Most Prospective NFL Rookies: Offence
In any sport, expectations are always extremely high for touted draftees. In the National Football League, with such high specialization in positioning, rookies often can make more of an immediate impact. An example of this from last year is Minnesota Viking Percy Harvin. It was obvious that he would be a huge impact for a team that needed a receiver of exactly his style and skill.
As for this year, here are the players that are primed to be the most impacting based on the team scenario they are entering:
Ryan Matthews: The San Diego Chargers already have an extremely effective long-distance back in Darren Sproles, but needed someone capable of extremely strong form to counterbalance the sprightly running style of the diminutive Sproles.
They traded up to obtain Matthews, and head coach Norv Turner has already stated that Matthews will be seeing circa 250 carries on the year. Matthews loves to run between tackles and given his amount of carries could easily be a 1,000 yard rookie player.
C.J. Spiller: Spiller is an unbelievably gifted running back, but will have the misfortune of starting his career for the Buffalo Bills. The Bills lack a strong line to block for Spiller, but he will essentially be their main go-to right from the start.
Spiller can perhaps create offence without a good line in front of him, and can actually improve the line’s performance due to his ability to produce huge gains. When the defence is worried about a breakout runner, they will be less hesitant to blitz, which in turn benefits the offensive line.
Jahvid Best: Best is the third of this year’s well regarded NFL-ready rookie running backs. The Detroit Lions traded up to get Best in the first round. Lions head coach Jim Schwartz loves the guy and the franchise has no one else to rely on for running. Best will be getting lots of chances to carry the ball. Also, the Lions actually have boosted up their offensive line which will help Best directly and indirectly through quarterback Matt Stafford. With a good offensive line Stafford becomes more of a threat, and in turn that opens up the field for surprise runs and screen passes through Best.
Toby Gerhart: Gerhart is the perfect role player for the Minnesota Vikings. They have an elite running back in Adrian Peterson who is phenomenal at getting the ball close to the end zone, but has the propensity to fumble it in those close short-distance situations.
Gerhart actually seems to be entirely built for those situations. Last season at Stanford, he had an unbelievable 28 touchdowns, and was unbelievably dominant at the goal line. Gerhart will most likely be getting a lot of snaps within 5-yards and if he maintains his collegiate form, he will have a lot of touchdowns for the Vikings.
Jermaine Gresham: The role of an NFL tight end varies from that of a college one. It may take time for Gresham to adjust overall to the professional expectations of his positions, but he is still an impact player.
Gresham is luckily built for the red-zone, an aspect of football that is very similar in college and the NFL. His huge 6-6, 265-pound frame, will make him a favourable target for a simple jump-ball type passing situation. Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer has never been blessed with such a simple option and will surely utilize Gresham often for touchdown scoring.
Jordan Shipley: Shipley is underrated and entering a Bengals system quarterbacked by a finally healthy Carson Palmer. Palmer loves to air the ball out and Cincinnati is finally providing him with the receivers to do so. He has a lot of speed and will be strong at spreading out the nickel and dime sets that the Bengals will be facing often in the AFC North.
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