2010 NFL Rookies and Commentary

Key additions made in the NFL Draft

Original Release: June 22, 2010

With a new NFL season brings fresh faces in the form of NFL rookies. Nothing seems to generate more excitement in the fantasy football world than the sight of college headliners bringing their game to the NFL. However, the adjustment to the NFL can be a slow one, and most NFL rookies bring considerable risk to the table for your fantasy football draft. However, there are always a few rookies that break through to fantasy relevance, some developing into real fantasy factors (See our NFL Rookie Fantasy Football Draft Strategy article to help stack the fantasy odds in your favor). Before you can start putting together any kind of NFL rookie draft strategy together, you need to know who the meaningful, new faces are to the 2010 fantasy landscape. With that in mind, the Docs have compiled a handy list highlighting significant NFL rookies taken in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Significant 2010 NFL Rookies

Pos. Pick Player NFL Team College Height Weight Comment RB 9   C.J. Spiller Buffalo Clemson 5'11" 196   Explosive RB w/ high-end speed. RB 12   Ryan Mathews San Diego Fresno State 6'0" 218   Projected starter in San Diego. RB 30   Jahvid Best Detroit California 5'10" 199   Very fast, homerun type RB. RB 36   Dexter McCluster Kansas City Mississippi 5'9" 172   Electric; Will play WR in KC. RB 51   Toby Gerhart Minnesota Stanford 6'0" 231   Bruiser to replace C. Taylor. RB 58   Ben Tate Houston Auburn 5'11" 220   Great fit for HOU run scheme. RB 59   Montario Hardesty Cleveland Tennessee 6'0" 225   Physical RB with good speed. RB 112   Joe McKnight New York Jets USC 5'11" 198   Joins the Jets' back-up RBBC. RB 173   Anthony Dixon San Francisco Miss. State 6'1" 233   Bell ringer with toughness. RB 188   Jonathan Dwyer Pittsburgh Georgia Tech 5'11" 229   Underrated; Could surprise.                 QB 1   Sam Bradford St. Louis Oklahoma 6'4" 236   Very accurate with quick release. QB 25   Tim Tebow Denver Florida 6'3" 236   Proven "winner" with ?'s as Pro. QB 48   Jimmy Clausen Carolina Notre Dame 6'3" 222   Ran pro-style system in college. QB 85   Colt McCoy Cleveland Texas 6'1" 216   Good fit for Browns' offense. QB 89   Armanti Edwards Carolina Appal. State 5'11" 187   Slated to play WR & Wildcat QB. QB 204   Tony Pike Carolina Cincinnati 6'6" 223   "Plan B" to Jimmy Clausen.                 WR 22   Demaryius Thomas Denver Georgia Tech 6'3" 224   Picked to replace B. Marshall. WR 24   Dez Bryant Dallas Oklahoma State 6'2" 225   All-star caliber pass-catcher. WR 39   Arrelious Benn Tampa Bay Illinois 6'1" 219   Playmaker with good YAC. WR 60   Golden Tate Seattle Notre Dame 5'10" 199   Undersized; NFL WR#2 at best. WR 77   Damian Williams Tennessee USC 6'1" 197   Polished WR that adds depth. WR 78   Brandon LaFell Carolina LSU 6'2" 211   Carolina is paper-thin at WR. WR 82   Emmanuel Sanders Pittsburgh SMU 5'11" 186   Explosive but undersized. WR 84   Jordan Shipley Cincinnati Texas 5'11" 193   Star at Texas; Wes Welker type. WR 87   Eric Decker Denver Minnesota 6'3" 217   "Plan B" to Demaryius Thomas. WR 177   Carlton Mitchell Cleveland South Florida 6'3" 215   Dynamic & good fit in CLE.                 TE 21   Jermaine Gresham Cincinnait Oklahoma 6'5" 261   Gives CIN a weapon as receiver. TE 42   Rob Gronkowski New England Arizona 6'6" 264   Great hands; Fills need at TE. TE 113   Aaron Hernandez New England Florida 6'2" 245   Best receiver for Gators in '09. TE 185   Anthony McCoy Seattle USC 6'4" 259   Reunited with his college coach.