4 Rookies Who Are Locks to Have a Huge Impact in Fantasy Football
By Henry McKenna
The 2018 NFL Draft may not be quite as impactful in fantasy as the impressive 2017 class. But this year’s class boasts a few top-end players who are already sure things for fantasy owners.
When looking at a rookie class, running backs are generally the only players fantasy owners can count on. A few wide receivers can break through (Michael Thomas two years ago, for example) in elite offenses. Tight ends tend to be an unpredictable variable in an offense.
This season, the top tier rookie quarterbacks have veterans ahead of them on every roster. There’s no saying which quarterbacks will get the start for Week 1. Can Baker Mayfield beat out Tyrod Taylor? Can Josh Rosen beat out Sam Bradford? Can Sam Darnold beat Josh McCown? Can Josh Allen beat out AJ McCarron? They all should. But they’re not a lock to win, and they’re also not a lock to have much success either.
This rookie receiver class was also lackluster, and the best talents went to rosters where they may not get the attention necessary for fantasy.
So essentially, the only players who are locks to make an impact at this point are running backs. Here’s a look at four of them for your redraft leagues (who also should probably be top targets in dynasty, too)
Saquon Barkey, RB, Giants
Duh. I know.
Jonathan Stewart is absolutely not stopping Barkley from getting over 300 touches in 2018. Not only will Barkley’s workload be immense, but he’ll get touches in the rushing and passing game. Yes, that means he might just rake in points in PPR. He’s going to be a monster — just like he was in college.
His ADP will look a lot like Ezekiel Elliot’s did when he was a rookie. Elliot had the luxury of the Cowboys’ offensive line — Barkley has the luxury of being Barry Sanders’ reincarnation.
Sony Michel, RB, Patriots
The Patriots almost never use first-round picks on skill players. Under Bill Belichick, they’ve done it just twice. Michel was the second. Belichick must have big plans for the running back.
While some may think the position is crowded in New England, Michel might bump Mike Gillislee and Jeremy Hill off the roster. That would leave Michel to compete with James White, Rex Burkhead and Brandon Bolden for carries and catches. Michel is going to get a lot of work between the tackles, and because he can pass protect, the Patriots will get him on the field on third downs. That means he’ll get catches, too.
Ronald Jones, RB, Buccaneers
No competition. The job in Tampa is Jones’ to lose. And he won’t lose it.
Jones was considered by some to be the second best back in this year’s draft. He was the fourth off the board, and he’s got an opportunity to get an enormous workload. He carried the ball 261 times at USC last season. He may not get that many touches — but there’s no harm in the Buccaneers trying. Their passing offense didn’t look great without a running game last season.
Rashaad Penny, RB, Seahawks
Chris Carson will be Penny’s only hurdle on the way to taking over the Seahawks’ backfield. Carson isn’t an insignificant challenge either. He ran incredibly well behind Seattle’s offensive line. Then when Carson got injured, three running backs failed in pathetic succession.
But Seattle didn’t draft Penny in the first round to have him sit behind Carson. At most, Carson will poach 30 percent of Penny’s workload. Even in that worst-case-scenario, Penny is a good PPR option. Plus, he’s a home run threat who will get more comfortable as the season goes on. Even if he starts slow, expect Penny to be huge by the playoffs.
Not locks to be huge, but worth monemtoremng: Nyheemm Hemnes, RB/WR, Colts (PPR); Derremus Guemce, RB, Redskemns; Royce Freeman, RB, Broncos. Antonemo Callaway, WR, Browns; Memke Gesemckem, TE, Dolphemns; Kalen Ballage, RB, Dolphemns; Josh Rosen, QB, Cardemnals; D.J. Moore, WR, Panthers.