Young Players to Watch

By Chad Stapley
Chad Stapley

 Rookies & Young Players to Watch

 

Shakim Phillips is an undrafted rookie out of Boston College but is playing for the Steelers. He stands at a whopping 6’3 and weighs 203 lbs. Through three games he has shown flashes of big play ability, catching six passes for 102 yards and a TD. Phillips could push for a roster spot if he continues his great play throughout the rest of preseason.

Dri Archer is starting to show some of the promise that was the reason the Steelers drafted him. In the only real action he has seen thus far in preseason Archer rushed for 24 yards, caught six passes for 33 yards and a TD, and returned a kick for 34 yards. Archer is going to be a stat machine if the Steelers intend to use him like this. Especially during the games when Le’Veon Bell is suspended, Archer could be a real fantasy factor.

MyCole Pruitt was a 5th round draft pick by the Vikings this year and he showed the ability to take over a game on offense. Pruitt caught four passes for 51 yards and a TD against the Steelers who typically have a tough defense (they only allowed 14 pts to the Vikings in this game). Pruitt hurt his ankle in the next preseason game and isn’t likely to see a ton more action in the closing weeks. Pruitt can be a serious fantasy factor if Teddy Bridgewater continues to make strides in year two.

Speaking of Bridgewater, he is on a tear through three games and looks like he is going to take the Vikings to the next level. Bridgewater has gone 22/28 for 219 yards with one TD and no turnovers. He looks like he has really taken control of the offense and is a true franchise QB.

Garrett Grayson was drafted by the Saints to be the eventual successor to Drew Brees. So far in two preseason games he has gone 15/25 for 187 yards with no TDs and no INTs. Not a lot to go off of on a production stand point alone but he is completing 60% of his passes and has shown some pretty decent pocket presence. Barring injury to Brees we may not know what Grayson is truly capable of.

Josh Hill is a TE entering his second season with the Saints. He is undrafted out of Idaho State but has great size (6’5 & 250 lbs.) and great hands. He caught five TDs in his rookie season and has been a Brees favorite in preseason. With Jimmy Graham no longer on the team look for Hill to enter the double digit TD zone as Brees loves to throw to his TEs in the end zone.

Bryce Petty has looked pretty darn good in his two appearances in preseason. The Jets drafted him in the 4th round of this year’s draft to push Geno Smith. So far he has gone 22/37 for 218 yards with one TD and no INTs. If Petty continues to play this well he could push Smith and Ryan Fitzpatrick for playing time. Especially if the Jets can’t produce on offense like the past few seasons.

It looks like Ameer Abdullah came to Detroit ready to play. His first NFL action he ran the ball seven times for 67 yards and returned a kick 25 yards. He only saw very limited action in week two but it looks like Abdullah will be a contributor early and often in his rookie season.

Another rookie RB for the Lions to keep an eye on is Zach Zenner who is an undrafted guy out of South Dakota State. This guy put up big time numbers in college playing for a smaller D1 school and he has produced pretty steadily in his first two preseason games. Zenner has six catches for 60 yards and a TD to go with 17 rushes for 77 yards. He has an uphill battle with two RBs ahead of him on the roster but if he can find a way to deliver on special teams he could be a nice 3rd RB to have on the roster. He has shown the ability to produce in the NFL through two games.

Jeff Janis is a Green Bay WR I would keep an eye on. He is a rookie out of Saginaw Valley whom the Packers drafted in the 7th round. He is 6’3 and weighs 219 lbs. He looks and plays a lot like the Packers WR who just went down for the season, Jordy Nelson. Through two preseason games Janis has five catches for 56 yards and a TD. He is a big bodied WR and he has shown good hands through two games. If he can continue to produce he could quickly be the next great Packers WR.

Ty Montgomery is another rookie Packers WR who is going to get a chance to play early due to the Nelson injury. He only has two catches for 28 yards in preseason but he also looks like he will be returning kicks and punts for the Packers. He broke off plenty of impressive returns at Stanford and he has play making ability in the slot for WR.

So far it looks like the Patriots are going to be okay with Jimmy Garoppolo running QB. Although his TD-INT ratio isn’t stellar thus far in preseason his completion percentage and ability to run the offense have been above average. Garoppolo has gone 48/66 for 428 yards with one TD and two INTs. He looks like the real deal when it comes to QBs in the small sample size we have seen thus far.

If preseason ended today there would be no possible way the Patriots could leave rookie undrafted WR Chris Harper off the 53 man roster. Harper has caught 12 passes for 117 yards with one TD. He might be the steal of the entire rookie class if he keeps up this torrid pace. Harper was a big time play maker at Cal so it comes as no surprise that he is fitting right in with the Patriot offense.

Matt Jones looks like he could be a starting RB for all 32 NFL teams, luckily Washington drafted him. He is enormous standing 6’2 and weighing 231 lbs. He has ran the ball 13 times for 82 yards and a TD through two games. He has enough speed to break a run off outside the tackles and he can run the ball right down opponent’s throats. Jones looks like he will be playing early and often.

Washington may have also hit another home run with an undrafted rookie WR by the name of Rashad Ross out of Arizona State. Ross has turned heads in his first two games as an NFL WR, catching nine passes for 107 yards and a TD. If Ross continues to play at this level throughout the remainder of preseason he could see some serious playing time in Washington.

In the small sample size we have seen from Johnny Manziel, I think there is no way he is not named the starter come week one. Manziel offers a whole different component and flash to the Browns offense that they haven’t had in as long as I can remember. Through two games he has gone 17/29 for 150 yards with one TD and no INTs. He also has ran the ball five times for 33 yards and a TD. It looks like he is putting it all together in year two.

I haven’t seen enough out of Marcus Mariota to tell if he is a stud or not. He has only thrown a total of 16 total passes in two games and it doesn’t look like the Titans have really let him off the leash just yet. Ditto for the rookie WR they drafted to pair with Mariota in Dorial Green-Beckham who has just five catches for 72 yards through two games. Green-Beckham could be a stud just like Mariota we just need to see more out of them.

David Cobb looks like he is going to give Bishop Sankey a run for his money as the Titans starting RB. Cobb has ran the ball 19 times for 79 yards and Sankey has ran the ball 14 times for 60 yards. Sankey has more NFL experience but the rookie Cobb may be more physically suited to carry a full NFL season load at RB. Both guys should make their fair share of noise in the fantasy world.

Justin Hardy look like the real deal at WR for the Falcons. Hardy had an outstanding career at ECU and he has continued the great play through two games in the NFL. Hardy has caught seven passes for 84 yards and looks as reliable as was for the entirety of his career at ECU.

Jarryd Hayne might be the oldest player on this list but he is going to make a splash this season for the 49ers one way or another. Through two games he has ran the ball 13 times for 117 yards and he has five punt returns for 108 yards. This guy knows how to make plays with his professional rugby background and he is very fast for a guy that is 6’2 and weighs 226 lbs.

Alfred Blue & Kenny Hilliard are both young RBs for the Texans that are going to get a lot of playing time early with the injury to Arian Foster. Blue is a second year guy and Hilliard is rookie and they both hail from LSU. They have combined to run the ball 33 times for 113 yards through two games. They both have the ability to carry the load and both should contribute often and early.

Out of all the Texan QBs I think Tom Savage, the second year QB out of Pitt has looked the best. Savage is still young and learning the speed of the NFL but he has shown strides from year one and I think he has the potential to be the long term answer for the Texans. Savage has gone 23/28 for 265 yards with one TD and not turnovers. Savage has a big arm and looks like he is getting better each game.

Jameis Winston looks like he is going to be a play maker in the NFL. His raw talent is undeniable but he needs to fine tune his mechanics. Winston has gone 17/32 for 221 yards with no TDs and one INT. He has shown the ability to throw on the run and stay in the pocket. He needs to work on his ball security because he is going to lose a lot of fumbles in the NFL with the way he holds the football.

With the most interesting name out of all the rookies, Charcandrick West, who is undrafted out of Abilene Christian has shown impressive athleticism and ability for the Chiefs through two games. West has racked up 19 carries for 89 yards to go with four catches for 45 yards. West looks like he is going to make it a very tough decision come roster cuts.

Another young guy making noise for the Chiefs is Frankie Hammond Jr. a WR who has had an impressive first two games. Not only does he offer return game ability but he has caught five passes for 65 yards and a TD. For a team that didn’t throw a single TD pass to a WR last season the Chiefs can use all the help they can get.

The Colts look like they got a steal of a 6th round pick in rookie RB Josh Robinson. Robinson has ran the ball 23 times for 105 yards with one TD. Robinson looks like he will be a solid #2 to starter Frank Gore and he could play quite a bit with Gore getting up there in age.

Through two games it looks like the Colts also found a pretty good WR in Phillip Dorsett. Dorsett was a 1st round pick in this year’s draft and has caught seven passes for 72 yards. He looks like he is going to be yet another reliable weapon for Andrew Luck to shred opposing defenses with.

Kenjon Barner rejoining a Chip Kelly led offense could be a match made in heaven. Barner has been an absolute beast this preseason in all aspects of his game. He has ran the ball 10 times for 44 yards to go with two catches for 13 yards. Add the fact that he has 12 returns for 241 yards and two TDs through to games and there is no way he doesn’t make the roster and play significantly. Barner has been an absolute monster in the return game.

Nelson Agholor is going to be in the running for OROY if he has anything to say about it. He has shown tremendous ball skills through two games and turned an awful pass into a TD in his first NFL game. Agholor has caught seven passes for 105 yards and a TD and looks like he is going to fit perfectly into the fast paced Eagles offense.