If you're playing in a Fantasy Football league that includes defensive players, don't sleep on the latest rookie class. Here are several rookie defensive players that could make an impact on your Fantasy Football team in 2009.
Defensive Linemen
Reach for these guys:
DT B.J. Raji, Green Bay:
 Conventional wisdom says, always take defensive ends and avoid tackles. This old wives’ tale doesn’t explain how two 3-4 NTs, Shaun Rogers and Jay Ratliff, were Top-10 fantasy linemen last year.
The average NT won’t score many fantasy points, but an elite NT is the point of the stake driven straight into the heart of the offense. Such a player can create so much havoc, he has space to make his own big plays.
Living in ACC country, I have seen enough of Raji to believe he is a better player than either Rogers or Ratliff. He’s the rare DL who may be an investment in your team’s present, as well as its future.
DE Brian Orakpo, Washington: Orakpo should start immediately at DE, and also be used in some packages as a pass rushing OLB. This last fact alone bumps up his value, but Orakpo has the talent and opportunity to succeed right now, solely on his merits as a 4-3 DE.
The only concern about Orakpo is that he doesn’t bring it on every play. That bad habit should be beaten out of him rather quickly in the NFL. When he does bring it, Orakpo reminds me a whole lot of Julius Peppers in how he reads the play and disrupts the football. Put him next to Albert Haynesworth, and offensive coordinators will be forced to pick their poison.
Stash these guys away:
DE Aaron Maybin, Buffalo: Funny how so many of the players who entered the draft as DE/OLB hybrids were drafted by traditional 4-3 defenses. The truth is no defense is a pure 3-4 or 4-3 anymore. Each team develops all kind of different looks to counter and confuse the offense and maximize their players’ talents.
The Bills needed to rebuild their aging line and placed their faith in Maybin. While Maybin certainly has the talent to answer the Bills’ prayers, he is still quite raw and needs to bulk up. He’ll get some playing time in 2009, but will take him as long as two years to reach his potential. I respect Buffalo’s defensive draft strategy and so have some faith that an investment in Maybin will produce dynasty dividends.
DE Everette Brown, Carolina: My analysis of Brown is extremely similar to Maybin's. I can see how he fills needs for the Panthers DL. They need depth and they need pass rushing from someone other than Julius Peppers, especially if Peppers changes uniforms in the next year or two.
Like Maybin, Brown needs some seasoning. He also has to overcome the stigma of being a Florida State pass rusher. Let me just say Wisconsin running backs have had better success as a group in the NFL. Carolina has another young DE they are developing in Charles Johnson, which gives them a little more luxury to keep Brown on the bench until he gets up to speed.
If this pays off as well as last year’s decision to spend the next year’s first round pick on Jeff Otah, then those who draft Brown will have a special treat in store for 2010 or 2011.
Scratch these guys off your board:
DE Tyson Jackson, Kansas City: Defensive Line is the position that offers the greatest disparity between real and fantasy football. DLs are asked to do quite a lot of things that simply do not translate into fantasy points.
This is most true for a 3-4 DE. Jackson is a great player and will serve the Chiefs quite well. People like to compare him to Richard Seymour, given the recent hire from the Patriots in Kansas City’s front office who was making the picks.
Seymour is a great player too, no doubt. But in fantasy football, Seymour is waiver wire churn. Just because a guy is worth a high draft pick in real football is no guarantee he’s worth any of your IDP picks.
DE Michael Johnson, Cincinnati: The short take on Johnson is that he has incredible talent, but no discipline or drive. Landing in Cincinnati is a worst case scenario for his career.
DE Robert Ayers, Denver: This may be a prejudice. I have no idea what Denver is doing except that it just cannot be good. Until the few players capable of thriving on this train wreck of a defense emerge, I’d stay away from all Broncos IDPs outside of D.J. Williams.
Shhh, keep this to yourself:
DE Paul Kruger, Baltimore: You saw what he did in his last college performance against Alabama. Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome pretty much came right out and said this draft pick is intended as a special anti-Roethlisberger weapon.
DE Lawrence Sidbury, Falcons: Here’s what I know: I know the Atlanta Falcons absolutely nailed last year’s draft. I know John Abraham is being held together with tape and prayer. I know Jamaal Anderson has little time left to prove he should remain in a Falcons' uniform. All this adds up to Sidbury having every chance to start in Atlanta the moment he is ready, if not before.
Linebackers:
Reach for these guys:
LB Aaron Curry, Seattle: When the scouts’ consensus is that this guy is the best LB prospect of the last 10 years, a period that includes most all of the active players in the NFL, what more do you need to know?
I have no time for any speculation about how Curry, Leroy Hill, and Lofa Tatupu will coexist. Seattle once was the home of a most fearsome LB corps, and they want to get that back. They will find a way to let Curry loose.
LB James Laurinaitis, St. Louis: The perfect marriage of talent and opportunity. Laurinaitis steps right into the middle of a rebuilding defense. You’ve seen this story before with DeMeco Ryans in Houston and Patrick Willis in San Francisco. Laurinaitis has the motor to thrive in this role. I wouldn’t even bat an eye if you took him ahead of Curry.
LB Brian Cushing, Houston: Be prepared to just reach a little for Cushing. He becomes the fourth Texans LB who should be on your overall IDP draft board. Whoever wins the weak side job next to Ryans will be the next one you want to take, and all indications are Cushing will be given the best chance to win that job.
Let these guys fall to you:
LB Clay Matthews, Green Bay: The position changes in the transition to a 3-4 scheme here is only a bit clearer than it is in Denver. Who emerges first is who will have the primary tackling role. In Denver, that’s probably D.J. Williams, and in Green Bay, it looks like A.J. Hawk is the one to own.
There is still room for a second heavy tackler to emerge from such a group. Right now I see that as a contest between Matthews and Aaron Kampman. If Matthews wins, go ahead and reach for him.
LB Rey Maualuga, Cincinnati: Maualuga also has character concerns, which the Bengals locker room will only amplify. Fellow Trojan Keith Rivers is still the LB to own here. Even so, Maualuga has the talent and drive to give us hope that he will overcome these obstacles on the way to fantasy relevance.
LB Clint Sintim, New York Giants: Drafted too high to be a sleeper, but may not make an immediate impact. I love Sintim’s talent and believe he will push Antonio Pierce aside eventually. It won’t be immediately, but I predict it will be sooner rather than later.
Scratch this guy off your board:
LB Larry English, San Diego: The only way this pick makes any sense is if the Chargers believe Shawne Merriman is so infirm that he will need the Clapper to turn any lights out in the future. Otherwise, this group of LBs is so full of talent that English has a lot to do to carve out a role for him.
Shhh, keep this to yourself:
LB DeAndre Levy, Detroit: Levy emerges from minicamp as the starting MLB for the new-look Lions. The Lions will almost certainly sign newly released Larry Foote, which may change things. It’s also worth noting that LBs under Jim Schwartz when he was in Tennessee weren’t exactly reliable fantasy studs, but rather a set of interchangeable parts. Still, as a key piece of a rebuilding defense, Levy will have plenty of chances to make tackles.
LB David Veikune, Cleveland: I just love the story of how Veikune won a bet off Coach Eric Mangini because of his ability to perfectly diagram a play in minicamp. This tells us Veikune has the football smarts to match his speed, strength, motor, and work ethic. I just can’t find a thing wrong with Veikune’s ability or his opportunity in the middle of this LB corp.
Defensive Backs:
Reach for these guys:
S Patrick Chung, New England: If you know my IDP drafting strategy, then telling you to reach for any DB is somewhat of a misnomer. Still, you have to get excited about someone slated to immediately replace Rodney Harrison in the Patriots defense. Both Chung and Brandon Merriweather are among my favorite candidates to breakout this year at DB, with plenty of both tackles and interceptions.
S William Moore, Atlanta: I still have some doubts based on Moore’s college body of work. This is balanced by the respect I have for Atlanta’s talent evaluation skills. What tips the scales in Moore’s favor is that, like Chung, he will be plugged right in to start at a tackle-heavy position.
S Louis Delmas, Detroit: Here I was all set to make merciless fun of the new Lions regime. Then they went out and nailed their draft, walking away with the top prospects at three key positions. Delmas is a hard-hitting ball hawk who will have every chance to produce big digits in Detroit.
Let these guys fall to you:
CB Malcolm Jenkins, New Orleans: Promote him to a reach in leagues that require separate CB and S roster spots. The Saints are in desperate need of DBs who can challenge any WR. Jenkins will be tested early but probably has the coverage skills to convince opposing QBs fairly quickly to stop throwing in his direction. However, the Saints will also let Jenkins roam around enough to help in run support, which will give him the tackles to fill in fantasy points around his big plays.
CB Vontae Davis, Miami: Miami was probably the best possible landing spot for Davis. He’s an immediate answer to a position of need and has both the speed and coverage skills to survive being thrown into action from the start. I don’t think he’ll get past “rookie cornerback syndrome” as fast as Jenkins, meaning he’ll get early numbers from tackling receivers after the catch. But once that settles down, I don’t know if he’ll be able to keep his tackle numbers up with both Gibril Wilson and Yeremiah Bell on patrol duty. I feel a “sell high” call coming about week 6 or 7.
CB Darius Butler, New England: Another "need" pick for an AFC East team. One thing I just can’t stand about issuing immediate draft grades is how much they all suck up to the Patriots and just assume that every card they pass up to the podium was handed down to them from Heaven. The truth is, only maybe half of the Patriots’ defensive picks turn out to be brilliant; while the other halves are duds. In other words, not much different from the average – it’s just when they are brilliant, the results can be truly spectacular. In this case, I must at least give credit them for getting the guy who many had them taking in the first round early in the second.
Scratch these guys off your board:
Everybody else: The list is too long to mention here. Odds are very high that most rookie DBs will languish on your waiver wire until they give you a reason to pay attention.
Shhh, keep this to yourself:
S Mike Mitchell, Oakland: OK, so we know that since the Raiders took him he must be crazy fast. But those who have seen his game film also know this guy is the most ruthless headhunter in the entire draft. When your friends join the current fashion of mocking the Raiders’ draft, just smile and nod silently. Endure their jibes when you sneak him onto your roster with a late round pick. Know that if you do, you will be the one having the last laugh.
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