Rookie Report Card: Week Eleven

In my weekly column, we take a longer look at two more rookies.  I compare their performance to date against my original expectations of them.  Let’s continue the 2013 series by looking back at two of the top fantasy rookie picks in the draft in Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell and Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

Le’Veon Bell, RB PIT

Here is what I saw in college from Bell: First let me show my biases: I am a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and a Michigan Wolverines fan.  Bell is no stranger to my eyes as I watched him play the last few seasons in the Big Ten.  Bell may not be the most athletic running back, but he could be one of the toughest and most physical runners in this class.  The back reads his blockers well, always falls forward and is wiling to take what yardage is there. Bell uses a good stiff-arm move and will throw in a subtle spin move or two to create extra space.

The young back shows good downfield vision, has good lateral movement (including jump cuts) and tends to run inside to out. I am concerned about his foot movement as it could be quicker as he needs to pick up his feet to avoid the trash at the line of scrimmage.  He has soft hands and can be used in the passing game as a blocker and as a receiving threat. Bell’s skill set would best work in a more traditional type blocking scheme.

This is what I saw from Bell against the Lions:  The rookie back has very quick feet that he uses to start and stop while forcing over pursuing defenders move past him.  He did a good job of making the first guy miss him either in the hole or in open space.  Bell did give a few Steelers fans unpleasant memories of Rashard Mendenhall with his spin moves, but at least when he turns his back to the defense it is only for a second.  The big back does a good job of falling forward and keeping his legs chopping until he on the ground. I wouldn’t call Bell a power back, but he gets low and uses good body lean except near the goal line  (Bell got stuffed against the Lions stout seven with less than two yards to pay dirt twice).

Bell has a knack for watching the o-line play develop and can read their blocks well.  He had an athletic jump over a defensive back that was impressive, but scary and foolish as he risked serious injury leaving his feet.  The young back is quite versatile in the passing game as he sometimes lines up in the slot to catch passes. He showed decent hands, but sometimes tries to tip the ball which almost led to a turnover near the goal line.  Bell extended two drives with extra effort in the open field after short receptions with one of those being on a fourth and two play.  He did fine in the pass blocking department, bit it clear that Jonathan Dwyer is a better pass blocker and short yardage runner. Despite my Steelers love, I have a hard time envisioning Bell as more than a RB2.  He is a good back, but is not very instinctive, nor is he a dominant athlete.  He is one of the safest young backs to own, but Bell won’t win you any fantasy titles single-handedly.

DeAndre Hopkins, WR HOU

These are some of the observations of Hopkins during his time in college: Hopkins was the most impressive player I had watched the 2013 bowl season. The young receiver catches the ball at its highest point; it doesn’t matter if he has one on one coverage or when he gets bracketed. The way he runs crisp routes, sells the defender on where he is going, then suddenly changes direction are a thing of beauty. Hopkins has a “shake and bake” juke that creates separation against very good defenders. He uses the sidelines as an extra blocker once he has the ball in his hands. Even when a corner is on top of him, Hopkins usually out-muscles his coverage, shields the ball away from the defender and comes down with the difficult reception.

Once gets to a ball in full stride, Hopkins is so troublesome to bring down as he keeps his legs pumping with zero wasted movement. The young receiver showed off his catch radius on an 11 yard second quarter touchdown reception in his 2013 bowl game that was thrown low and once again during the last three minutes of the game when Hopkins tip-toed in the back of the end zone for his second score of the night. I am most excited about Hopkins and Allen as my top two potential rookie receivers.

Here is what I gleamed during Hopkins’ game against the Raiders: I know it is hard to judge a player with only two targets on the day.  His first target was a worm burner at the beginning of the fourth quarter.  On his only reception of the day, he caught the ball at its highest point and shielded it away from the defender for seven yards.  Hopkins had quite the rough day as he got benched for losing concentration on the field.  He had issues creating separation and took too long to get in and out of breaks.

The not so wonderful DeVier Posey took Hopkins starting spot for over half the game, which is not a good sign of what the coaching staff thought of his efforts.  I’m not placing all the blame on the young receiver as the Texans did bench the better quarterback in Case Keenum, too.  The rookie wide out shows good effort though when he was blocking as it did not matter whether was a pass or run.  With the quarterback position in flux and Andre Johnson commanding the lion’s share of the targets, Hopkins could be a buy low if you find a disappointed owner.  I have my doubts he will ever become a dynasty WR1, but he has enough upside to be a steady WR2 once Houston has a more permanent signal caller.

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