4 Rookie Value Picks

The Cornhusker turned Lion has a shot to make an impact on fantasy rosters in 2015

Picking up a rookie during a fantasy draft is always exciting, but worrisome at the same time. More concerning are the rookies that go in the first few rounds as they clearly are riding the hype train all the way onto your roster. Grabbing an unproven commodity is certainly risky which begs the question, “which rookie should you be targeting in your draft”?

While it may seem easy to answer with the likes of Melvin Gordon or Todd Gurley, both of whom are being drafted in the top 4 rounds, try and remember the 2014 draft where Odell Beckham and Mike Evans were not drafted until the later rounds or not drafted at all. Value is the name of the game and we asked the featured experts to name rookies they’d be likely to draft this year.

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Q. What rookie are you most likely to draft on your teams this year, keeping their average draft position (ADP) in mind?

Ameer Abdullah (RB – DET)
Overall ADP: #84
“Ameer is currently the 33rd RB going off the board, behind such illustrious talents as Rashad Jennings, Isaiah Crowell and Darren McFadden. Given Bell’s injury history and the reports coming out that suggest Joique’s achilles and knee injuries are more serious this season, I will be targeting the rookie Abdullah as a nice mid round pickup with the potential to see well over 200 carries this season.”
– KJ (Fantasy Team Advice)

David Johnson (RB – ARI)
Overall ADP: #84
“Johnson and Ameer Abdullah are easy selections in terms of undervalued rookies. Abdullah is essentially already projected to be in a timeshare with an elderly back and his 250 touch potential is not priced in to his current ADP. Johnson is listed behind Andre Ellington and his 3.3 yards per carry. Johnson is a better back and far more durable; I expect him to lead the Cardinals backfield in total touches and touchdowns in 2015 and he’s going in the 8th round!”
– Davis Mattek (Sports Wunderkind)

Cameron Artis-Payne (RB – CAR)
Overall ADP: #216
“Sitting at RB67, Artis-Payne appears to be the most likely answer to the question, “What happens if Jonathan Stewart gets hurt?” Don’t let the fact that the fifth-round pick will open camp behind Fozzy Whittaker worry you; if Stewart goes down for an extended period, Artis-Payne, with his one-cut running style, is ideally suited to take over the primary role. Remember, Stewart last played a full 16-game season in 2011 while handling a rather limited workload (142 carries). As much as I try to be injury agnostic, Stewart is a concern and Artis-Payne seems like a bargain-basement handcuff candidate at his current price.”
– Bob Harris (Football Diehards)

Duke Johnson (RB – CLE)
Overall ADP: #118
“This year the rookie running backs are definitely where you want to look in redraft leagues. The rookie tight ends aren’t draft worthy in most formats and the wide receivers aside from Amari Cooper and Nelson Agholor aren’t going to be consistent contributors. The one I think I’ll have on most of my PPR teams is Duke Johnson in Cleveland. I really liked everything about him coming out of Miami and now he lands in a place where they aren’t afraid to use rookie running backs. He’s the better pass game threat when compared to Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West, but is also excellent between the tackles and has the speed to break away. His current ADP of around the RB43 makes him a nice value pick with RB2 upside. We just have to keep our fingers crossed that he’s an excellent practice player as that seems to be the deciding factor for Mike Pettine when he selects his starter.”
– Dennis Esser (Coach Esser)

Have different rookies on your radar? Come talk about them in our Forum

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Thank you to the experts for naming their rookie value picks. For more from experts be sure to follow them on Twitter.