2008 Fantasy Football - Top Rookie Rankings

Drafting rookies is always a bit of a gamble, as even the best “can’t miss” collegiate star usually has some transition period when joining the NFL. So much of a player’s success depends on being drafted into the right situation. Even last year’s Rookie of the Year, Adrian Peterson, spent the first part of the year sharing time with incumbent tailback Chester Taylor.

This year’s list of top rookies is running back heavy as expected given the position’s usually steep learning curve. The wide receiver and quarterback positions typically take a few years to adjust to the sophisticated pro passing game.

Here are the top ten rookie draft choices:

1. Darren McFadden (RB, Oakland Raiders) - The 4th pick in the 2008 draft is extremely explosive and a threat to score any time he touches the ball. The big question is how many touches will McFadden get per game? The Raiders have struggled over the past couple of years and should be going with their youth movement but who knows what is going through Al Davis’ mind?

2. Kevin Smith (RB, Detroit Lions) - Led the NCAA in rushing in ‘07 while at Central Florida. Smith landed in a great situation with the Lions, who cleaned house of all of the backs from last year. He does have competition from Tatum Bell but could very well be starting by Opening Day.

3. Matt Forte (RB, Chicago Bears) - Another back who joins a franchise with no incumbent running back to beat out. He will have camp competition from the injury plagued Kevin Jones, but basically the starting job is his to lose. Extremely productive back in college who ran for over 2,000 yards during his senior year.

4. Jonathan Stewart (RB, Carolina Panthers) - Stewart showed great all-around ability during his career at Oregon, adding kickoff return duty to his work load. He joins a Panthers team that wants to be a power running team but has had recent problems keeping their backs healthy. Stewart can be the perfect match to solve their problems if he can stay out of the trainers’ room.

5. Felix Jones (RB, Dallas Cowboys) - Jones is joining a loaded Dallas team, which would normally knock him down a few spots on fantasy draft boards, but his explosiveness will force Dallas to put him on the field. He won’t get as many touches as some of the backs listed above, but expect his productivity to be on par with them.

6. Chris Johnson (RB, Tennessee Titans) - The Titans already have their starter in LenDale White but they do plan on getting Johnson playing time as a change of pace back. He has great speed to complement the bruising style of White.

7. Devin Thomas (WR, Washington Redskins) - Redskins new coach Jim Zorn is an old quarterback who plans to upgrade the passing game quite a bit this year. This bodes well for Thomas, as well as the fact that Jason Campbell showed some nice development at QB last year and should be able to get the ball to him often.

8. Rashard Mendenhall (RB, Pittsburgh Steelers) - Yet another running back who will have to sit behind a proven starter but will get multiple carries a game. He was a true work horse while at Illinois and should provide the tough running on short yardage situations near the goal line.

9. DeSean Jackson (WR, Philadelphia Eagles) - Jackson is joining an Eagles team that really needed an upgrade at the wide receiver position. He’ll be given every opportunity to make plays, which shouldn’t be a problem based on his college career. In addition to receiving, he’s very dangerous as a punt returner.

10. Matt Ryan (QB, Atlanta Falcons) - The top quarterback taken in the draft looks to be the opening day starter for the Falcons, who were lost at the position last year. He’ll take his lumps like any rookie QB but has the potential to put up some nice fantasy points with good decision making and his cannon arm.

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