB (23% rostered) - A seventh-round pick out of Syracuse (and the second-most famous athlete from Millville, NJ after some guy named Trout), Allen got a ton of buzz during training camp from both the Jags beat and new head coach Liam Coen. The team liked him so much that for most of the summer there were trade rumors flying around Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby. And while those guys are still on the roster, so is Allen. Probably the best pass-catching RB on the team, Allen could carve out a role in Coen’s up tempo offense before long.

2. Carson Wentz, QB (12%) - 303, 411, 396. These were Nick Mullens’s passing totals in three of his four 2023 starts in Kevin O’Connell’s Vikings offense. Do I think Carson Wentz is very good? No. But this offense is a cheat code for fantasy points and J.J. McCarthy is only a year removed from meniscus surgery. If Wentz starts a game or two this year, he can put up “Nick Mullens” numbers.
3. Casey Washington, WR (3%) - While I would like to suggest another player with the same surname here, Dolphins WR Malik Washington is rostered in most dynasty leagues. However, there are some similarities between the two: both were sixth round picks in 2024 and both got some run with the first team during camp despite having multiple WRs ahead of them on their respective depth charts. With Darnell Mooney missing a month of summer football, Washington (Casey) stepped up and developed good rapport with Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. It would probably take an injury ahead of Washington for him to see the field, but if he gets an opportunity at any point in the season he could run with it.

4. Mitchell Evans, TE (15%) - This is simply a bet on an uncertain depth chart. Ja'Tavion Sanders showed some promise for the Panthers and will likely begin the season as TE1. Tommy Tremble is often injured and has only had three or more catches in a game twice in his career. As a fifth-rounder hand-picked by this coaching staff, Evans has a chance to ascend the depth chart.
5. Demarcus Robinson, WR (29%) - At age 30, Robinson has been around the block a few times. He’s also suspended for the first three games of the season for a 2024 DUI. However, 49ers WR1 Brandon Aiyuk is recovering from a complicated knee surgery and won’t return until week 6 (at the earliest) and Jauan Jennings is dealing with either a calf injury or an injured bank account (or both). It’s not out of the realm of possibility for Robinson to be a starting WR on this team when he returns in week 4.

BONUS Phil Mafah, RB (30%) - This one is only for leagues with IR spots, but the rookie bruiser from Clemson showed some juice and ran hard during the preseason. Saying the Dallas RB room is not especially scary to opposing defenses is putting it kindly. Mafah is eligible to play as early as week 5.

Devy Stock Report: Week 1 Risers

18 players moving up the Rookie Big Board Rankings.

Week 1 always feels like a blur. It can be tough to properly decipher value as we recalibrate the strength of defenses, supporting casts and offensive schemes. Stock report segments are written as short notes-to pack in as much information as possible.

• Michigan QB Bryce Underwood flashed arm talent and confidence while shredding the New Mexico defense for 251 yards and a touchdown. The true freshman completed 67% of his passes and filled me with a lot of optimism. If he looks this good against Oklahoma next week, his devy value will take off.

• Ole Miss RB Kewan Lacy looks like the real deal. He rushed for 108 yards and 3 touchdowns on 18 carries for Ole Miss. He should share touches with Logan Diggs, but appears to be the lead back in one of the most dynamic schemes in the nation.
• Alabama WR Germie Bernard's big game was overshadowed by the Tide's upset loss to Florida State. He led the offense with 8 receptions and 146 yards. He caught 34% of Simpson's completions and 58% of his passing yards.
• USC QB Huson Longstreet looked great in relief during USC's blowout against Missouri State. He went 9/9 for 69 yards and 1 touchdown. He rushed the ball 8 times for 64 yards and 2 touchdowns. If USC struggles, the true freshman could get a shot to lead the offense later in the season.
• UTSA RB Robert Henry is the surprise of the week! He rushed for 177 yards and 2 touchdowns against Texas A&M. That is enough for him to be added to the devy rankings for this week's update.

• Louisville RB Isaac Brown averaged 21 yards/carry while scoring twice against Eastern Kentucky. He rushed for 126 yards on 6 carries.
• USF QB Byrum Brown looks to be healthy again. He completed 66% of 24 attempts for 210 yards and rushed for 43 yards and 2 touchdowns in USF's dominant victory over Boise State.
• Ohio State WR Carnell Tate caught 2 balls for 49 yards, including a ridiculous touchdown in the Buckeyes Week 1 victory against Texas.

• LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier completed 73% of his 38 passing attempts for 230 yards and 1 touchdown against a very tough Clemson defense. He looked poise, improvised well and was accurate. This performance will be a foundational piece of his QB1 argument.
• LSU WR Aaron Anderson is clearly the top target for Nussmeier. He caught 6 balls for 99 yards. Anderson has sure hands and is speedy. Barion Brown caught 5 for 25 yards. Chris Hilton and Nic Anderson were non factors. An early season vindication for my aggressive ranking of Anderson.
• Michigan RB Justice Haynes found the endzone 3 times while rushing for 159 yards against New Mexico. He averaged 9.9 yards/carry. He gets an immediate bump in his devy value, with the hope he solidifies it next week against Oklahoma.
• Minnesota RB Darius Taylor continues to be a workhorse. He ran the ball 30 times for 141 yards while catching 4 balls for 36 yards against Buffalo.
• Baylor QB Sawyer Robertson looked strong in a tough Week 1 loss to Auburn. He threw for 419 yards and 3 touchdowns. Keep an eye on him as a Day 3 NFL Draft prospect.
• Penn State WR Kyron Hudson caught 6 balls for 89 yards and 1 touchdown. The USC transfer gets a second shot at devy relevance in an offense that might finally be able to push the ball downfield.
• Florida WR Vernell Brown had the catch of the week on a deep ball against LIU. He finished with 3 receptions for 79 yards. The true freshman should continue earning targets over the early part of the season, especially if fellow freshman WR Dallas Wilson continues to miss time with injury.

• Texas A&M WR Mario Craver is a big riser this week. He caught 8 balls for 122 yards and 2 touchdowns. WR Kevin Conception found the endzone too, but it appears that Craver is the top target in the Aggies offense.
• Maryland QB Malik Washington impressed in his first start. The true freshman went 27/42 for 258 yards and threw for 3 touchdowns against Florida Atlantic.
• Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele showed off his beautiful deep ball ability while leading Cal to victory over Oregon State. The true freshman completed 66% of his attempts for 234 yards and 3 touchdowns.

NFL Pick 'Em Contest!

Compete in the Rookie Big Board NFL Pick'Em Contest!

This season the Rookie Big Board will, once again, host an NFL Pick 'Em contest. The rules are slightly different, to keep everyone competitive all season long-you can also join at any time during the season.

• Free to Join
• Pick the winner, against the spread, for 8 games each week
• Prizes: football jersey of your choice ($130 value) and a free year of Rookie Big Board subscription (with a one tier upgrade)
• The prize winner will be selected at the end of the season. WEEKLY top 3 winners earn 3,2 and 1 entries into the randomizer. SEASON winners earn 10, 7 and 5 entries into randomizer. Anyone can play, only RBB patrons can win the top prize.

Join the NFL Pick 'Em using this link now!

You can also join the College Football Pick 'Em using this link. Same rules!