Fantasy Football

Man, there is just nothing going on in NFL free agency. At least nothing that pertains to fantasy. I could delve into great detail about the Samoas ice cream I ate this weekend and it would have more relevance to this website than Chris Canty going to the Giants. Basically, there just isn’t much happening.

So as a result, I’m going to prematurely bust out our top five fantasy prospects in the 2009 draft. Now, since this is fantasy prospects, it consists mainly of skill positions. For as good as Malcolm Jenkins might be, his impact on the upcoming NFL season will be minimal at best. So yeah, a fourth round running back is very likely to be rated higher than Aaron Curry.

Also, we’ll do some variation of this leading up to the draft. For example, top five current NFL players that will be positively and negatively effected by the incoming class. It won’t be everyday but hopefully we aren’t just regurgitating some shit you already heard somewhere else.*

Without further ado, here Talking Fantasy Football’s top five fantasy impact players of the 2009 draft. We would like to point out that since we’re doing this so early it is subject to change.

1) Chris Wells
Yeah, he’s injury prone but he’s the perfect mix of size and speed that is just lethal in the NFL, and makes him suited for goal line carries and and to be an every down back. Even in games where Ohio State lost on a national stage (most notably the BCS Title game against LSU), Wells produced numbers that virtually any other team could figure out how to establish a win. It is all circumstantial as to what team he goes too (this website has him going to the Eagles and god help the rest of the NFC East and Westbrook owners if that happens, but the same website also has Ray Maualuga being an Ohio State alumnist, so take it with a grain of salt), but I’m going to be inclined to take him earlier than I should if he ends up with any team that isn’t the Lions or a team that already has two suitable running backs.

2) LeSean McCoy
I know Moreno is the standard favorite here, but he is rated higher and will most likely end up in a less impressive offense. There is a good chance that McCoy ends up on the Broncos, and since they haven’t had any better than a utility back since Clinton Portis left, I like McCoy, whose numbers are all the more impressive when you consider he played for Pitt, to contribute immensely. In fact, if he does end up on the Broncos you can bump him in front of Beanie Wells.

3) Jeremy Maclin
Yeah, our highest rated receiver is here by default, because Michael Crabtree would be the top rated player outright if it wasn’t for his injury (don’t know if he’ll ever be the same after that fateful afternoon against fucking Baylor). So here’s Maclin, who the same website linked above has going to the Raiders. And, I hate to break it to everyone (including myself), but Russell was starting to look like an actual pro quarterback at the end of last season. If he has a legitimate target better than Ron Curry (whose story we like but lets be honest, is not a legitimate #1 receiver), Oakland might actually surprise some people if they don’t blow up the team three games into the season.

(Side note: We may have mentioned it before, but what were they thinking not drafting Calvin Johnson if they knew they were going to trade Randy Moss later in the day in the 2007 draft? I know I just said Russell was starting to look credible, but Johnson will be the best receiver in the league in 2010, an average quarterback can look quite spectacular with that kind of weapon).

4) Percy Harvin
He’s undersized and also had numerous bouts with injury, but holy shit is he fast. If nothing else, he’ll be a factor on special teams and if he ends up with the Colts, Broncos, of Chargers (though they’re probably sour on the whole Gator receiver experience after the Chad Johnson debacle), he is going to be absolutely lethal in the Wes Welker role at the slot. I know they might feel inclined to draft a running back or go defense, but if San Diego takes Harvin and he stay healthy, they’re going to have an explosive offense.

5) Shonn Green
Alright, so maybe this isn’t our out and out top five impact players in the draft, because this is understandably a dark horse, but he’s a dark horse for all the wrong reasons. Most notably a marginal combine performance. But watching this kid tear apart the Big Ten and carry an average Iowa team to the conferences only bowl victory (and the Doak Walker winner for the nations best running back), I have to just assume he’s going to be an asset for whoever drafts him. He may not have the best forty, but he’s elusive, sees the field and hits the gaps in the defensive line better than anyone I saw all year (and that includes Wells). You probably do not need to draft him in fantasy football, but stay extremely attentive to what happens to his team’s running back situation and look to scoop him up, especially if one of his peers sustains injury.

Alright, that’s probably it for today. Back with more later.

*=We’re fully aware that’s exactly what we’re doing.