Fantasy Football – Unranked Rookies
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4.) WR Jarvis Landry, Dolphins: Landry’s slow 40-time at the combine (4.76) dropped him out of 1st round consideration and the Dolphins got a steal late in round 2. I’ve said it over and over again, but game tape is much more important to me as a predictor of future performance than how fast someone can run a straight line without pads. Landry was a stud in college (77,1193, 10) and reminded me of a mini-Anquan Boldin. Landry can catch anything thrown his way, has a knack for getting open and is tough to bring down after the catch. With new Dolphins OC Bill Lazor bringing a version of Chip Kelly’s fast-paced offense to Miami, I think they will be a more exciting team this year and with a new coordinator I think playing time will be up for grabs based on fit with the new offense. Landry can excel on short-to-intermediate routes and has the YAC potential to put up big numbers as a rookie. Nobody is talking about Landry but I think he’s a lock for 50, 700, 5 at least which easily puts him in the top 175.
5.) WR Cody Latimer, Broncos – On paper Latimer is far down on the Broncos depth chart, but talent wise he is at least even with Emmanuel Sanders for the 3rd WR spot. He’s bigger, faster, and has better hands than Sanders, but his route-running skills are raw so Latimer may start the season as the 4th or even 5th WR (behind Andre Caldwell) but talent eventually finds its way into the lineup. #2 WR Wes Welker is one concussion away from sitting out the season, Emmanuel Sanders has missed 8 games in 4 years with injury, and Andre Caldwell just isn’t that good. Latimer’s only weakness is his inexperience and playing with Manning is like a master course in receiving, so he could be ready to play by mid-season. Latimer could find himself in the lineup by week 8 or so and with his talent and Manning throwing him the ball… He could be a monster fantasy asset by the time fantasy playoffs role around. I’ll have him on at least a couple of rosters this season.
6.) RB James White, Patriots: Bill Belichick hates fumblers, that much is clear from the musical chairs at RB for the Pats the last two season. Ridley is probably the de facto starter right now, but with his fumbling issues the last two years, I’m not sure how many more lives he has with the Pats. Shane Vereen is used more as a receiver than a running back, Legarrete Blount is in Pittsburgh, Brandon Bolden is around but he’s limited talent wise… James White doesn’t have any skills that jump at you, but he doesn’t fumble, has good hands out of the backfield and he is an excellent pass blocker. That could be enough to win Belichick’s favor and earn the starting job. White’s lack of flash kept him under the radar at Wisconsin, but he was very productive and showed surprising strength and agility at the Senior Bowl. He’s one of those guys that no one gets excited about but he produces whenever given the chance. Belichick seems like the type of coach that values reliability over flash and that is a perfect situation for White. Even if he never earns the starting gig, I’m confident he will get enough touches to finish in the top 200 overall as a rookie.
7.) WR John Brown, Cardinals – The Cardinals drafted Brown a few rounds earlier than most sites had him graded so they are clearly high on him. Brown put up video game numbers in his college career (185 catches, 3380 yards, 32 TDs) and is already running with the starters in OTAs. He is replacing slot receiver Andre Roberts and should put up similar numbers (43, 471, 2) if he can stay healthy. He is small (5’10, 179) but has great speed (4.34) and is dangerous after the catch. Brown should also be the Cards primary punt returner if your league counts return stats.
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8.) WR Chandler Jones, Browns – With Josh Gordon likely facing a suspension and ex-Bears Earl Bennett released this week, that leaves Andrew Hawkins and whoever is healthier between Nate Burleson and Miles Austin as the best bets to start for the Browns at wide receiver. That leaves the slot position in play for undrafted rookie Chandler Jones. Jones was a surprise combine snub despite putting up huge numbers at San Jose St as David Fales go-to WR (79, 1356, 15) and I was surprised that Jones wasn’t drafted after he ran a blazing 4.34 at his pro day. He’s not big (5’11, 174) but has great speed, reliable hands, and knows how to get open vs zone coverage. I think Jones will be the top ranked UDFA in fantasy and should end up in the top 200 easily.
9.) WR Devin Street, Cowboys – Cole Beasley and Dwayne Harris are all that stand in the way of Street starting as the Cowboys 3rd receiver. Jerry Jones has made no secret of his preference for receivers at least 6’2, 200 pounds and Street is just about the perfect fit (6’3, 199) for Jones’ prototype WR. Besides having a significant size advantage over both Beasley (5’8) and Harris (5’10), Street set the all-time record for receptions at Pitt (202) and was one of my favorite mid-round receivers in the draft. Street has great hands, understands how to get open vs zone coverage and has the height to be a weapon in the red zone. The Cowboys are going to have one of the worst defenses in the NFL and will be in plenty of shoot-outs this year. If Street can win the 3rd WR job, which I think he will, he has the talent to generate top 200 stats easy.
10.) TE C.J. Fiedorowicz, Texans – New HC Bill O’Brien was the offensive coordinator for the Patriots when they unleashed the Gronk / Hernandez 2-TE sets on the league. Assuming that O’Brien runs a similar offense to what he ran in New England, then Fiedorowicz should step into the Gronk role, while Garrett Graham handles the Hernandez role (on the field). Fiedorowicz is already a solid blocker, showed surprising burst at the Senior Bowl, and his short area quickness numbers at the combine (3-cone, 20-yd shuttle) were best among tight ends and better than over half of the RBs and plenty of wide receivers as well. He is more athletic than he was given a chance to show at Iowa and while he isn’t a freak like Gronk, he’s a good enough athlete to be a threat at receiver. I think a Jermaine Gresham season (45, 450 , 4) is Fiedorowicz’s floor. .
11.) TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Bucs – He’s got to beat out Brandon Myers, stay healthy, and prove to Lovie Smith he can play with limited rookie mistakes. Lovie isn’t known for playing rookies on offense, but Seferian-Jenkins is an athletic freak and his potential could be tempting enough for Lovie to put up with the occasional mistake. ASJ’s 4.58 40-time during his workout with the Giants is pretty impressive for a guy that is 6’6, 256. ASJ showed flashes of dominance in college, but couldn’t do it consistently. If he’s on the field, ASJ gives Josh McCown three weapons 6’5 or above (V-Jax, Evans) and despite new OC Jeff Tedford’s supposedly run-heavy offense, Cal’s TE (Richard Rodgers) still had 40 catches so it’s not like the TE isn’t used. Tedford is no Mike Martz. ASJ is a guy you can grab for the last spot on your roster and hope he can stay healthy and earn a starting spot because he has Pro Bowl talent.
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12.) Tevin Reese, Chargers – This is a long-shot since Reese is only 5’10, 163 pounds, but he is a ridiculous athlete. Before Reese broke his wrist he was averaging 22.8 yards per catch at Baylor and 22 of his 25 college TDs went for 40 yards or more! The shortest of his 8 touchdowns last year (in 8 games) was 25 yards and the other 7 were all on plays of 40-yards or more. Reese is very fast, with elite leaping ability (41″ vert) and has decent hands. Normally he would be a developmental player who can watch from the sidelines while he gains weight and gets stronger, but the Chargers have little talent at WR besides Keenan Allen. The Chargers used Eddie Royal in the slot last year, but his production dropped off considerably in the 2nd half of the season (1 TD). Reese is much more explosive than Royal and has the speed to take the top off the defense which no other WR on their roster has. If the Chargers are looking to open things up for Allen underneath, Reese could find himself playing significant minutes as a rookie. With his speed it won’t take many catches for him to find the end-zone. He is a deep sleeper, but has a ton of upside for a $1 player.
13.) WR Josh Huff, Eagles – He has an advantage over most rookies in that he’s already played for Chip Kelly at Oregon, so he knows the basics of the Eagles offense. Learning a new, usually more complex offense is often the biggest challenge for rookies, but Huff should be ready to play right off the bat. Another advantage is the Eagles lack of depth at WR, Huff is already listed as the 4th receiver on the depth chart which means he should see the field plenty as a rookie. Riley Cooper re-signed a 4-yr deal with the Eagles so his job is safe, but Maclin just signed a 1-yr deal which tells me that Chip Kelly and the Eagles brass isn’t sure if Maclin is a long-term piece or not. He’s also coming off an ACL injury so it’s questionable how much explosiveness he has left and if he can stay healthy all year. If Huff can take some of Maclin’s snaps, then he should be a lock for the top 200. He’s got great speed, is tough enough to catch balls over the middle, and an elusive runner after the catch. Huff had some concentration issues at Oregon which led to too many drops, but he has the talent to be a productive NFL receiver.