2014 Rookie Draft Review: Industry League Wrap-up
I had intended to only recap the top three rounds of the our industry league rookie draft, but due comments and emails received, I thought I’d follow up this series with a quick “wrap-up” piece highlighting the next three rounds of selections – rounds four, five and six. With many of you looking for deep sleepers, under-the-radar players and names that may not be well known but with value, it does make sense to offer up these late round selections and analysis for you.
Once again, the league can be found here and here are rounds One, Two and Three for easy reference.
Round Four
4.01 Fake Pigskin – Charles Sims, RB TB
A good value here for what could be Doug Martin’s immediate backup.
4.02 Fake Pigskin – Jerick McKinnon, RB MIN
I think many are too high on McKinnon, but he’s a great flyer in the fourth round.
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4.03 Fulltime Fantasy – Adrien Robinson, TE NYG
Most seem to be forgetting that Robinson is, as of now, still the TE1 in New York.
4.04 Pigskin Addiction – Jadeveon Clowney, LB HOU
In an IDP league, why not? His value would have been much higher had he been put into a different defensive system and if he ever finds himself in a 4-3, his value would skyrocket. This is a long-term investment.
4.05 Pro Football Focus – Christian Kirksey, LB CLE
4.06 Football Guys – Marion Grice, RB SD
4.07 Pro Football Focus – Telvin Smith, LB JAX
4.08 Fulltime Fantasy – Lache Seastrunk, RB WAS
I bet he wishes he had another year at Baylor.
4.09 Rotoworld – Storm Johnson, RB JAX
This is a sneaky good pick. I like what I’ve seen from Johnson
4.10 Fantasy Football Xtreme – Calvin Pryor, S NYJ
4.11 Dynasty League Football – Lorenzo Taliaferro, RB BAL
We were a little surprised to see Taliaferro still on the board. He was a relative unknown in most circles, but obviously has value in Baltimore given the volatility on the running back depth chart for the Ravens.
4.12 Pigskin Addiction – Derek Carr, QB OAK
Some seem to believe Carr will be taking the first snaps of the 2014 season. I see little chance of that occurring. Matt Schaub should play most of the season and, depending on his performance, could be in line to start again in 2015. That said, once the game slow down for Carr, he’ll have a chance to show why many scouts had him as the top quarterback in this draft.
Round Five
5.01 Rotoviz – Aaron Donald, STL DT
5.02 Fulltime Fantasy – De’Anthony Thomas, RB KC
Thomas’ likely role will be on special teams as his frame just isn’t large enough to garner enough touches to be consistently productive in the NFL.
5.03 Fulltime Fantasy – Damontre Moore, DE NYG
5.04 Fulltime Fantasy – Troy Niklas, TE ARI
Niklas was a riser pre-draft, but his selection by Arizona doesn’t bode well for production. The Cardinals have gone on record saying they love their tight ends to have a “block first” mentality.
5.05 Pro Football Focus – Deone Bucannon, S ARI
5.06 Football Guys – Jared Abbrederis, WR GB
It’s hard to forecast just which of the rookie receivers in Green Bay will eventually pan out. Abbrederis has a high ceiling and is a great value here in the fifth round.
5.07 Draft Buddy – Tom Savage, QB HOU
For the patient owner, Savage is worth a shot. He’s exceedingly raw but has a great arm.
5.08 Rotoviz – Brandon Coleman, WR NO
He’s really struggled thus far in camp and may very well end up getting cut or signed to the practice squad, but any young receiver on the Saints merits watching.
5.09 Rotoworld – Demarcus Lawrence, DE DAL
5.10 Fantasy Football Xtreme – Donte Whitner, S CLE
5.11 Dynasty League Football – Josh Huff, WR PHI
Huff has a history with Head Coach Chip Kelly and with a high octane offense, we were excited to get Huff in the fifth round. He’s a bit of a flyer here as well, but there isn’t much to lose as we have an open roster spot.
5.12 Fantasy Sharks – Devin Street, WR DAL
There are some things to like about Street. He’s got good size and is in an offense that is somewhat unsettled at the second level of the receiver corps. He’ll be given a year to see how he develops.
Round Six
6.01 Rotoviz – Brock Osweiler, QB DEN
He was dropped earlier and didn’t last long on our wire. It’ll take a lot of patience while we wait to see how long Peyton Manning actually plays. It’s highly questionable if Osweiler truly is the future in Denver.
6.02 Pro Football Focus – Dominique Easley, DT NE
6.03 Fulltime Fantasy – Stepfan Taylor, RB ARI
6.04 Pigskin Addiction – Anthony Barr, LB MIN
6.05 Fake Pigskin – Lamin Barrow, LB DEN
6.06 Football Guys – Kevin Norwood, WR SEA
Norwood isn’t the most exciting rookie, but he may be one of the most pro-ready receivers in this entire class. It’s altogether impossible to see what that may translate to, but he’s really flying under the radar.
6.07 Draft Buddy – Ryan Mallet, QB NE
Another dropped quarterback who probably should have been held on to. Mallett will almost certainly end up in a new situation in 2015.
6.08 Fantasy Football Starters – PASS
6.09 Rotoworld – Logan Thomas, QB ARI
Thomas is one of my favorite sleepers this year. Palmer is no lock to stay healthy and Thomas has prototypical size and arm strength. He also possesses plus-level mobility, but will need a lot of time to develop. Give him a year or two on the bench and you could have a very nice player.
6.10 Fantasy Football Xtreme – Malcom Floyd, WR SD
6.11 Dynasty League Football – PASS
6.12 Fantasy Sharks – Alfred Blue, RB HOU
Blue looks the part of a NFL running back but has battled injury problems. He fits well in Houston’s rotation while they look for a consistent runner behind Arian Foster.
Summary
With a focus on these last three rounds, my hope is you’ll be able to identify a few sleepers that you may have not considered prior to reading this series. Most of the players here have a low percentage chance of ever becoming productive fantasy players but you can back on five to seven eventually emerging.
Follow me on Twitter: @DLF_Jeff
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You can find Jeff on Twitter at @dlf_jeff
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