Scott Engel sets his sights on the 2008 crop of fantasy rookies

Here's the latest outlook and reports on some of fantasy football's top rookies for the 2008 season.

Running Backs

Darren McFadden, Raiders: Oakland wrapped up his contract in early June, and now the rookie comes to camp with peace of mind. He won't be rushed into a prominent role right away because of Justin Fargas. McFadden should be expected to share some carries, but he will show enough explosion to have a few outstanding performances.

Jonathan Stewart, Panthers: He may be the best rookie in fantasy football this season, and is already bowling over defenders at the goal line in camp. He is drawing raves from experienced analysts like Ron Jaworski, who said Stewart will be a "terrific fantasy running back" in his first pro season. I would not be surprised to see Stewart rush for over 1,000 yards with more than six rushing touchdowns this season.

Matt Forte, Bears: The Bears official site reported he is looking good in camp and he should start running with the first-team offense soon. The Bears seem determined to hand Forte the starting job, and he should at least be an adequate No. 2 fantasy RB in 2008.

Rashard Mendenhall, Steelers: Mike Tomlin told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he expects Mendenhall to open the season as a complementary back for Willie Parker. If Mendenhall has a good camp, though, he could see a lot of scoring chances right away and he has a lot of promise as a flex player at least.

Kevin Smith, Lions: He is looking good in camp so far and has reportedly been performing well on blitz pickups, a major accomplishment for any rookie RB. Smith may not be able to carry a heavy load right away, but he is looking like a solid middle-round fantasy selection.

Ryan Torain, Broncos: He opened camp running with the third team, but the Rocky Mountain News reported he has now been getting more reps with the first-stringers. Torain could be the biggest sleeper in this season's rookie class.

Felix Jones, Cowboys: His contract is done, and Jones is in camp and looking good even as a pass-catcher. Yet, he may not get many TD chances in his first pro season, limiting his fantasy ceiling and making him nothing more than a reserve.

Chris Johnson, Titans: Johnson has been impressive in camp, but figures to be a complementary back because of his size. He could be useful in point-per-reception leagues, though.

Steve Slaton, Texans: He has signed, but like Johnson, he may be ticketed for situational duty only. Slaton does not appear capable of handling a large workload.

Wide Receivers

James Hardy, Bills: He is often mentioned as the guy expected to make the biggest impact at this position right away. He is already working in red zone packages in practices, and he should command defensive respect immediately. This also means he could disappear statistically at times in his first season. Expect a lot of inconsistency early.

Earl Bennett, Bears: He has some sleeper potential. The Bears have a shaky veteran crew, and Bennett could immediately step in and become a somewhat reliable possession receiver at minimum.

Donnie Avery, Rams: Avery reportedly cracked a bone in his pelvis, and while he should be ready for the opener, he obviously loses any momentum he could have generated in making a push for a starting job. He's now a risky pick.

Devin Thomas, Redskins:  He could miss the team's first two preseason games because of a hamstring injury, according to the Washington Post. Starting off with an injury and making the jump to the NFL in a West coast offense keeps me away from Thomas in 2008.

Malcolm Kelly, Redskins: He is also dealing with a hamstring problem, and I'll likely avoid him. Even if he and Thomas are healthy, I expect the Redskins passing game to sputter a lot early as they adjust to Jim Zorn's offense.

Limas Sweed, Steelers: He should compete for the third receiver job initially, but if injuries strike at any point, he could become a very interesting free-agent addition. He’s a big target with some promise as a TD producer early in his career.

DeSean Jackson, Eagles: His contract is done and he has some long-term promise on a team that could use more of an impact wideout, but he may only be an occasional target as a rookie.

Eddie Royal, Broncos: He has been looking good in camp, but even if the Broncos lose a top guy or two, he still may not get enough opportunities to make a fantasy impact.

Tight Ends

Dustin Keller, Jets: His deal was done in mid-July, and he fills an apparent need for the Jets. He's not draftable as a starter but could fit in well later in the season once he gets into the flow of the offense.

John Carlson, Seahawks: He is in camp, and could be asked to contribute significantly right away in an offense that often features the tight end. He could be a quality option early on if he responds to the challenges.

Quarterbacks

Matt Ryan, Falcons: He has looked sharp in camp so far and is a good bet to start. But as a rule, you should usually avoid rookie quarterbacks in fantasy. Monitor him, because it would not be shocking to see him become quality backup material for fantasy purposes during the season.

Joe Flacco, Ravens: He has been up and down in camp so far, and is not looking like much of a fantasy prospect for 2008.

Scott Engel, who has covered fantasy football since 1996, came to RotoExperts.com after extensive tenures at ESPN and CBS Sportsline. His work has also appeared on NFL.com, SI.com, MockDraft Central, and in Pro Football Weekly and Fantasy Football Weekly. Scott has been a featured fantasy analyst on Mike and Mike in the Morning, DirecTV's All News Channel and Conus Communications' Fantasy Football Pay Per View. He has been a featured guest on CNBC and was a regular on Westwood One Radio, including a Sunday segment on the radio version of the NFL Today. E-mail Scott at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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