Fantasy Football Impacts: More NFL Rookies

In my last article, I pointed out a handful of rookies I felt could be considered “under the radar” types, but will have opportunities for a big impact. Today I’m going to follow up with another group of rookies who are worth paying attention to as we head to our fantasy drafts.

I’ve mentioned in other columns that I love sports betting as much as I do fantasy football. I was checking some notes from last year regarding NFL Future Odds on “Rookie of the Year” betting and saw that QB Matt Ryan was at 25-1 at SPORTSBETTING.com early in the summer, but after being announced as the starter, the sports betting community jumped on him and brought his odds down to the 10-1 NFL odds range. He went on to win the Rookie of the Year award and cash in for all those who bet on him.

As we get closer to the season starting, I’ll have a column on who I think offer some value for sports bettors when looking over the NFL Odds for Rookie of the Year.

Let’s look at today’s list:

The Jury’s Out

Yes, these next guys were properly hyped. But I’m not convinced the situation they find themselves in will reward Fantasy owners this season.

Michael Crabtree

WR – San Francisco 49ers

Skinny: Crabtree is regarded by most as the best wideouts in the draft (hey Al, I’ll give that scouting tip to you gratis) but the 49er offensive identity is in transition this year. They just don’t have a QB or a secondary pass-catcher to give Crabtree much chance for success. I predict 50 Catches, 600 yards, 4 TDs.

Darrius Heyward-Bey

WR – Oakland Raiders

Skinny: HeyBey plays for the Raiders. ‘Nuff said. JaMarcus has a cannon, that’s for sure but I see Jeff Garcia starting by mid-season and HeyBey’s speed won’t help that much on 12-yard outs.

Hakeem Nicks

WR – NY Giants

Skinny: I haven’t seen much of Nicks in action, but he ostensibly comes into a situation where he’s expected to replace Plaxico Burress, and I simply don’t see him doing that year one, if ever. Teams figured out the Giants offense with Plax gone, and now that they are minus Derrick Ward, I don’t see much success for them this year. Eli will go back to looking like Eli.

Shonn Green

RB – NY Jets

Skinny: I am basing this recommendation on two things only: Thomas Jones’ age and contract status. Jones is 31 and in the final year of his contract, and the Jets desperately don’t want to pay an aging RB the kind of money he’s expecting. They are better off spending it on a free agent WR next year (or mid season, right Plax?). I fully expect them to give Shonn Green a healthy workload to see if he can fill Jones’ role in the offense in front of speedy Leon Washington.