| Quarterbacks |
| 1 |
BAL |
Kyle Boller |
Looked sharp in camp
and is the only rookie QB with a realistic shot of starting
this season. Nice future prospects as well, Boller is
a bit of a wild card coming from CAL-Berkeley but has
been impressive and only has Redman to beat. |
| 2 |
JAX |
Byron
Leftwich |
Tremendous
pocket passer signed very late and will likely not play
much this season. Too much to learn before the season
starts, should hold a clipboard this year while avoiding
glares from HC Jack Del Rio for signing so late. |
| 3 |
CIN |
Carson Palmer |
First pick in the
draft may get some late season work but revamped Bengals
will be predicated on defense, not passing. |
| 4 |
CHI |
Rex
Grossman |
Impressive
in camp, Grossman appears ready to take the reins whenever
the Bears realize Kordell is really just Kordell and Chris
Chandler is only a backup quality even if he is healthy. |
| 5 |
TB |
Chris Simms |
Stuck behind Brad
Johnson and Shaun King, Simms has looked impressive in
camp and may get the call to lead the Grudeneers in a
season or two when Brad Johnson gets even older. |
| Runningbacks |
| 1 |
MIN |
Onterrio Smith |
This ranking is all
about this season - not the future. With Michael Bennett
out until at least October and possibly the entire season,
Smith is the best bet to get replacement work for 2003.
He is easily the safest bet of all rookie runners to get
playing time though that is largely because there are
no rookie runners that are safe bets this year. |
| 2 |
KC |
Larry
Johnson |
While
Johnson has not been extremely impressive, he does backup
Priest Holmes at least for now. He may be #3 in KC by
the time the season starts. |
| 3 |
JAX |
Labrandon Toefield |
What's not to like
about the backup to Fred Taylor? Oh yes - he has an injury
history himself but with only Elvis Joseph to compete
with, Toefield will likely be a backup runner for the
one team that has made the position rather lucrative for
years. |
| 4 |
TEN |
Chris
Brown |
Eddie
George is healthy and never misses a game. But he is 30
years old and gets more dinged up each season. Brown is
a near clone of George and should be his replacement whenever
that call comes. |
| 5 |
BUF |
Willis McGahee |
Blow out an ACL, get drafted in the first round anyway.
Is that a symbol of his potential or just a sign that
this season is unusually pathetic for rookie rushers?
Probably a bit of both. Would have been THE back to
draft this year until his knee went backwards eight
months ago. This is a "get 'em next year"
pick. So - who is the optimist around here, anyway?
|
| 6 |
OAK |
Justin Fargas |
Fargas has
been tearing it up in the second half of his two exhibition
games and while it was against the other team's ne'er-do-wells
and also rans, a 126 yard game in two quarters is still
pretty impressive. Fargas us running with speed and nice
burst and is priming himself for replacement duty if
Garner and Wheatley need help. Fargas comes from a spotty
college history and has had injury problems himself,
but thus far he has been the most impressive rookie rusher
of those getting opportunity. |
| 7 |
HOU |
Tony
Hollings |
Taken
in the supplemental draft, Hollings costs the Texans a
second rounder next year. Like a skyrocket, Hollings was
pure flash in the few games he played last season before
blowing his knee out and missing the rest of the season.
He may play this year, he may get placed on the PUP list.
This too is more of a gamble for next year. |
| 8 |
BAL |
Musa Smith |
Smith contends with
Chester Taylor as a backup to Jamal Lewis who has already
blown his knee out twice and has two NFL substance violations
to his credit. One more violation is a 16 game suspension
and one more game might be the next ACL tear. |
| 9 |
DET |
Artose Pinner |
The only reason Pinner
is ranked this high is because he has not yet proven that
he is too short and too slow to be an everydown NFL running
back. DET thinks he can contribute eventually and with
James Stewart getting old and no other big competition
in DET, he will likely stick and might get some play by
the end of the season. |
| 10 |
DEN |
Quentin
Griffin |
Was
impressive in mini-camp in that "little guy playing
big" sort of way and then broke his leg. Might make
a nice 3rd down complement to Clinton Portis but is already
behind in his development. |
| 11 |
HOU |
Domanick Davis |
In HOU, probably not
going to happen but with Allen retired and Wells having
a bad turf toe, might get into the rotation behind Stacey
Mack and possibly Tony Hollings. |
| 12 |
CHI |
Brock
Forsey |
Electrifying
in college, Forsey is on a team without a slam dunk, stud
starter and is popular to trade to any of your league
mates that saw him in college and think he has the juice
for pro ball. Likely he does not. |
| Tight Ends |
| 1 |
IND |
Dallas Clark |
The Colts need someone
to help Pollard out and Marcus is no spring chicken at
31 years of age. There are many worse things than having
Peyton Manning throw to you. |
| 2 |
PHI |
L.J.
Smith |
The
Eagles are watching Chad Lewis' production going downhill
each season and tabbed a great pass catcher in Smith to
replace him. This is a nice dynasty pick. |
| 3 |
CAR |
Mike Seidman |
With Wesley Walls
gone, the Panthers are very happy so far with the progress
of Seidman who should be able to overtake Kris Mangum
who is only a blocking tight end. This is a nice dynasty
pick. |
| 4 |
HOU |
Bennie
Joppru |
While
the Texans already have Billy Miller, Joppru comes in
as an excellent pass catching tight end who could make
some waves as early as this season. |
| 5 |
DAL |
Jason Witten |
Because we all still
want to believe in Bill Parcells. Witten is likely a few
seasons from being a factor and has Dan Campbell to compete
against, along with the aging holdover Tony McGee. |
| 6 |
OAK |
Teyo
Johnson |
Drafted
as a receiver, Johnson is being converted to a tight end
where he is expected to contribute to the redzone passing
game. |
| 7 |
NYG |
Vishante Shiancoe |
Jeremy Shockey is
in no jeopardy of losing his job here, but Shiancoe has
been excellent in training camp and may be used along
with Shockey to cause major mismatches in the secondary. |
| Wide Receivers |
| 1 |
DET |
Charles Rogers |
Immediate starting
receiver, Rogers brings his well-hyped speed and moves
to the Lions where he must prove capable of fighting off
line jams from NFL cornerbacks. Of course there is that
whole Harrington thing too. |
| 2 |
HOU |
Andre
Johnson |
Johnson
was rightfully touted as the most "NFL ready"
rookie receiver in several years. In training camp, he
has done nothing to dispel that notion and though Houston
does not throw much, with Johnson on board their ability
to pass will be immediately upgraded. Johnson has the
long-term look of a future star. |
| 3 |
ARZ |
Bryant Johnson |
Should be a starter
in Arizona this season but what does that really mean?
It means a lot of wild balls thrown by Jeff Blake that
Johnson will be trying to position himself to catch. |
| 4 |
WAS |
Taylor
Jacobs |
Already
promoted to the #3 slot position in an offense that loves
to throw. Jacobs in perfect for the Washington passing
attack but will be limited by the number of catches a
#3 receiver can make anywhere, even in Washington. |
| 5 |
CIN |
Kelley Washington |
The Bengals drafted
Washington for the express purpose of lining up across
from Chad Johnson and allowing Peter Warrick to take the
slot and make better use of his speed and playmaking ability.
Washington has been all hands in training camp and recently
was cleared by the doctors to play since he had neck surgery
in the offseason. |
| 6 |
TEN |
Tyrone
Calico |
The
Titans went searching for a replacement for the departed
Kevin Dyson and came up with the talented but raw Calico.
So far Calico has been impressive but won't likely do
much this season. |
| 7 |
ARZ |
Anquan Boldin |
In Arizona, the starter
jobs are wide open and Boldin has a good chance at the
#2 or #3 role. Has a good chance at some numbers this
season and upside for the future. |
| 8 |
NE |
Bethel
Johnson |
In
the munchkin brigade that are the Patriots, Johnson has
a good chance to stick and at 5-11 he actually could be
the possession receiver there eventually. |
| 9 |
MIN |
Nate Burleson |
Looks to stick behind
Moss, Bates and Kelly Campbell. Decent long-term out look
but with Moss around could never become more than the
#2 and more likely the #3. |
| 10 |
SF |
Brandon
Lloyd |
With
Tai Streets and Terrell Owens slated to become free agents
next season, the 49ers are wisely looking at their depth
for the worst case scenarios. Cedric Wilson has a leg
up on all other receivers but Lloyd has been a nice surprise
in camp and could be the #4 receiver this season. |
| 11 |
PHI |
Wilbur McMullen Jr. |
Pressing the disappointing
Freddie Mitchell for playing time but in Philadelphia,
how many balls can a #3 receiver catch anyway? |
| 12 |
STL |
Kevin
Curtis |
In
the mix for the #3 receiver competition. Probably will
not win it but should stick with the team. |
| 13 |
DET |
David Kircus |
Caught the eyes of
the coaching staff and may turn into a nice find in a
season or two. |
| 14 |
CHI |
Justin Gage |
Looked
a little better than Bobby Wade and brought in to challenge
David Terrell at the #3 spot. |
| Special Teams |
| 1 |
SEA |
Josh Brown |
Won the job and kicking
well. |
