Instant Impact Mid-to-Late Round Rookies Part 1

By:  Bobby Shores aka ReclinerQB

With fans fully entrenched in NFL training camps, and the pre-season officially kicking off in less than 24 hours, it's time to look at some rookies who you might not know now, but could be household names by the  mid-season. Impress your friends and co-workers now by mentioning these instant impact rookies (and potentially drafting them in fantasy) before they do (unless of course they read ReclinerQB.com also, which they should, and if they don't you should mention it to them as we are gearing back up for regular updates).

Most NFL fans lose interest in the draft after the first couple of rounds, most of us expect the mid-to-late round picks to be project players, special teams aces or scout team superstars, but every year there are a few mid-to-late round picks and even undrafted players that emerge as go-to guys for their respective teams their rookie years.  And with training camps set to start within the next week (hopefully) I think it's time to see evaluate which mid-to-late round picks will emerge from the pack this year.

To find those guys you have to look for players that were super productive in college but were over looked in the draft due to size (or lack thereof), players that were deemed as not fast/agile/strong enough, players that fell because of character or injury concerns, overshadowed on a college team of big name players players that went to teams with little depth and a truly open competition, and/or players that were high on draft boards then fell once teams had to much time on their hands and started picking them apart.

Players in recent memory that fit these descriptions are Legarrette Blount (Undrafted-Character Concerns), Louis Murphy (4th Rnd-Overshadowed), Elvis Dumervil (4th Rnd-Size), Arian Foster (undrafted-Injury/Character Concerns)

With the lockout slowing the development of every rookie , it will be harder to pick the potential impact guys, but it can be done, and I have done it.  So here are the guys off of most fans radars to watch when training begins in a couple of weeks.


Kelvin Sheppard-Inside Linebacker-Buffalo Bills -With the Bills making the transition to a 3-4, adding the right players for the defensive scheme was obviously a priority in the 2011 NFL Draft as they added immediate defensive starters with their first 4 picks. While most people are focused on their top 2 picks Marcell Dareus and Aaron Williams, I believe people should be looking further down, specifically at 3rd round pick Kelvin Sheppard.

He endeared himself to the Bills coaching staff at the Senior Bowl where he showed that he was truly a sideline-to-sideline inside linebacker that is athletic, football smart, and a true 3-down player.  The biggest attribute he will bring to a young Bill's defense is his leadership, he was voted as a team captain at LSU and led a very young defense that was one of the best in the nation, leading that unit in tackles in '09 and '10 and ranking 3rd in the SEC while earning 1st-team All-Conference (no small feat in the nation's best conference).

Now that the Bills have lost former starting linebacker Paul Posluszny to the Jaguars, it should bode well for Sheppard to slide immediately into the starting lineup

Roy Helu Jr-Running Back-Washington Redskins - While Redskins coach Mike Shanahan might struggle when evaluating players at 21 of the 22 main positions, the one position he knows how to scout for are running backs that fit his 1-cut zone scheme (see Terrell Davis, Clinton Portis, Mike Anderson, etc.). Helu should get the opportunity to prove himself early as the running back depth chart in Washington is not very intimidating.

In Helu, the Redskins have found a running back who has the explosiveness to score every time he touches the ball (7 runs of 50+ yards in 2010). While he lacks power when he runs he is very familiar with the style of running game that the Redskins use as he excelled in a similar system at Nebraska.  

 “He was a 4.4 guy coming out, very physical, but the one thing that he could do is once he had that open lane, he could go the distance,” Shanahan said of Portis. “I look at Helu as having that type of ability, that type of speed.” Comparing Helu to Portis is a great endorsement from a guy who knows the running back position.


Not only is he a potential impact guy his rookie year for the team, he has even bigger potential as a fantasy sleeper, especially with Ryan Torian injured and the recently acquired Tim Hightower always running from the injury bug himself.

Leonard Hankerson-Wide Receiver-Washington Redskins [Editor's Note:  I can't believe I have two Redskins on this list]- While drafting wide receivers has been nothing short of an abject failure for the Redskins the last couple of years (see Malcom Kelly and Devin Thomas who were drafted ahead of DeSean Jackson, Jordy Nelson and Eddie Royal), this year should be different after they drafted Leonard Hankerson out of Miami. While Hankerson took some time to adjust to the college game and did not break out until his junior year at Miami, expect him to continue his upward ascent the moment he steps on to the field for the Redskins.

So what is it that will make Hankerson have an instant impact? He will go across the middle (improved on this late in his career) and make the catch (reminiscent of another "U" great in Michael Irvin). Not only is he good at running crossing routes, and has the speed to outrun defenders, he also shows toughness and the willingness to hustle in the running game and make key down field blocks.

On a Redskins team that will focus primarily on the run, with Chris Cooley and Santana Moss taking most of the coverage, while newly signed wide receiver Donte Stallworth takes coverage deep, look for Hankerson to quietly (quietly? is that possible for a guy from The "U" to be quiet?) make big plays and put up big numbers.

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