1) Eli Manning, NY Giants. With the arrival of Kurt Warner, Manning will mostly
start the season on the bench. When he does get on the field, he will have a
below average offensive line and average receivers. His brother Peyton threw for
3,739 yards and 26 touchdowns in his rookie season. Don’t look for similar first
year numbers out of Eli.
2) Phillip Rivers, San Diego. Rivers is currently holding out so Drew Brees is
projected as the starter. Rivers will struggle as all rookies do, but he will develop
into an above average NFL starter. However, with a porous offensive line and
receiving core, Rivers will find out why Eli Manning wanted no part of San Diego.
3) Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh. Roethlisberger comes from MAC conference
school, Miami of Ohio, and hopes to follow the recent success of fellow MAC
quarterbacks, Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich. Tommy Maddox will keep his
starting job in 2004, but all signs point to “Big Ben” starting in 2005.
4) JP Losman, Buffalo. Losman is fighting with Travis Brown for the number two
quarterback position behind Drew Bledsoe. It appears though, that Bledsoe’s
immobility and poor decision making in the pocket has finally caught up to him.
Losman may get some time this year, and is the favorite to start next season.
Running Back
1) Kevin Jones, Detroit. Jones was the 3rd running back picked, behind Steven
Jackson and Chris Perry, but he will have the most immediate impact. The Lions’
leading rusher in 2003 was Shawn Bryson with just 606 yards. Jones’ outside
speed and his ability to hit the home run on every play make him the 2004
starter.
2) Steven Jackson St. Louis. Jackson will beat out Lamar Gordon for the backup
spot behind Marshall Faulk. Faulk is entering his 11th season in the league, and
has made only 21 starts over the last two seasons. Faulk is still suffering from
knee problems and that means Jackson will get on the field more.
3) Chris Perry, Cincinnati. Perry will backup Rudi Johnson, who will be an
unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. Perry will get a good amount of
carries, and see time on third down, due to his ability to catch the ball out of the
backfield. If Johnson leaves via free agency next season, Perry can step in.
4) Julius Jones, Dallas. Dallas passed on Steven Jackson in the draft, netting an
additional first round pick from Buffalo in the process. Now with signing of Eddie
George, the pressure is off Jones to fill the featured back role. Jones will still get
plenty of carries though as Coach Bill Parcells does not want to stunt his growth.
5) Tatum Bell, Denver. With Clinton Portis now playing for the Redskins, there is
a job opening for a lead runner in Denver. Many people thought Bell would fill
that role when he was drafted in the second round. Right now though, Bell looks
to compete with Garrison Hearst for the backup job behind Quentin Griffin.
Wide Receiver
1) Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona. This is the player Dennis Green targeted all along
in the draft, and he got his man. Fitzgerald will step in to the number two
receiver role, although they will play a lot of three receiver sets with Bryan
Johnson. Anquan Boldin caught 101 passes last year and his presence will limit
Fitzgerald’s opportunities.
2) Michael Clayton, Tampa Bay. Clayton is a polished receiver who excels in the
run after the catch, (RAC), and his stock will increase dramatically if Keenan
McCardell continues to hold out. Besides McCardell, the Buccaneers have
receivers Joe Jurevicius, Charles Lee and Joey Galloway all competing for playing
time
3) Reggie Williams, Jacksonville. The trading of Kevin Johnson to Baltimore
leaves an immediate opening in the starting lineup for Williams. With a proven
number one receiver in Jimmy Smith opposite him, and an emerging quarterback
in Byron Leftwich, Williams should have a very good 2004 campaign.
4) Roy Williams, Detroit. Williams should be a starting receiver opposite Charles
Rogers, but the Lions also have two veterans in Tai Streets and Az-Zahir Hakim.
Detroit also has a good pair of tight ends in Stephen Alexander and Casey
Fitzsimmons, so quarterback Joey Harrington will have to spread the ball around.
5) Lee Evans, Buffalo. Evans missed the 2002 college season with an ACL
injury, but showed he is fully healthy last year. Evans has the speed and hands
to be a perfect compliment to Eric Moulds. He is also one of the more mature
rookies. Look for Evans to win the number two job over Josh Reed and Bobby
Shaw.
6) Michael Jenkins, Atlanta. Jenkins had to miss the Falcons’ off-season
program as Ohio State’s classes did not end in time. Peerless Price will be the
starter at one of the wide receiver positions, and Jenkins is currently listed as the
number two split end behind Dez White. Brian Finneran is a savvy veteran who
will also compete for playing time.
7) Rashaun Woods, San Francisco. The 49ers’ list of receivers is a giant group
of unknowns. Besides Woods, the depth chart reads Curtis Conway, Cedric
Wilson, Brandon Lloyd, Arnaz Battle and rookie Derrick Hamilton. Lloyd should be
the number one receiver, and Woods could end up being the number two, or the
number five.
8) Keary Colbert, Carolina. As things stand now, Colbert will battle Ricky Proehl
for the number three receiver role. There was a chance earlier in the off-season
that receiver Muhsin Muhammad would be released due to his high cap number.
That is not a realistic option at this point, as they need Muhammad to try to make
another Super Bowl run.
9) Devard Darling, Baltimore. The Ravens have one of the weaker receiving
groups in the NFL, not to mention an unproven quarterback in Kyle Boller. Kevin
Johnson and Travis Taylor are the starters, but the top backup position is very
much up for grabs. Darling can lay claim to the role with a good training camp.
10) Devery Henderson, New Orleans. The Saints are high on this speedy
rookie, but they already have Joe Horn, and Donte Stallworth has had a very
good off-season, and it looks like he might finally reach his immense potential.
The Saints also have a solid number three receiver returning in Jerome Pathon.
Tight End
1) Kellen Winslow Jr. Cleveland. Winslow has already been quoted as saying
that he wants to break fellow Miami Hurricane, Jeremy Shockey’s first year
numbers with the Giants. Shockey had 74 catches for 894 yards in his rookie
year, so that would be quite a feat. We think Winslow has a shot at those
numbers.
2) Chris Cooley, Washington. Cooley was the Redskins’ third round pick out of
Utah State and has experience at both fullback and tight end. That is great
experience to step into Joe Gibbs’ complicated h-back position. Cooley should see
a lot of time on the field and be the second most productive tight end in his
rookie class.
3) Ben Watson, New England. The drafting of Watson gives the Patriots three
solid tight ends with Daniel Graham and Christian Fauria. Fauria’s role will likely
be diminished in 2004. Look for Watson to be on the field a lot with Graham,
especially since he had experience at Georgia playing the “h-back” position.
4) Ben Troupe, Tennessee. Troupe was too promising to pass up, even though
the Titans already had Erron Kinney and Shawn Meier. The Titans use a lot of two
tight end sets, and there is an opening with Frank Wycheck retired. Troupe is a
better pass receiver than blocker, and should make an immediate contribution.
Kicker
1) Nate Kaeding, San Diego. How many place kickers do you see that are drafted
in the third round? That and of itself shows how highly the scouts thought of him.
Kaeding was the starting kicker for Iowa for four seasons, showing a strong leg
from over 50 yards, and getting his kickoffs into the end zone.
