Week 7 Rookie Report: Yeldon returns, speedy receivers make their mark

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We’re at the point in the NFL season where rookies who didn’t come out of the gate hot have had a month and a half to get their feet wet in the pros, which usually leads to an increased comfort level as October comes to a close. This week’s edition of the Rookie Report features a slow-starting rookie running back who carried his team’s offense to a Week 7 win, as well as two speedy wide receivers who made the most of their opportunities in their team’s victories. Chris Tripodi breaks it all down in this week’s report. 

T.J. Yeldon (RB-Jax)

Just one year after signing Toby Gerhart to a three-year, $10.5 million contract, the Jaguars admitted the failure of that move by drafting T.J. Yeldon with the fourth pick in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft. Yeldon burst onto the scene as a freshman at Alabama, rushing for 1,108 yards while sharing carries with Eddie Lacy and totaling over 3,000 rushing yards in his three years with the Crimson Tide. Jacksonville saw enough in Yeldon to make him the third running back off the board, hoping he could spark a running game that put too much responsibility on a raw Blake Bortles last season. After missing Week 6 with a groin injury, Yeldon’s career-high 115 yards against the Bills in London on Sunday played an important role in Jacksonville’s close victory.

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