17 Minicampers to Watch
Like many seven-year veterans, I view Offseason Team Activity (OTA) and minicamp season as overrated. Football practices in shorts have some value, but they are a small part of the learning process for players and fantasy owners.
Their importance often gets overstated because of their spot on the NFL calendar. If NFL GMs have a weakness for Pro Day results because they come so close to draft day, fantasy owners have a soft spot for harmless summer news.
So with that warning out of the way, let's go back to making mountains out of molehills! Minicamp season may not mean a lot for most players, especially established ones, but here are 17 players with something to gain before training camp.
[SIZE=+1]Ray Rice, Ravens RB [/SIZE]
Spoiler Alert for Rotoworld's first magazine: We like Ray Rice. Someone has to pick up the slack with Le'Ron McClain moving back to Le'Fullback and Willis McGahee coming off another surgery. Rice's poor blocking skills often kept him off the field as a rookie, so he needs to show that he understands protections better now. He's lining up as a starter in early practices and can stick if he impresses. If that happens, we could see Rice doubling his 107 carries from last season.
[SIZE=+1]Shonne Greene, Jets RB[/SIZE]
Greene almost wasn't included after I read on Drew Rosenhaus' Twitter feed that Thomas Jones will show up to Jets practice next week. But the rookie from Iowa could still help his value greatly.
There are rarely big trades at this stage of the year, but Jones looks more likely than any quality veteran to get shopped. That only works, however, if Greene proves he's ready to start from day one of practice. Eric Mangini's Browns would make a logical trading partner for the Jets.
(Incidentally, Rosenhaus' Twitter feed teeters between highly informational and high comedy salesmanship. Also on Twitter: yours truly.
[SIZE=+1]Brady Quinn, Browns QB [/SIZE]
Football in shorts is a different sport, but it's most instructive for quarterbacks, wideouts, and defensive backs. If Quinn can show his new bosses that he has accuracy to go along with smarts and leadership skills, he'll head into his camp battle with Derek Anderson with a leg up. It's easy to imagine the Browns passing quite often this season, so the winner of their QB derby could be a nice fantasy sleeper.
[SIZE=+1]Devin Thomas, Redskins WR [/SIZE]
Last year's disappointing top dynasty wideout pick ominously hurt his hamstring practicing in early May, but is expected to be ready for June OTAs. The Redskins are desperate for Thomas to step up, so watch to see if he can stay healthy and avoid writing anything incriminating on his blog.
[SIZE=+1]Rashard Mendenhall, Steelers RB [/SIZE]
Hitting the reset button. Mendenhall barely stayed on the field last off-season, and then was lost for the year by Week 4. There is a great opportunity to steal Willie Parker's workload, but Mendenhall has to quiet the whispers about his durability and work ethic. Few young guys need a "clean" minicamp season more.
[SIZE=+1]Mark Bradley, Chiefs WR[/SIZE]
Like many players on this list, Bradley's challenge is to stay healthy for more than a few weeks at a time. He's rarely done that in his career. If he can pull it off this summer, he could be staring at 120 pass targets and a whole lotta Rotoworld flier love.
[SIZE=+1]Carson Palmer, Bengals QB [/SIZE]
Palmer's return from not undergoing elbow surgery has almost gone too well. The elbow healed on its own and Palmer believes the decision to avoid going under the knife was the best thing that could have happened. Make sure he still thinks that come July, because he holds an entire team's value in his hands.
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[SIZE=+1]Reggie Bush, Saints RB [/SIZE]
New Orleans' flirtation with Edgerrin James isn't all about Pierre Thomas. Bush must prove he's recovering well from his surprising microfracture surgery. Bush showed how valuable he could be in the first seven games of last year; now he has to prove he doesn't have chronic knee problems. We've heard positive reports on Bush's work ethic this offseason, but we heard similar things last year.
[SIZE=+1]David Clowney, Jets WR[/SIZE]
Despite plans to start a rookie quarterback, the Jets are in win-now mode. That's why they are among the most likely teams to add a veteran wideout (Plaxico Burress? Marvin Harrison?) if they aren't impressed with their young receivers.
Clowney has the inside track over Brad Smith to start, with Chansi Stuckey looking like a slot guy. Of course, Evan Silva correctly points out that Dustin Keller is really the team's second receiver.
[SIZE=+1]James Davis & Jerome Harrison, Browns RBs[/SIZE]
Has a nickname ever become more quickly outdated than Mangenius? The former Jet coach is looking for a running game in Cleveland and its up to these guys to show him he doesn't need to trade for Thomas Jones.
With Jamal Lewis coming off a poor year and another surgery, someone can emerge with a big role. Harrison profiles as a third-down back and is in a contract year, so sixth-round pick Davis may be the coaching staff's favorite.
[SIZE=+1]Justin Fargas, Darren McFadden, and Michael Bush, Oakland RBs[/SIZE]
Survivor: Oakland backfield. Last one to avoid injury becomes a great fantasy value. On paper, Fargas and Bush are competing to split the workload with McFadden.
Check out Wesseling's post on McFadden, which I'm on board with. McFadden is a boom or bust pick, but he can't bust too badly at his fourth-round draft value.
[SIZE=+1]Hakeem Nicks, Giants WR[/SIZE]
Wide receiver is a tough position for rookies to make an impact, but the ones that do tend to impress quickly. Eddie Royal and DeSean Jackson both looked like they belonged throughout last offseason, while Devin Thomas, Malcolm Kelley, and Jerome Simpson all received uniformly bad summer reviews. (We need a Metacritic for fantasy football.)
Nicks has more to gain than most of this year's rookie receivers, with only Domenik Hixon standing in the way of a starting gig. The Rotoworld brain trust disagrees on Nicks' potential, and we'll begin to find out who's right shortly.
[SIZE=+1]Colt Brennan, Redskins QB [/SIZE]
Brennan should pass veteran Todd Collins for the Washington backup job before the start of the season. With a strong enough practice campaign, he could become a mid-season alternative to Jason Campbell if the Redskins aren't winning.
[SIZE=+1]James Jones, Packers WR[/SIZE]
Green Bay has the rare offense that can support three useful fantasy receivers. The only question is whether the third guy will be Jones or Jordy Nelson. After a great rookie campaign, Jones has to prove his second year injury woes are behind him.
[SIZE=+1]Percy Harvin, Vikings WR[/SIZE]
The last first-round Vikings receiver, Troy Williamson, looked uncomfortable from the start of his very first practice. Harvin is more talented, but is still raw as a route runner. He's ultimately competing for snaps with Sidney Rice and Bobby Wade.
[SIZE=+1]Byron Leftwich, Bucs QB [/SIZE]
Outside of Cleveland, Tampa really has the only quarterback competition worth monitoring. The Bucs are installing a brand new offense, so Leftwich shouldn't be far behind incumbent Luke McCown.
Like many seven-year veterans, I view Offseason Team Activity (OTA) and minicamp season as overrated. Football practices in shorts have some value, but they are a small part of the learning process for players and fantasy owners.
Their importance often gets overstated because of their spot on the NFL calendar. If NFL GMs have a weakness for Pro Day results because they come so close to draft day, fantasy owners have a soft spot for harmless summer news.
So with that warning out of the way, let's go back to making mountains out of molehills! Minicamp season may not mean a lot for most players, especially established ones, but here are 17 players with something to gain before training camp.
[SIZE=+1]Ray Rice, Ravens RB [/SIZE]
Spoiler Alert for Rotoworld's first magazine: We like Ray Rice. Someone has to pick up the slack with Le'Ron McClain moving back to Le'Fullback and Willis McGahee coming off another surgery. Rice's poor blocking skills often kept him off the field as a rookie, so he needs to show that he understands protections better now. He's lining up as a starter in early practices and can stick if he impresses. If that happens, we could see Rice doubling his 107 carries from last season.
[SIZE=+1]Shonne Greene, Jets RB[/SIZE]
Greene almost wasn't included after I read on Drew Rosenhaus' Twitter feed that Thomas Jones will show up to Jets practice next week. But the rookie from Iowa could still help his value greatly.
There are rarely big trades at this stage of the year, but Jones looks more likely than any quality veteran to get shopped. That only works, however, if Greene proves he's ready to start from day one of practice. Eric Mangini's Browns would make a logical trading partner for the Jets.
(Incidentally, Rosenhaus' Twitter feed teeters between highly informational and high comedy salesmanship. Also on Twitter: yours truly.
[SIZE=+1]Brady Quinn, Browns QB [/SIZE]
Football in shorts is a different sport, but it's most instructive for quarterbacks, wideouts, and defensive backs. If Quinn can show his new bosses that he has accuracy to go along with smarts and leadership skills, he'll head into his camp battle with Derek Anderson with a leg up. It's easy to imagine the Browns passing quite often this season, so the winner of their QB derby could be a nice fantasy sleeper.
[SIZE=+1]Devin Thomas, Redskins WR [/SIZE]
Last year's disappointing top dynasty wideout pick ominously hurt his hamstring practicing in early May, but is expected to be ready for June OTAs. The Redskins are desperate for Thomas to step up, so watch to see if he can stay healthy and avoid writing anything incriminating on his blog.
[SIZE=+1]Rashard Mendenhall, Steelers RB [/SIZE]
Hitting the reset button. Mendenhall barely stayed on the field last off-season, and then was lost for the year by Week 4. There is a great opportunity to steal Willie Parker's workload, but Mendenhall has to quiet the whispers about his durability and work ethic. Few young guys need a "clean" minicamp season more.
[SIZE=+1]Mark Bradley, Chiefs WR[/SIZE]
Like many players on this list, Bradley's challenge is to stay healthy for more than a few weeks at a time. He's rarely done that in his career. If he can pull it off this summer, he could be staring at 120 pass targets and a whole lotta Rotoworld flier love.
[SIZE=+1]Carson Palmer, Bengals QB [/SIZE]
Palmer's return from not undergoing elbow surgery has almost gone too well. The elbow healed on its own and Palmer believes the decision to avoid going under the knife was the best thing that could have happened. Make sure he still thinks that come July, because he holds an entire team's value in his hands.
<!--RW-->
[SIZE=+1]Reggie Bush, Saints RB [/SIZE]
New Orleans' flirtation with Edgerrin James isn't all about Pierre Thomas. Bush must prove he's recovering well from his surprising microfracture surgery. Bush showed how valuable he could be in the first seven games of last year; now he has to prove he doesn't have chronic knee problems. We've heard positive reports on Bush's work ethic this offseason, but we heard similar things last year.
[SIZE=+1]David Clowney, Jets WR[/SIZE]
Despite plans to start a rookie quarterback, the Jets are in win-now mode. That's why they are among the most likely teams to add a veteran wideout (Plaxico Burress? Marvin Harrison?) if they aren't impressed with their young receivers.
Clowney has the inside track over Brad Smith to start, with Chansi Stuckey looking like a slot guy. Of course, Evan Silva correctly points out that Dustin Keller is really the team's second receiver.
[SIZE=+1]James Davis & Jerome Harrison, Browns RBs[/SIZE]
Has a nickname ever become more quickly outdated than Mangenius? The former Jet coach is looking for a running game in Cleveland and its up to these guys to show him he doesn't need to trade for Thomas Jones.
With Jamal Lewis coming off a poor year and another surgery, someone can emerge with a big role. Harrison profiles as a third-down back and is in a contract year, so sixth-round pick Davis may be the coaching staff's favorite.
[SIZE=+1]Justin Fargas, Darren McFadden, and Michael Bush, Oakland RBs[/SIZE]
Survivor: Oakland backfield. Last one to avoid injury becomes a great fantasy value. On paper, Fargas and Bush are competing to split the workload with McFadden.
Check out Wesseling's post on McFadden, which I'm on board with. McFadden is a boom or bust pick, but he can't bust too badly at his fourth-round draft value.
[SIZE=+1]Hakeem Nicks, Giants WR[/SIZE]
Wide receiver is a tough position for rookies to make an impact, but the ones that do tend to impress quickly. Eddie Royal and DeSean Jackson both looked like they belonged throughout last offseason, while Devin Thomas, Malcolm Kelley, and Jerome Simpson all received uniformly bad summer reviews. (We need a Metacritic for fantasy football.)
Nicks has more to gain than most of this year's rookie receivers, with only Domenik Hixon standing in the way of a starting gig. The Rotoworld brain trust disagrees on Nicks' potential, and we'll begin to find out who's right shortly.
[SIZE=+1]Colt Brennan, Redskins QB [/SIZE]
Brennan should pass veteran Todd Collins for the Washington backup job before the start of the season. With a strong enough practice campaign, he could become a mid-season alternative to Jason Campbell if the Redskins aren't winning.
[SIZE=+1]James Jones, Packers WR[/SIZE]
Green Bay has the rare offense that can support three useful fantasy receivers. The only question is whether the third guy will be Jones or Jordy Nelson. After a great rookie campaign, Jones has to prove his second year injury woes are behind him.
[SIZE=+1]Percy Harvin, Vikings WR[/SIZE]
The last first-round Vikings receiver, Troy Williamson, looked uncomfortable from the start of his very first practice. Harvin is more talented, but is still raw as a route runner. He's ultimately competing for snaps with Sidney Rice and Bobby Wade.
[SIZE=+1]Byron Leftwich, Bucs QB [/SIZE]
Outside of Cleveland, Tampa really has the only quarterback competition worth monitoring. The Bucs are installing a brand new offense, so Leftwich shouldn't be far behind incumbent Luke McCown.
