2012 Rookie Risers

Ken Kelly Posted On August 24, 2012

luck3 Shortly after the NFL Draft, professional dynasty owners scramble to create their preliminary cheat sheets. After all, you’ve been researching these players for months, watched their combine film multiple times, watched their YouTube highlight reels, analyzed their new teams and playing situations, read fifty rookie articles on DLF and visited the DLF Forum for more words of wisdom.

Then everything changes in a matter of months.

For those who drafted early, there’s not much you can do now. You took your best shot and made the best choices you could based on the information you had at the time in your rookie draft or in your new league’s start-up draft. However, for owners drafting late or for savvy owners who think they could get some of these rookies at less than market value because their league mates have been in hibernation since April, this is the time to re-evaluate the group and see just which players have seen their values increase based on their performances in OTA’s, training camp or in preseason action.

With that in mind, here are 24 rookies who have seen their values increase over the past couple of months.

Andrew Luck, QB IND

We’ve had Luck squarely put at #1 on our rookie rankings since the draft was completed. However, in re-draft formats, he’s moving up the charts. Once seen as possibly a decent QB2 early in his career, Luck has shown enough of the “it” factor to be considered as no worse that a high end QB2 this season, with elite upside. He may already be a top 15 NFL quarterback and it won’t surprise many to see him reach that ranking in fantasy leagues as early as this season. Beyond that, all bets are off because this kid is a stud in the making.

Doug Martin, RB TB

Martin is a player who has likely been overdrafted in some early re-draft formats, but he’s now starting to climb up towards that perceived value with a strong preseason. A solid performance in the third preseason game could make Martin the “1” in a “1-2” punch this year with LeGarrette Blount. Just be careful, though – while his value is on the rise a bit, he’s not going to be a bell cow this season.

Robert Griffin III, QB WAS

I’ve been quoted many times on this site as saying, “The preseason can’t guarantee anyone is going to be great, but you can always see if they’re going to be terrible,” With Griffin, it’s obvious his floor is pretty high. There’s no doubt he has elite athletic ability and can really spin the ball. His supporting cast is starting to come together and if the running game can come along, Griffin is going to be a weapon earlier than expected.

Justin Blackmon, WR JAX

Blackmon was nearly left for dead a couple of months ago as he was reluctant to sign his contract and was facing DUI charges. What a difference a week or two makes, eh? After Blackmon finally signed his contract, he’s come on strong and given the Jaguars offense something to pin its hopes on as they wait for Maurice Jones-Drew to arrive. In just two preseason games, Blackmon has shown the ability to break tackles and has eight receptions for 120 yards and a touchdown in just over four quarters. Some pundits didn’t believe Blackmon’s game would translate well, but so far, so good.

David Wilson, RB NYG

It didn’t take long for Wilson to make an impression with the coaching staff and he’s already splitting first team reps with Ahmad Bradshaw. With Bradshaw’s tendency to get hurt, it’s likely we see a lot of Wilson this year. He looks like a game breaking talent and while his immediate situation leaves a little to be desired, he has a lot of long-term upside.

Kendall Wright, WR TEN

Wright capped off a great preseason with 44 yards and a first quarter touchdown pass from Jake Locker last night. Wright passes the eye test and he looks to be the go-to receiver for Tennessee while they wait for Kenny Britt to return. There were questions about how Wright’s game would translate to the NFL level, but he’s passed the eye test for sure.

Ryan Tannehill, QB MIA

Everyone expected Tannehill to be the Dolphins quarterback eventually, but few expected it to be this soon. The injury to David Garrard certainly helped, as did the ineptness shown by Matt Moore. However, Tannehill has looked pretty sharp so far and he seems ready to take on the responsibility – that’s pretty promising for a young rookie.

Brian Quick, WR STL

Quick’s value is on the rise ever so slightly simply because no other Rams receiver has stepped up to the plate thus far. Quick has performed well so far and has shown steady improvement (he had a touchdown taken away on a penalty last week). While we may not see early returns on Quick, he’s shown enough for us to expect something sooner, rather than later.

Alshon Jeffery, WR CHI

Jeffery was one of (if not THE) toughest players to rank after the draft. After all, he was a constant underachiever at South Carolina, but one who had talent that was off the charts. Going to Chicago isn’t exactly the best place for receivers historically, but Jeffery has done nothing but make plays all camp and may be in line to start opposite Brandon Marshall on opening day. He’s looking like a really solid option at the moment.

Ryan Broyles, WR DET

Just playing in a game this season would have made Broyles’ value go up. Playing in a preseason game has made it skyrocket. Broyles is an ultra-talented player who could be a monster in PPR leagues. It looks like that could come very early in his career and those who gambled on him in drafts back in April or May got themselves a real gem.

Robert Turbin, RB SEA

Turbin has looked pretty solid thus far from all reports. However, his value may be going up simply because of the mystery surrounding Marshawn Lynch and a possible future suspension. He’s still a late round pick in a rookie draft, but one who carries a bit more hope now.

Russell Wilson, QB SEA

Here we go!

There may be no other player on this list who has seen their value rise more in the last couple of months than Russell Wilson. While many of us rolled our collective eyes when it was announced Wilson would compete with Matt Flynn for the starting job this year, nobody is laughing now. In his two preseason games, Wilson has completed 22-of-33 passes for 279 yards, with three touchdowns and one interception while adding eight carries for 92 yards and another score, earning the start in tonight’s critical third week. Even he fails to win the job this year, it’s apparent the Seahawks may have found their quarterback of the future.

Chris Rainey, RB PIT

An afterthought in most early rookie drafts, Rainey has established himself as a realistic option for the Steelers offense. While he isn’t a player who is ever going to be featured, he’s shown an explosive ability you simply can’t coach. He’s making a huge push to make the team and it’s going to be tough for Pittsburgh to keep him off the field if he keeps making plays like he has. He’s a developmental prospect, but one you could stash on a deep roster with more confidence now.

Nick Foles, QB PHI

It looks like we (and a host of others) were wrong on our early evaluation of Foles and have no problem admitting it. What we saw at the combine and in the games from the PAC-12 last year was a player who had a strong presence in the huddle, but an arm that didn’t match his football IQ. That’s all seemingly changed as he’s been terrific in preseason action, showing a surprisingly strong arm and a mastery of a complicated offense that’s nearly impossible to believe. With Michael Vick a candidate to get injured at any time, Foles may actually be a play away from starting a game as a rookie. Amazing.

Vick Ballard, RB IND

Another player who was a bit of an afterthought in early rookie drafts, Ballard has shown well thus far and could challenge Donald Brown for meaningful snaps this season. Brown has never been the most consistent or healthy player, so keep an eye on Ballard over the next two weeks.

TJ Graham, WR BUF

The Bills have been looking for a second receiver for what seems to be a decade, but they may have found one in Graham. The Bills have a host of receivers in the mix and few expected Graham to develop as quickly as he has. He’s really making the coaching staff re-evaluate the depth chart on what seems to be a daily basis.

Dwayne Allen, TE IND

It was very disappointing to see Allen end up with the Colts after they had already taken Coby Fleener in the draft. However, reports of his demise seem to have been greatly exaggerated. Allen has been great in camp and there’s no guarantee that Fleener is going to be the better short or long-term option for the Colts. While Fleener is going much, much higher, Allen is becoming a very good value pick late in dynasty drafts.

Josh Gordon, WR CLE

Of course his value would be up since April since he wasn’t in the draft. However, it bears mentioning that recent reports are saying that Gordon is really starting to “get it” and could be starting in week one. For a player coming in late, that’s pretty impressive.

Bryce Brown, RB PHI

Brown is making his case to stick on the Eagles roster and already has Philadelphia considering moving Chris Polk to fullback or possibly releasing him outright. Brown has a checkered past, but his ability is obvious when you watch him play. If he somehow gets cut, his next spot would be very interesting to monitor. If he sticks, he’ll be behind Dion Lewis in the pecking order, but still worth a deep roster stash based on talent alone.

Cyrus Gray, RB KC

Gray has been incredibly productive every time he’s seen the ball this preseason. He has injury concerns of his own, but Peyton Hillis is only on a one year deal and Jamaal Charles will likely never be a full-time back. If Gray continues to look as good as he has, it could make Hillis expendable next season.

Keshawn Martin, WR HOU

The talk of Texans camp early was all about Lestar Jean, but Martin has quickly thrown his hat into the ring for significant snaps as a rookie. While nothing has been settled, Andre Johnson and Kevin Walter aren’t going to be the starters in Houston forever and Martin has shown an incredible amount of ability thus far.

Alfred Morris, RB WAS

With Mike Shanahan, you never know. With Roy Helu and Evan Royster both nicked up, Morris may just get his shot early on. If he takes advantage of it, it’s possible he could be a significant player in the short term.

LaVon Brazill, WR IND

The combination of Austin Collie’s concussions and Brazill’s impressive play has the Colts considering him as a starter to open the season. Not many could have pictured that development a few months ago, but here we are anyway. Brazill is worth a shot as a young player with the athletic ability to build some real chemistry with Andrew Luck early in his career.

Rod Streater, WR OAK

There may be no more intriguing story this off-season than the rise of Streater. With virtually all the Raiders receivers on the mend, Streater has emerged with 13 catches for 109 yards in the first two preseason games. While it’s tough to see him with an early season role if the rest of the crew gets healthy, he’s a player to stash away because we’ve seen him perform at a high level.

Holding Steady

Stephen Hill
Ryan Lindley
Devon Wylie
Lamar Miller
LaMichael James
Brandon Weeden
Rueben Randle
Michael Egnew
Chris Givens
Brock Osweiler
Ladarius Green
Terrance Ganaway
Michael Smith
Marvin Jones

We’ll take a look at the rookie fallers later this weekend.

Author
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Ken Kelly

Co-Founder at DynastyLeagueFootball

Ken is a corporate trainer by day an a tireless editor of dynasty content by night. His passion for the World Champion Seattle Seahawks is second only to his love of fantasy football and the dynasty format.

Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK