Monday, July 23, 2007

2007 NFC Impact Rookies

Training camp is upon us and before this year's noobiess hit the playing field I'm going to tell you who I think will be the biggest difference makers for their respective teams. I like the NFC so it's first and the AFC Impact rookies will come later in the week.

NFC OFFENSE
TE Greg Olson - Chicago Bears
He's a huge upgrade over Desmond Clark and will give Rex Grossman a great vertical threat on offense. His success is largely contingent upon the ever-so inconsistently bad Rex Grossman but I think he'll make a big splash in the NFL Central.

WR Calvin Johnson - Detroit Lions
Will be the offensive ROY in the NFC and Mike Martz will but him to great use.

RB Adrian Peterson - Minnesota Vikings
He will be part of a great tandem with Chester Taylor. The Vikings will rely heavily on their 2-back combo with the inexperienced and highly unproven Tarvaris Jackson behind Center. Look for him to get more and more carries as the game progresses and they'll look for him to close out games with big runs in the 4th quarter.

RB Brandon Jackson - Green Bay Packers
He is my sleeper here. I thought he was a great pick in the 2nd round, although he poses some injury risk I think if he can stay healthy (which i predict he will) he will win the starting job from Vernand Morency and have a good year.

WR Steve Smith - New York Giants
I think he fits their system well and will wind up as a go-to-guy from Eli by the end of the season. I think he will come out and surprise a lot of people with a great rookie season.

WR Courtney Taylor - Seattle Seahawks
He will contribute and I think he'll surprise a lot of people.

NFC DEFENSE
LB Jon Beason - Carolina Panthers
Rumor has it he will start at WLB and he is a good insurance policy for the oft-injured Dan Morgan. I think he makes a big impact and gets a lot of playing time.

DL Adam Carriker - St. Louis Rams
He has apparently been moved to the inside already and the Rams think he will start there. However, if something happens he can always shift out to DE where he had a great career in college. Watched a lot of him in college and I think he is going to be a great pro player. He's got the body and the skill-set to dominate in the NFL.

LB Patrick Willis - San Francisco 49ers
He is going to be a franchise player. He'll start this year and look for him to have a great year much to the likes of AJ Hawk's rookies season with the Pack last year.

LB Stewart Bradley - Philadelphia Eagles
I think he will likely start on the strong side over Chris Gocong who is recovering from a neck injury. I think he will be heavily relied on and will make the biggest impact of any of Philly's draft choices.

S LaRon Landy - Washington Redskins
Will be a great bookend opposite Sean Taylor. I think you're probably looking at the 2007 Defensive ROY.

DE Gaines Adams - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs were 2nd worst in sacks last season with only 25. Look for Adams to start and make a big impact.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It will be interesting to see how the top 3 (offense) turn out. I see Olsen being a great acquisition, however, with Clark still there, it will start off as dual role. Both the Lions and Vikings are notorious for inserting rookies immediately. I see Johnson's weakness being Kitna and the long ball. I'd say Peterson would have the most immediate impact, especially considering a highly unproven QB and a strong offensive line.