Now that the draft is over and the top prospects all have NFL homes, which first-year player should be the first off the board in 2015?
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- Michael Fabiano NFL Media Senior Fantasy Analyst
Gordon over Gurley
I absolutely love Todd Gurley, but I don't yet know if he's going to be on the field for the St. Louis Rams in Week 1. Remember, he's coming off an ACL reconstruction this past November. As a result, Melvin Gordon is my top fantasy rookie for re-draft leagues. Compared to Jamaal Charles, the Wisconsin product rushed for over 2,500 yards in his final collegiate season and brings San Diego an explosive option to the ground attack. In fact, I already have Gordon ranked among the top 20 fantasy running backs for 2015. He'll be selected in one of the first five rounds.
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- Marcas Grant NFL Media Fantasy Editor
Raise the White flag
It's going to be trendy to pick running backs, but Todd Gurley is still recovering from major knee surgery and Melvin Gordon is playing behind a suspect offensive line. Not to mention both backs will have competiton for carries. That's why I have my sights set on Kevin White. He'll face little competition for the Bears' No. 2 receiver slot and won't face the pressure of needing to be "the man" in Chicago's passing game. It's much like the situation Mike Evans landed in last season with Tampa Bay ... only with a better quarterback. Add to it the growing impact of rookie wide receivers and White shouldn't last long on draft boards.
One rookie I would love to have is T.J. Yeldon. I love the move for Jacksonville. It has an immediate need for an every-down running back. And Yeldon looked pretty good for Alabama during his freshman year. I understand I will carry a little bias because we get tons of SEC games out here. But I thought he was pretty amazing last year and I secretly hoped the Cowboys would end up with him this year to put behind their amazing o-line. But not to be (and I'm going to talk a little bit more about who benefits later on).
A lot of folks also dismiss Yeldon because of his subpar final year at Alabama. But that's cool. I will go back to his rookie season when he became the first true freshman to rush for 1,000 yards. Oh yeah, he did this while he backed up Eddie Lacy, too.