2014 NFL Fantasy Football Rookie Valuation

After the NFL season ends, loyal NFL fans look forward to May to see what gifts the
NFL draft will provide them. No matter what position your team drafted in, you always
hope that they found gems to plug those gaping holes or found the heir to replace current
studs at key positions that were not addressed in free agency. For us, we look across the
league to see what players have been drafted onto teams in a spot that they will have an
impact on the fantasy football world.
So, with our fantasy football drafts approaching and a round of preseason games in the
books, here are the relevant rookies at the core skill positions and their pro!ected draft
round in standard "#team fantasy football leagues. $here was a time that we would avoid
all rookie %&s and '(s that came into the league. )owever, the game has changed at the
collegiate and professional level in ways that allow talented %&s to step under center and
talented '(s to line up and be productive immediately. Now, it is still very hitandmiss
so do not reach and grab rookies too high or you could be looking up at the rest of the
league *uickly. 'ho from this year+s draft class will be the key players on your run to
your fantasy league championship, &elow is the consensus review from Ma-imum
Fantasy Sports for the new crop of NFL rookies.
Quarterbacks
". .ohnny Man/iel 01leveland23 $he Man/iel hype machine is far busier than
$ebowmania could ever hope to muster and it is not going to *uiet any time soon. 4t is too
early to say when he will assume the starting %& position but it is hard not to envision it
happening sooner than later. 4 would like his potential numbers much better if .osh
5ordon had an ounce of common sense. 4 can easily see .ohnny Football going off the
board in the "6th round.
#. $eddy &ridgewater 0Minnesota23 Another guaranteed starter this year, most likely early
in the season as well. &ridgewater has better overall %& skills, but, with a better running
game to count on, his fantasy stats won+t be as good as Man/iel+s. 'ith so many good
NFL %&s to choose from, he is a speculative add, at best, with the last nonkicker pick of
your draft.
6. &lake &ortles 0.acksonville23 &ortles is the obvious heir apparent in .acksonville while
1had )enne keeps the seat warm. 4 e-pect the season to be lost soon and &ortles to be the
starting %&, but this team is a mess and 4 e-pect &ortles to be able to do very little to
make much out of this season. )e has the talent to succeed in a few years if the team can
build around him. )e is a waiver wire add late in the season to carry over to ne-t year if
your 7eeper list is long enough.
8. 9avid 1arr 0:akland23 1arr is in a similar situation to &ortles where he will be
e-pected to learn from the bench until the season is lost and he gets some playing time.
)owever, :akland is very deep at running back so he will be a simple gamemanager in
the limited time he sees this year. ;ndraftable.
<. $om Savage 0)ouston23 )ouston is going to be very unpredictable this year. $hey have
the defense to help them compete for the wildcard, they have Arian Foster and hopes that
he will stay healthy and they have two great wide receivers, one that needs to see his
team make a serious playoff run to be happy. 'hen (yan Fit/patrick gets hurt or fails,
will the $e-ans turn to 1ase 7eenum before Savage is the *uestion. $he only way you
grab Savage is if your roster is really deep since most %&s could put up very good
numbers under center in )ouston.
Running Backs
". &ishop Sankey 0$ennessee23 Sankey is definitely the future for the $itans and he has a
chance to start that future with the team+s first offensive snap of the season. Listed
number " back, Shonn 5reen, is coming off some unimpressive years in New =ork as
well as a knee in!ury. Sankey put up great numbers at the ;niversity of 'ashington
0">?@yds and #@ $9s last season2 and should be able to handle an NFL workload at <+AB
and #@Albs. 4 would add him as a late 6rd round or early 8th round pick.
#. $errance 'est 01leveland23 'est was mentioned as our Sleeper (& of #@"8. $he
&rowns signed &en $ate to be their feature back and added 'est in the draft as a
complement until he was ready to take over the team, not to mention that &en $ate has
had a history of in!uries. 'hile 'est didn+t come from a highprofile college 0$owson2,
he was e-tremely prolificC 8"6 carries for #<@A yards and 8" $9s last yearD $here is no
doubt he is your handcuff for $ate, but e-pect him to be involved in the offense right
away, especially since he has impressed the coaching staff with good hands out of the
backfield. 4 would e-pect to grab him in the >th round.
6. .eremy )ill 01incinnati23 5eovani &ernard is the &engals ultraback, but he isn+t built
for being a fulltime (&" that takes the rock #<@ times per year. $he &engals still have
&en.arvus 5reenEllis, but he is proving to be on the downside of his career so e-pect
)ill to gain more time as the goalline and groundandpound type of running back,
which suits his F+"B #66lb body !ust fine. 4 would e-pect him to go off the board in the
Ath round.
8. 1arlos )yde 0San Francisco23 )yde was drafted as the successor to Frank 5ore and
e-pects to work his way towards that this season. 5ore is wearing down after playing
every game for the past three seasons and is on the negative side of 6@. )yde was
penciled in behind 7endall )unter, but )unter got hurt in camp and is out for the season.
Also, Marcus Lattimore is not proving ready for much of a workload *uite yet so )yde
will begin getting work right away and will look at "@ carries per game to help keep 5ore
somewhat fresh throughout the season. )e is one in!ury away for becoming a #<carry
per game (&. 4 would e-pect him to go off the board in the "@th round.
<. 9evonta Freeman 0Atlanta23 $he situation for Freeman is very similar to )yde+s.
Steven .ackson has been a bulldo/er throughout his NFL career, but those big hits take
their toll. Like 5ore, .ackson is also 6" years old. )e is currently the number " (&, but
for how long, Freeman is the obvious handcuff to S.a- and should be available until the
"@th round as well.
Wide Receivers
". Sammy 'atkins 0&uffalo23 Sammy is the best pure receiver drafted this year. $here is
not a flaw in his gameC he catches everything thrown his way, whether he should be able
to or not, he has breakaway speed, he can go over the middle, and he has great moves.
$he downside, in my opinion, is that he plays for &uffalo and has E... Manuel throwing
to him. Manual has talent, but he is a long way from being consistent enough to take
advantage of 'atkins+ talent. 4 e-pect him to go in the Fth round, but it is too high for me
unless 4 am in a 7eeper League.
#. &randin 1ooks 0New :rleans23 1ooks was our wide receiver Sleeper for #@"8. )e
doesn+t have the overall talent as Sammy 'atkins but he is in a much better situation.
9rew &rees will love throwing to this guy. 5ranted, &rees spreads it around to his
numerous weapons, but 1ooks will be used in numerous positions and will see the ball a
lot this year. )e can handle the workload, as evidenced by his "#> catches for "?6@ yards
and "F scores last year. 'ith his 8.66 speed, he has a chance to score any time he has the
ball. 4 would grab him in the >th round.
6. Mike Evans 0$ampa23 Evans is another receiver that was drafted into the right position,
as long as .osh Mc1own doesn+t prove that his #@"6 success was all attributed to the
&ears+ offense. Evans is a monster at F+<B and #6"lbs and will be an ideal end /one
target. Glaying across from Hincent .ackson will help keep the coverage down as well. )e
is a solid Ath round pick.
8. 7elvin &en!amin 01arolina23 :ut with the old and in with the new. Steve Smith and
&randon LaFell have been dismissed and a new group has been brought in led by
behemoth &en!amin 0F+<B, #8@lbs2 from Florida State. )e is the class of their new
Ganthers receiving corps and assumes the I" '( position. $E 5reg :lsen will still be a
favorite of 1am Newton+s and they will still run a lot, but 7elvin will put solid numbers.
1arolina+s passing game has not been a !uggernaut under 1am so that will knock
&en!amin into double digit rounds.
<. Mar*ise Lee 0.acksonville23 )ere is another *uality receiver stepping into the perfect
situation. $he .ags have lost .ustin &lackmon for the year, again, and have in!uries to
1ecil Shorts, Ace Sanders and Allen (obinson to start the season. Lee is not the physical
specimen like the others ahead of him, but he is a playmaker with ama/ing hands. )e lost
a few positions in the draft after ;S1+s program took a hit, but he has been proready for
a few years now. Lee should be available until round "# or "6.
Tight Ends
". Eric Ebron 09etroit23 $he Lions grew tired of watching $E &randon Gettigrew continue
to disappoint in the receiving game and decided to utili/e him more as a blocker and
.oseph Fauria in the red /one. $hey decided that they still needed to upgrade and drafted
the F+8B Ebron from North 1arolina. Ebron has the physical gifts to punish linebackers
and the speed and moves to get some decent =A1. )e will be a nice fit between
Megatron and 5olden $ate. )e will definitely go in double digit rounds due to the e-cess
of *uality tight ends. =ou can grab him as your $E# in the ""th or "#
th
round.
#. (ichard (odgers 05reen &ay23 'ith the Gackers losing .ermichael Finley to in!ury,
they decided to look to the future and drafted (odgers. Andrew %uarters will initially
inherit Finley+s position, but he is merely serviceable. Aaron (odgers will soon find his
F+8B, #<?lb namesake to his liking. =ou can grab him as your $E# before you grab your
kicker in your last round.
6. Austin Seferian.enkins 0$ampa23 $ampa decided to make .enkins their second round
pick so they definitely see a future for the kid. :nly special tight ends e-cel in their
rookie year and 4 can+t say that will happen this year for .enkins. $im 'right is securely
entrenched as the starting tight end so it will take an in!ury for .enkins to get significant
playing time. )e is currently undraftable.
8. .ace Amaro 0New =ork .ets23 $he .ets are also looking towards the future by drafting a
tight end. Amaro has the si/e to play in the NFL, F+<B and #F<lbs, but he has had a hard
time transitioning from $e-as $ech to the NFL. 1urrent tight end, .eff 1umberland, has a
firm grasp on the starting gig and the .ets are still working out their kinks at %&, so 4
would not look in Amaro+s direction for help this season, even if 1umberland gets hurt.