NFL Draft

In this piece, I’m going predict the who’s who of the 2008 NFL draft class. Go ahead and book these guys as future All Pros. But, I’ll only evaluate how I did on these predictions based on their upcoming rookie year. I’m not doing every single position but the players I see making a difference in year 1. Plus, I won’t talk about guys I’ve written about already.

Best WR: Malcolm Kelly, Oklahoma
Standing at 6’4” 217 lbs, Kelly is a big physical target. Now throw in that he runs a 4.5 forty yard dash, and you have someone who’s almost impossible to cover. He has terrific hands. He doesn’t drop passes. When I see him play he reminds me of a Plaxico Burress mixed in with a little bit of Randy Moss. Will he reach that potential? That remains to be seen, but this guy is the best WR in the draft. Depending on who drafts him and what QB he has throwing him the ball will determine if he reaches that potential. In fact, if it weren’t for Rashard Mendenhall, I’d be all over Kelly being offensive rookie of the year. Again, that would depend on who drafts him though.

Best LB: Keith Rivers, USC
Go ahead and book the defensive rookie of the year to Rivers. I am very impressed with his tenacious tackling and his motor. He wore number 55 in college. And he plays very similar to the old USC number 55 (Junior Seau). No one has the intensity of Seau of course, but I think Rivers is going to be one of the leading tacklers in the league for many years.

NFL Free Agency
There have been lots of moves in NFL free agency this past week. The move I want to talk about is the recent signing of Michael Turner by the Atlanta Falcons. Turner will no doubt be a huge addition to the Falcons. This move will definitely help the Falcons move on from the whole Mike Vick fiasco. In the fantasy world Turner will be the new hot commodity.
Every since Turner played for Northern Illinois, I was a believer in his abilities. I was very disappointed when San Diego drafted him because I thought he’d never see any touched because of LT. That wasn’t entirely the case but we saw enough of Turner’s ability to know he had some serious talent and that he was a starting caliber RB in this league. There is one thing and only one thing that makes me cautious about Turner. I worry about his durability. Even as a backup to LT, he was often injured. Now he’ll be the main guy thanks to the Falcons finally realizing that Warrick Dunn was not an every down back anymore. It’s 2 years too late but better late than never I guess. I guess now we’ll see what Turner is really made up of but I’m also curious to where he gets drafted in fantasy drafts. Off the top of my head, I’d select Turner in the late first round or early second round. Hey, at least this gives me another reason to watch preseason football.