Rookie Fantasy Impact

By Mike

Who will have the most fantasy impact this upcoming year.... Here are the top picks from the NFL Draft:

1.) Matthew Stafford QB, Detroit Lions

Stafford will probably only begin to start for the Lions halfway through the season. He will begin by learning the playbook from veteran Daunte Culpepper. But once he does begin to start, his fantasy impact will be felt immediately because of his cannon arm and WR Calvin Johnson as his go-to man. I could see Stafford getting at least one touchdown per game just by chucking the ball downfield to Calvin Johnson and his rediculous seemingly 50 inch vertical. Also, the Lions got him a great TE to throw to in Brandon Pettigrew and another big-play threat in Derrick Williams.

Forecast: 10 games - 2200 yards - 16 TD - 11 INT

2.) Mark Sanchez QB, New York Jets

Unlike Stafford, Mark Sanchez should start for the Jets right from the start. Surprisingly, I think that Sanchez will have more success than Stafford in his NFL career. He has a great offensive line protecting him and a great defense, similar to his team at USC. Think of Stafford as a Matt Hasselback sort of impact on a fantasy football team - about 250 - 300 yards per game and one - two touchdowns. Sanchez is very careful with the football, so his few interceptions should not hurt your fantasy team.

Forecast: 16 games - 3010 yards - 21 TD - 14 INT

3.) Darrius Heyward-Bey WR, Oakland Raiders

I just don't know what to say about this pick. How could Al Davis possibly choose Heyward-Bey over Michael Crabtree? Anyway, Heyward-Bey should do pretty well in his rookie season for the Oakland Raiders. He will run many deep routes and catch a couple of passes over 60 yards with JaMarcus Russell at QB.

Forecast: 16 games - 47 receptions - 690 yards - 6 TD

4.) Michael Crabtree WR, San Francisco 49ers

What a steal!! The 49ers really got some amazing talent with pick No. 10 in this year's rookie draft. The only problem is, who will throw the ball to him downfield? The 49ers have former number one overall selection in Alex Smith and also the starter last year in Shaun Hill. To me, that just isn't good enough, especially with a mediocre offensive line at best. Crabtree will have no time to run downfield, and when he does get open, there will be no one to throw him the ball. I expect him to give OK statistics, just because he is that good, but he certaintly won't be the number one receiver on your fantasy team this upcoming year.

Forecast: 16 games - 67 receptions - 775 yards - 7 TD

5.) Knowshon Moreno RB, Denver Broncos

This was a very interesting pick because everyone expected the Broncos to fix their defense. Instead, they chose Knowshon Moreno from Georgia, which signified the new regime. They used to be known as the team that just threw any runningback into their system. Now under Josh McDaniels, they are going for a franchise star, someone comparable to Terrell Davis. Moreno could possibly be one of the most athletic prospects in this year's draft, and I expect him to excel in this Bronco system.

Forecast: 16 games - 225 carries - 1125 yards - 10 TD

6.) Josh Freeman QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Freeman, from Kansas State, has a very strong arm, but he is very unpolished. He came out of college as a true junior, meaning that he probably still needs two years to learn how to play the game a lot better. Therefore, I can not see Freeman making any sort of impact fantasy-wise. Freeman will sit under Brian Griese and Byron Leftwich and watch them play, and possibly get a few snaps. Freeman just isn't the man yet. He still needs to learn a lot before getting the starting role.

Forecast: 6 games - 800 yards - 5 TD - 3 INT

7.) Jeremy Maclin WR, Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles really wanted to obtain Anquan Boldin from the Super Bowl runnerup Arizona Cardinals, but things just didn't fall into place. Instead, though, they were able to draft a very respectable player in Maclin. Many people supposed he would be drafted 7th by the Raiders, but that obviously did not happen the way everyone had anticipated. Maclin will be a very good player, but I don't expect him to play that much because the Eagles have other good WR as well. They have Kevin Curtis, Reggie Brown, and DeSean Jackson as well.

Forecast: 16 games - 45 receptions - 610 yards - 5 TD

8.) Brandon Pettigrew TE, Detroit Lions

Pettigrew is a very good player, but he is not known as the type of pass-catching TE like Kellen Winslow Jr. He will certainly start because the Lions do not have any other respectable TE's on their roster. He should get a few red zone opportunities and some open catches with the defense focusing all of their attention on Calvin Johnson. But overall, he shouldn't impact your fantasy team that much.

Forecast: 16 games - 35 receptions - 400 yards - 6 TD

9.) Percy Harvin WR, Minnesota Vikings

Harvin is a very interesting pick for the Vikings - he could turn out as an excellent playmaking WR or a bust, virtually the same as their former 7th overall pick WR Troy Williamson. Williamson and Harvin both have rediculous speed, but luckily for the Vikings, I believe that Harvin will be a much better player overall. Some people claim that he lives in Percyland, but then again, Terrell Owens lives in TO Land, so I don't think that being egoistical really matters that much.

Forecast: 16 games - 48 receptions - 680 yards - 5 TD

10.) Donald Brown RB, Indianapolis Colts

After listening to Donald Brown talk to the ESPN Draft Crew on Sunday, I completely understand why the Colts used their pick to select him. He was a better speaker than Chris Berman, and seemed to know more about the draft than expert analyst Todd McShay himself. Brown, just simply, rushes for yards. He had over 2000 yards last year for the Conneticut Huskies. Brown is also a great pass catcher and all-around football player. He will complement Joseph Addai perfectly, but because of Addai, he won't get too many carries his rookie year.

Forecast: 16 games - 120 carries - 680 total yards - 5 TD

11.) Hakeem Nicks WR, New York Giants

Nicks is the possession-type of WR that will replace Plaxico Burress perfectly, and best of all, he probably won't shoot himself in the leg. With the trade for Braylon Edwards falling through, Eli Manning will probably look Nicks' way the entire year, and therefore I can see Nicks getting some big stats. The Giants really don't have any other respectable WR still on their roster. In fact, Nicks might just step right in and be their number one WR on the depth chart.

Forecast: 16 games - 68 receptions - 800 yards - 7 TD

12.) Kenny Britt WR, Tennesee Titans

The Titans have always needed a WR, and this year they finally went out in the first round and picked one. Britt is described as a much better Justin Gage, who is argueably their best WR right now. He is quick and possesses great hands and a good size at 6 foot 4 inches tall. Kerry Collins will love to throw the ball to him and eventually Vince Young as well. The only achilles heal with Britt, fantasy-wise, is that the Titans run the ball so much every game, so he might got get too many opportunities to see the ball coming his way.

Forecast: 16 games - 49 receptions - 595 yards - 4 TD

13.) Chris "Beanie" Wells RB, Arizona Cardinals

Beanie greatly improves their running back position (Tim Hightower is just atrocious - he averaged only 2.7 yards per carry last year). Beanie is not the fastest RB in this year's draft, nor is he the most powerful, but he is the second best RB overall. I think of Beanie as a quicker, yet less powerful, Jamal Lewis. The achilles heal of Beanie is opposite of that of Kenny Britt's. The Cardinals do not run the ball very often, so Beanie might not see that many opportunities coming his way. He also still does have to split goal line carries with Hightower. Therefore, his stats this upcoming year are not going to be horrible, but they won't be worthy enough of a high fantasy draft position.

Forecast: 16 games - 170 carries - 880 total yards - 7 TD

14.) Pat White QB/WR, Miami Dolphins

This selection in the second round by the Dolphins was byfar the most interesting. Pat White worked out solely as a QB, even though there were reports that he would need to play WR in order to be successful in the NFL. After seeing Pat White throw in the NFL Combine and at his Pro Day, though, I believe that he truely is a great QB. The Dolphins will use White in their "Wild Dolphin" offensive packages as the QB and move Ronnie Brown over to RB. The Dolphins will also probably play him at WR a little bit and see how that goes. But surprisingly, I think that the Dolphins will end up playing him at QB in regular packages as well. The Dolphins have the hardest schedule in the NFL, so there record probably won't be too good this year. With that said, Pennington will probably get the boot when they fall to around 2 - 3. This will leave the door open for rocket-arm Chad Henne or the elusive Pat White.

Forecast: 16 games - 15 receptions - 200 receiving yards - 45 rushes - 150 rushing yards - 510 passing yards - 7 total TD