I got to the later rounds in a rookie draft and found this list helpful

[Duchess Jack]

....but came in hand when I didn't know who to take. (I had 22 picks in a 6 round rookie draft)

 

thoughts?

 

FANTASY ITCH: 2008 Rookie Wide Receiver Rankings

 

The third in a series of NFL Rookie Rankings, John Willette sums up the top rookie receivers.

 

The 2008 NFL Draft was a down year for talented receivers. Not since the 1990 NFL Draft, where the likes of quarterback Jeff George, running back Blair Thomas and defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy graced the top three picks, was a receiver not selected in the first round. In 2008, a total of 35 receivers were selected in the NFL draft. Ten of those receivers will likely never see the greener side of the practice field but despite the sparse talent, there are some rookies that could make a splash in 2008.

 

Because you can never have enough fantasy football rankings lists, here’s another based on my thoughts on the 2008 rookie class.

 

WIDE RECEIVERS

 

Potential Starters: James Hardy, Devin Thomas, Earl Bennett, Will Franklin

 

Rookie of the Year Candidates: James Hardy, Devin Thomas

 

STARTING MATERIAL

 

1. James Hardy, Buffalo–Hardy will see significant playing time for the Bills. If no other rookie stands out, Hardy will be your Rookie of the year.

 

2. Devin Thomas, Washington–Okay, you have Santana Moss on one side and the uninspiring Antwaan Randle El on the other. You heard it here first; Thomas will be the best receiver on this team.

 

3. Earl Bennett, Chicago–The only starter that the coaching staff has announced was Marty Booker…and they weren’t too sure of themselves. Bennett should easily beat out Mark Bradley and Devin Hester to start opposite of Booker. Even if he doesn’t, Booker is so old and untalented it would be a travesty to keep Bennett on the sideline.

 

4. Will Franklin, Kansas City–All Franklin has to do to win the starting job over Jeff Webb and Devard Darling is show up to OTAs, training camp and remain healthy.

 

LATE SEASON BLOOMERS

 

5. Malcom Kelly, Washington–It might take Kelly a little longer to start but both Thomas and Kelly will be fixtures in the Redskins passing game.

 

6. Limas Sweed, Pittsburgh–I love Sweed’s chances for the Steelers third receiver spot. With Hines Ward aging and his body breaking down he has a good chance to start this season.

 

7. Eddie Royal, Denver–Royal, like Sweed finds himself in an excellent position to see significant playing time this season. In the offseason, the Broncos signed Darrell Jackson and Keary Colbert to compete to start opposite Brandon Marshall. We’ve all seen how much talent those two retreads have.

 

8. Andre Caldwell, Cincinnati–With Chris Henry gone, there is no doubt that one of the rookies will take over the third receiver position. My money is on Caldwell, who is more polished.

 

9. Marcus Smith, Baltimore–In 2007, Mark Clayton played himself out of any semblance of a starting job. His job will go to Demetrius Williams, another draft pick that has failed to produce. With Derrick Mason also starting that leaves Smith a shoe-in for the third receiving spot and possibly taking over for Mason when he retires.

 

10. Donnie Avery, St. Louis–Avery was the first receiver selected so it’s inevitable that he’ll see playing time. Unfortunately, unless he can beat out Drew Bennett he’ll be relegated to the third receiver role in 2008 and possibly starter in 2009.

 

11. Early Doucet, Arizona–Doucet has a straight-line path to be the Cardinals’ third receiver. In 2009, he could take over for Larry Fitzgerald or Anquan Bolden should either of them decide to leave.

 

12. Harry Douglas, Atlanta–If it weren’t for the fact that the Falcons will have a terrible passing game Douglas would be ranked higher. As it is, Douglas will be Atlanta’s seldom used third receiver.

 

13. Lavelle Hawkins, Tennessee–Hawkins is a big time collegiate player who was more productive than DeSean Jackson at USC. I like his chances of securing at least the third receiver job to start the season with a starting gig not out of the question by the end of the season.

 

14. Marcus Monk, Chicago–Monk is a large target with good speed. His downside is the lack of experience. If he catches on to the Bears offense and lights it up in training camp him and Earl Bennett could both be starting by the end of 2008.

 

15. Adrian Arrington, New Orleans–Arrington has the talent to surpass Terrance Copper, Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem for the third receiver job. In 2009, he’ll know the offense well enough to beat out David Patten.

 

16. DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia–Jackson has a lot of competition for the third receiver spot with Jason Avant, Hank Baskett and Greg Lewis ahead of him. The competition however is not unsurmountable.

 

17. Paul Hubbard, Cleveland–Hubbard is the heir apparent to third wideout Joe Jurevicius. Jurevicius never stays healthy so playing time will be attainable if not inevitable for the rookie.

 

18. Dexter Jackson, Tampa Bay–Jackson was drafted as Joey Galloway’s predecessor. The plan is to groom him in 2008 and start him in 2009.

 

19. Jerome Simpson, Cincinnati–Anything can happen when you are talking about the Bengals. If Chad Johnson decides to sit, Simpson and Andre Caldwell will compete for the second and third receiver spots. The more likely scenario however, is that both will start in 2009 when Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh move on to more money.

 

WAIT A YEAR

 

20. Mario Manningham, NY Giants–Manningham is a promising rookie but not the sharpest knife in the drawer…according to the Wonderlic test. Early results out of training camp indicates that he might be injury prone. If he can get through his ailments he could be the eventual replacement for 30-year old Plaxico Burress.

 

21. Jordy Nelson, Green Bay–I’m not enamored with Nelson what-so-ever. With last year’s rookie James Jones entrenched behind Greg Jennings and Donald Driver, Nelson will see little playing time in 2008. Should Driver move on in 2009, Nelson would be the third receiver at best.

 

22. Kevin Robinson, Kansas City–The Chiefs are short on receivers and Robinson will help fill the void. It’s not out of the question to see both Will Franklin and Robinson becoming big parts of the offense in 2009.

 

23. Marcus Henry, NY Jets–Henry is a big possession receiver who could replace Laveranues Coles in a year or two.

 

24. Keenan Burton, St. Louis–Burton has a chance to surprise but it won’t be at the cost of second round pick Donnie Avery.

 

25. Steve Johnson, Buffalo–The Bills aren’t known for having good receivers so Johnson is an upgrade by default.

 

PRACTICE SQUAD MATERIAL

 

26. Josh Morgan, San Francisco

 

27. Arman Shields, Oakland

 

28. Kenneth Moore, Detroit

 

29. Matt Slater, New England

 

30. Pierre Garcon, Indianapolis

 

31. Jaymar Johnson, Minnesota

 

32. Justin Harper, Baltimore

 

33. Chaz Schilens, Oakland

 

34. Brett Swain, Green Bay

 

35. Mario Urrutia, Cincinnati

[Duchess Jack]

not sure why the heck there's a "?" in the subject.

 

damnable fingers.

[Big John]

not sure why the heck there's a "?" in the subject.

 

damnable fingers.

fixed

[Duchess Jack]

many thanks, BJ

[Charles]

13. Lavelle Hawkins, Tennessee–Hawkins is a big time collegiate player who was more productive than DeSean Jackson at USC. I like his chances of securing at least the third receiver job to start the season with a starting gig not out of the question by the end of the season.

 

Big John, is this correct?

[Randall]

Big John, is this correct?

 

 

They played at Cal not USC. Jackson had a better 2006. Hawkins better 2007.

[Charles]

i was being a little facetious...

[tazinib1]

i was being a little facetious...

 

I tried to say thaat word outloud and my g/f smacked me

[Charles]

I tried to say thaat word outloud and my g/f smacked me

 

honestly, i had to go to dictionary.com and my first search was for "faseeshish"... sucks when you know how to use the word but don't know how to spell it.

Edited May 28, 2008 by Charles

[Savage Beatings]

honestly, i had to go to dictionary.com and my first search was for "faseeshish"... sucks when you know how to use the word but don't know how to spell it.

 

Indoobiedubly.

 

[CHISOX]

I tried to say thaat word outloud and my g/f smacked me

 

You sure that wasn't yo mamma smacking you in the back of the head?

 

 

 

Thanx for the list........I've done 2 dynasty rookie drafts and I have YET to draft a WR not named James Hardy. However I am in the 7th round of my last one and I think this list just became very, very useful.

 

Thanx!!!!!!!!!

[kpholmes]

They played at Cal not USC. Jackson had a better 2006. Hawkins better 2007.

Though Jackson did verbally commit to USC before choosing Cal...

 

DeSean's decline in numbers had a lot to do with the fact that people didn't know much about him, and after his 2006 season teams realized he needed to be double covered; allowing "The Hawk" to get open for some big plays.

[Randall]

Though Jackson did verbally commit to USC before choosing Cal...

 

DeSean's decline in numbers had a lot to do with the fact that people didn't know much about him, and after his 2006 season teams realized he needed to be double covered; allowing "The Hawk" to get open for some big plays.

 

 

In 2007 he had more catches but a lower YPC average. And he's listed at 169 pounds. He'll need to bulk up.

[Avernus]

I tried to say thaat word outloud and my g/f smacked me

 

did you accidentally say fallacious?

[Egret]

18. Dexter Jackson, Tampa Bay–Jackson was drafted as Joey Galloway’s predecessor. The plan is to groom him in 2008 and start him in 2009.

I love this kid. He won't put up much this year, but he could do well in Gruden's offense.

[MonkeyOne]

I love this kid. He won't put up much this year, but he could do well in Gruden's offense.

 

I'd glad to hear something positive about him, have heard from a few places he's just a glorified kick returned which wasn't what i'm hoping for from a second round receiver.

[Egret]

I'd glad to hear something positive about him, have heard from a few places he's just a glorified kick returned which wasn't what i'm hoping for from a second round receiver.

Here's a good analysis.

 

He runs a 4.27. You can't teach speed. He reminds me of Steve Smith.

[kpholmes]

He runs a 4.27. You can't teach speed. He reminds me of Steve Smith.

As much as I like Dexter, I think the other Jackson will show us more of a Steve Smith type production.

[Sturphy]

As much as I like Dexter, I think the other Jackson will show us more of a Steve Smith type production.

Well, it's not like you're a homer or anything.

 

[kpholmes]

Well, it's not like you're a homer or anything.

 

 

 

But in all seriousness, after the Michigan upset, I watched a lot of Appalachian State, and I like how Dexter plays, but he plays like he is much taller than 5-10, with serious little man syndrome - similar to how Lee Evans plays ; As opposed to Steve and Desean who stay small to make plays.

 

IMHO anyways.

 

Time will tell, no?

[darin3]

12. Harry Douglas, Atlanta–If it weren’t for the fact that the Falcons will have a terrible passing game Douglas would be ranked higher. As it is, Douglas will be Atlanta’s seldom used third receiver.

Remember this name, folks. He's reminding many of a young Marvin Harrison. Runs ridiculously crisp routes and has some speed, Here's his combine video. And his NFL draft profile.

 

Get him while the gettin's good.

[tazinib1]

Remember this name, folks. He's reminding many of a young Marvin Harrison. Runs ridiculously crisp routes and has some speed, Here's his combine video. And his NFL draft profile.

 

Get him while the gettin's good.

 

Actually, Douglas has moved up in the WR ranks progressively with each IDP draft I do. I'm in my 3rd now and set to do one next week and Douglas is not an "unknown", if you will, anymore. And I agree...the kid has got some serious talent...albeit it on rather weak passing team as of now.

[Bring Back Pat!!!]

"18. Dexter Jackson, Tampa Bay–Jackson was drafted as Joey Galloway's predecessor. The plan is to groom him in 2008 and start him in 2009."

 

They drafted him to come before Galloway?

[Duchess Jack]

"18. Dexter Jackson, Tampa Bay–Jackson was drafted as Joey Galloway's predecessor. The plan is to groom him in 2008 and start him in 2009."

 

They drafted him to come before Galloway?

Gruden's offenses have always been ahead of their time.

[darin3]

Actually, Douglas has moved up in the WR ranks progressively with each IDP draft I do. I'm in my 3rd now and set to do one next week and Douglas is not an "unknown", if you will, anymore. And I agree...the kid has got some serious talent...albeit it on rather weak passing team as of now.

I think as Ryan develops, Douglas could very well be one of the most productive WRs in this class. Ryan's talents/game lends itself to Douglas'. It's gonna be a nice combo in a year or two. And no one said the guys on this list were "unknowns".