Sammy Watkins – WR – Buffalo Bills
Everyone knows what Watkins brings to the table, he is big, fast, and athletic. He is not scared to go up and compete for any ball no matter how poorly it is thrown (and you know he will get his fair share of poorly passed balls coming from 2nd YR QB EJ Manuel). Watkins should step in and be the #1 WR option for the Bills automatically. He has the talent to compete with any DB in the NFL.

Mike Evans – WR – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Evans might put up better numbers than Watkins will in year one but that has more to do with the QB play and the other WR he lines up across more than talent alone. Evans gets the benefit of being the #2 WR for the Bucs even though he is a #1 WR in terms of talent. The Bucs have Vincent Jackson lining up against teams #1 CB most of the time so Evans should be able to take advantage of mismatches all over the field.

Eric Ebron – TE – Detroit Lions
So far since becoming a member of the Lions we have heard a lot of talking from Ebron. He has lofty goals for his rookie season and he predicted he would win OROY. In the Lions pass heavy offense I would not rule that possibility out. Ebron is going to be a match up nightmare for opposing defenses for years. He is big, fast, and strong meaning he is going to win a lot of jump balls in the End Zone. Look for Ebron to make an instant impact.

Brandin Cooks – WR – New Orleans Saints
Cooks is my dark-horse pick to not only win the OROY but I think he has the ability to make the Pro-Bowl in his first year. He got drafted to a team that fits his play style perfectly. Drew Brees may quickly have a new favorite target for the upcoming years. Any three of the WRs listed would have easily been top 15 picks in the draft had they come out a year earlier.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins – TE – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
If Seferian-Jenkins can come in and learn the playbook right away he will be given the opportunity to start. He is much faster and athletic than anything the Bucs currently have on their roster and he was a fringe 1st round draft prospect when the season started. There are some personality concerns but with Lovie Smith running the show I don’t think that will be an issue.

Marquise Lee – WR – Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jags have one true good WR and that is Cecil Shorts (who is injury prone). They also have Justin Blackmon on the roster; who has shown the ability to be a #1 WR if he could ever stop getting into trouble with the NFL and the law. Enter Lee or many thought could sneak into the 1st round. Lee is fast and has exceptional hands; look for him to make an immediate impact. He probably won’t put up the types of numbers to be considered ROY because of his current QB situation but he will make some huge strides in year one.

Bishop Sankey – RB – Tennessee Titans
This is a simple addition to the list, the Titans got rid of former starting RB Chris Johnson in the off season. Enter Sankey whom was the first RB taken in the draft. He is going to get a lot of carries in his first season; the Titans don’t have much to offer in the RB category on their roster. Sankey has the skill to succeed at this level but his frame is a little small to be considered a true #1 RB. It will be interesting to see how they use Sankey.

Carlos Hyde – RB – San Francisco 49ers
This is another easy inclusion to the list of impact rookies. The 49ers have a future Hall of Famer in Frank Gore running the show at RB. Behind Gore; there is some talent but mainly unknown talent. You have Kendall Hunter (injury prone), LaMichael James (played sparingly thus far), and Marcus Lattimore who has had several serious knee surgeries in the past. That is not a great list of prospects if you are a 49er fan. The 49ers saw that also, as to why they moved up in the draft to take Hyde. Hyde is the complete package and will offer a nice addition to the potent 49ers running game.

Tre Mason – RB – St Louis Rams
Many thought that Mason could potentially be the first RB taken in the draft. The Rams lucked out and got a 1st round talent in the 3rd round of the draft. It is very possible that Mason pushes the incumbent starter (Zac Stacy) who is coming off an impressive year, for carries. Mason proved that he could handle playing with the best of the best as he absolutely shredded SEC defenses last season. Mason could be a star given the right opportunities.


Terrance West – RB – Cleveland Browns
The Browns seem to have interesting rookie-veteran situations all over the field. Everyone knows about the Johnny Football vs Hoyer battle but what about the battle to be RB #1? The Browns signed Ben Tate in the off season with the idea that he would be the starter from day one. The issue I see going forward is that Tate is very injury prone and West has a lot of ability to overtake the RB job. West should be able to push Tate for carries once he fully learns the playbook.

Andre Williams – RB – New York Giants
Williams led the NCAA in rushing last season on a sub-par Boston College football team and he still somehow managed to last until the 4th round of the NFL. The Giants don’t really have any sure shot answer at RB so Williams will have a chance to compete right away. The only issue that could come up is that Williams might not have the athleticism to be a #1 RB in the NFL.

Alfred Blue – RB – Houston Texans
The Texans don’t have much in the RB stable behind Arian Foster, and we still don’t know if Foster will be able to stay healthy for an entire season. With the uncertainty at the QB position for the Texans you could see the RBs getting a lot of carries this season. He was stuck behind a ton of talent at LSU, so he was the primary RB that took care of the pass catching duties. Blue is big (6’3 and 225lbs) so he has the size to be a productive RB in the NFL. I think Blue could be one of the pleasant surprises of this draft in general.

Storm Johnson – RB – Jacksonville Jaguars
Johnson enters a situation where he has the ability to win the starting RB position if he proves able in camp and pre-season. The Jaguars let go of Maurice Jones-Drew and only added Toby Gerhart this off season; which isn’t anything to get excited about. Gerhart probably isn’t fast enough to be the #1 RB which will give Johnson the opportunity to steal carries from him as the season progresses.