Seven Up: NFL Rookies on the Rise

As is usually the case, it hasn’t taken long for the values of this year’s crop of rookies to change. Injuries and preseason performances can quickly place a first-year player on the rising or falling lists, perhaps as we overreact to their first NFL action. We’ll take a quick look at seven players whose stock is on the rise in their respective training camps.

Familiar names at familiar positions highlight a short list of could-be fantasy contributors. Just three of the seven we mention were first round picks in June, and just two – Buffalo WR James Hardy and Atlanta QB Matt Ryan – were not running backs. In terms of reality to fantasy drafts, we get further proof that situations and early opportunities dictate success more than talent does.

Draft Strategy: The Portfolio Approach

Anyone on Wall Street will tell you that a major key to making money is diversifying their investments – putting money into different industries, different sized companies and different markets. By purchasing stock in all of these different types of companies, the risk of each individual stock is drowned out by the collective strength of the portfolio.

The same principle applies in fantasy football. Every, single player comes with some kind of inherent risk, some obviously more so than others. Age, inexperience, injuries, size, offensive scheme, etc., etc., are all unique risks to individual players. The goal of diversifying is to eliminate all of these individual risks, which can be done by drafting complementary pieces to your team’s puzzle.

Fantasy NFL Draft Day Dilemmas

Draft day is the most exciting day of a fantasy season. While every Sunday during the season is action-packed and the playoffs are the apex of all your hard work, the draft is where you mold your roster and give your team an identity. Waiver wire selections can make a big impact, but drafting well is the first step for all championship-winning teams. It’s important to be prepared.

While each draft has a different identity, there are dilemmas that are universal to all leagues. Basic strategy – how urgently to go about filling lineup spots, when to draft a quarterback, how to determine a rookie’s value – doesn’t change. Ironing out these wrinkles before your draft begins puts you at a competitive advantage over the owners who develop their approaches on the fly.

Jacob Hester Scores Two Goal-line TDs

Rookie fullback Jacob Hester proved himself a worthy backup to LaDainian Tomlinson and a threat at the goal-line, carrying 13 times for 49 yards and 2 touchdowns. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Hester made an even bigger mark when he threw his first career block.

Right now, Hester is the best bet to fill in for L.T., should an unfortunate injury occur, but may have the same kind of struggles as Rams’ hybrid halfback/fullback Brian Leonard had last season. These guys have enough size to be effective in small doses, but not enough speed or agility to be full-time backs.

Robert Meachem Justifies Sleeper Hype

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Meachem had a dominant first preseason outing, catching four passes for 129 yards and a touchdown in the Saints’ 24-10 win over Arizona. Meachem, a first round pick who never got on the field as he battled a knee injury last season, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, proved worthy of the heat he’s getting as a preseason sleeper in fantasy drafts.

Meachem will likely start the season as the Saints No. 3 wide receiver, which would put him behind receivers Marques Colston and David Patten and tight end Jeremy Shockey in the pecking order for catches. But, as the season wears on and his physical gifts start to shine through, he can easily carve out a bigger niche in the Saints offense.

Training Camp Notes: Pennington, Key Position Battles

Follow all the news and notes from around the NFL right here. From Chad Pennington to Steven Jackson  to who will be Buffalo’s No. 2 receiver. We got it all covered. 

Chad Pennington Update: Lost in the hoopla and fanfare of the Brett Favre trade was the release of Pennington, who drew interest from about a half dozen teams before signing with the Miami Dolphins on Friday. He reunites with the man who drafted him in New York, Head of Football Operations Bill Parcells, and stands a great chance of earning the starting job by Week 1. This move in the aftermath of the Favre trade can have a positive impact on the Dolphins offense and for Pennington, whose relationship with the Jets had run its course, despite an 88.9 career passer rating and winning record as a starter.

More Closure, But Brett Favre Saga Not Over

The Brett Favre Saga is not over, let’s just clear that up. His 2008 team is settled, but ESPN won’t stop showing highlights, making stories of this situation, or delightfully ribbing themselves about how often they talk about Favre. No, the Favre in Green Bay chapter is over, but the Favre in New York chapter should be even more saucy.

Finally, though, this thing becomes about football. And for our purposes, we get a little bit of closure on the fantasy side. Along those lines, this deal works out quite well for us, considering the only two scenarios left on the board: Favre ending up with either the Jets or Buccaneers.

Fantasy Movers and Shakers: August Rush

As the start of the dreaded pre-season games looms closer and closer, fantasy owners are getting the first few indications on which players have come out of camp looking impressive which ones have been lacking.

 

Tradition dictates that at least one fantasy star per year will have his season ruined by a pre-season injury. But, beyond that, there are plenty of players who right now only factor in as bits and pieces on a fantasy bench, but could very well turn out to be the difference between the consolation bracket and gunning for the league championship. There are also trades to be dealt with, and there have been some very big ones as of late.

Preview: Impact NFL Rookies

One of the more exciting parts of preseason fantasy football, rookie evaluations can either make a quick impact on teams or fall flat on their faces as wasted draft picks. More often than not, the latter proves true, but if we learned one thing from Adrian Peterson’s 2007 romp, it’s that we should certainly believe that big results are possible.

Some overreaction is all but guaranteed in the post-A.P. Era, and most of it will center around Oakland physical specimen Darren McFadden. Owners everywhere are still sore about the fact that they passed on Peterson at nearly the same draft position (mid-3rd round) and will be damned if they make the same mistake. Problem is, odds are slim and none that McFadden’s arrival has half the impact of Peterson’s.

Preseason Top 200 Rankings

The basic list form of our preseason top 200 rankings. We also feature the same list, equipped with notes for each and every player and completely free of charge, on FantasySports101.net. Once the regular season begins, we’ll narrow the list down to the top 101 players and do the same thing every week.

Some highlights on the list:

Rookie Darren McFadden’s debut at No. 36, largely because of the lesson we learned from Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson last season. That kind of talent needs to, and usually does, find a home before the fifth round of standard drafts.

Jason Witten overtakes Antonio Gates, who has question marks about his own health and the health of quarterback Philip Rivers’ knee, as the first tight end off the board.

Two less heralded rookie running backs, Chicago’s Matt Forte and Denver’s Ryan Torain, can be found in the middle rounds with a realistic expectation that both will win starting jobs.