Which Rookies Will Have The Most Impact?

   

       Now that we’ve made it through free agency and the draft, fans can really get an idea of what their team is going to look like in the coming season. The start of OTA’s is the beginning of every team’s chemistry project, where they will try to figure out which players work the best in tandem and when. A big focus in the offseason is always rookies, how they fit into a team’s plans, if they work well the veterans already in place, if they’ll be taking anyone’s job, etc. and so on. So let’s hop on that bandwagon and try to guesstimate which rookies will make the biggest impacts for their teams come this fall.

     A guy that immediately comes to mind is Aaron Dobson, 2^nd round selection of the New England Patriots. Now maybe I’m biased as a Pats fan myself (okay, I’m definitely biased), but I see this wide receiver being one of the most important rookies of the 2013 season. At 6’’3’ and 210 lbs., Dobson is the large outside receiving threat that New England has lacked for many years. You won’t find any Randy Moss comparisons here, but Dobson does have plenty of his own highlight plays, included a back-handed catch against East Carolina that garnered a lot of attention. His presence on the outside will help the tight ends and new addition Danny Amendola to continue dominating in the middle of the field.

     The Patriot’s selection of Aaron Dobson was really a case of the rich getting richer, even though their receiving corps was thrown for a loop this offseason, and this next rookie is more of the same. Earlier this offseason, San Francisco’s safety tandem was broken up when Dashon Goldson signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Leaving Donte Whitner all alone, Goldson’s absence created a clear void in the 49ers’ secondary. That’s why their first-round selection of Eric Reid was such a great move. Coming out of LSU where he contributed much to their sustained success, Reid has the skills to start immediately across from Whitner.

     Meanwhile, in the lower dregs of NFL society, great picks were made as well. Case in point, the Rams’ selection of WR Tavon Austin. Austin was one of the most exciting players in college football last year, and he projects to produce more of the same. He will be especially helpful to St. Louis’ receiving corps, with their recent loss of receiver Danny Amendola, who signed with the Patriots in free agency. Austin’s quarterback at West Virginia, Geno Smith, is now teammate to our final candidate. Dee Milliner, first-round selection of the Jets, is possibly the best defensive prospect in the entire draft class. Now, he may not have a huge impact on New Jersey’s (New Jersey Jets, we talked about this remember?) win-loss record, seeing as how they’re a horrible team in general, but expect Milliner to have many great battles and highlight plays.

    That’s it for this one folks, but the journey doesn’t stop here. These rookies will be tried and tested over sixteen weeks of play, maybe less due to injury, maybe more due to success. With so many incoming players, its hard to pinpoint exactly who will live up to their potential, but I believe the list above is a nice start. Disagree? All comments welcome. Agree? All comments more welcome. Til next time!