Fantasy Football: Impact Rookies

Every year, a handful of rookies come from the digs of college football bust on to the NFL scene and contribute greatly to many a fantasy football championship. Some of these players are well known commodities like Adrian Peterson and Matt Ryan, while others like Marques Colston and Brandon Jacobs come out of nowhere to sweep us off our feet.

Below is a list of rookies that could have a significant impact

Quarterbacks (ranked from most likely success to least)
Matthew Stafford-Detroit Lions
Mark Sanchez- New York Jets

The only two quarterbacks that I see having any fantasy relevance this year are the big two, Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez. That being said, I don't see Sanchez getting into many games at all this year as I see Rex Ryan taking a more controlled approach to this rookie.

Stafford on the other hand may be forced into action early, maybe even week 6 or so, because the Lions have a little less than nothing to offer from the QB position.

Don't go too crazy though, wait until the later rounds to nab either of these guys or better yet, try to either sign them off the waiver wire when/if they are announced to start.

Runningbacks
Chris Wells (ARI)
Knowshon Moreno (DEN)
LeSean McCoy (PHI)
Donald Brown (IND)
Andre Brown (NYG)
James Davis (CLE)

Chris Wells will get every opportunity to produce, as he is easily the most talented runner on the Cardinals. He could get 300+ touches and double digit TDs. He's going around Round 9 or 10 in early mocks-which I think is far too low

Knowshon finds himself in a difficult situation, as he is playing for a coach that likes to pass a lot (who comes from a coach who is a fan of the Runningback by Committee), and is in a 6 or 7 deep backfield. He is their most talented back though so he should receive 50 or so percent of the carries. He is going in round 6 or 7 in early mocks, which would be solid value for him

With the recent news of yet another Westbrook surgery and the subtraction of Correll Buckhalter, McCoy's value is rising steadily. Any of the inevitable injuries to Westbrook and McCoy will be fantasy gold. Consider using a late round target on him.

Donald Brown is coming into a situation where he will split carries with Joseph Addai. I think Addai will bounce back and I also think Brown is a tad overrated so I'm projecting maybe 500 yards, tops.

Andre Brown will be taking over the "wind" part of the Giants running game which got Derrick Ward 1000 yards last year, so consider looking for him on the waiver wire later on in the season
James Davis is worth keeping an eye on as he steps into a very bad running "attack" in Cleveland, and therefore could manage to muster up a few carries.

Wide Receivers
Percy Harvin (MIN)
Michael Crabtree (SF)
Hakeem Nicks (NYG)
Deon Butler (SEA)
Jeremy Maclin (PHI)
Tiquan Underwood (JAX)

The rookie WR I feel will contribute most from day 1 is Percy Harvin from Florida. He won't net a ton of receptions- maybe 50 or 60, but he will receive a fair amount of carries in addition to those receptions. He's going between round 14 and 16 on average, which sounds about right to me.

Michael Crabtree down the line will be a dominating presence from the receiver position, that being said though, I don't like him this year due to him coming from an extreme spread option and the QB situation in San Fran isn't exactly great. People are expecting big things right away, but be smart, let someone else fall for it this year, then snatch him up the following year.

The Giants have many receivers on their roster that can have some fantasy relevance, but outside of Hakeem Nicks, they lack a big, strong receiver. He won't produce Pro Bowl numbers off the bat, but could contribute in a deep league.

Deon Butler is a small, quick receiver who I think could thrive in an offense like Seattle's, he could contribute a few solid games this year, but he probably shouldn't be drafted.

Jeremy Maclin was an intriguing pick for Philly, seeing as they have a similar young receiver in DeSean Jackson. I don't see Maclin contributing like Jackson did as a rookie though because he is so raw right now.

Call me crazy, but I think Tiquan Underwood from Rutgers could do some damage this year. He's a burner with a little height entering a very shallow receiving group in Jacksonville.


Tight Ends
Brandon Pettigrew (DET)
Cornelius Ingram (PHI)

While many people think Pettigrew will step in and be an immediate receiving impact, they should take into account the fact that Detriot's O-line is terrible and they will be in need of Pettigrew's blocking prowess to slow down the opponent's rush on pass plays. He still could manage 40 or 50 catches though, which could be worthy of a late round selection.

Cornelius Ingram dropped in the draft because of concerns over his ACL, but he is now in a TE friendly scheme in Philly and should reap the benefits of that. 50 receptions isn't entirely out of the question, although he does have some competion in Brent Celek.