Last week, I broke down the first part of the Freshman 15 - Rookies to Watch. This week we are back with some rookies that aren't as top level talent wise, but still hold some major upside. The rookies in this weeks edition can become major players in their offenses right off the bat because of the team they were drafted by. Lets take a look.
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Cam Akers
Cam Akers is one of my favorite running backs in the class. Akers can run through you, around you, and make you miss. Last year, he ran behind one of the worst Offensive Lines in the country, and still managed to average 5.0 yards per carry along with 14 touchdowns. He rushed for 1,144 yards last year, and 904 of those yards came after contact. Akers isn’t afraid of contact, he often welcomes it. Cam became more involved in the passing game each year at FSU as well. He has the hands to make the catch with ease, but needs to work on his route running. He struggles with pass protection however, seems lost at times on where the pressure is coming from.
He walks into a potential workhorse role if he takes advantage of the opportunity with the Rams. They let Gurley go after last season, worried he was damaged goods, even though he had 14 touchdowns. The other running backs on the roster are currently Malcolm Brown, and Darrell Henderson who combined for 108 carries last year. Neither were any better than Gurley was in efficiency. Akers is easily the most talented one out of the three in the backfield and he should easily win the job once the season starts.
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Ke’shawn Vaughn
Vaughn is my sleeper fantasy pick of the year. I am of strong belief that Ronald Jones is atrocious, you can’t change my mind. Vaughn is coming off of back to back 1,000 yard seasons at Vanderbilt. Being a 1K rusher in the SEC is an accomplishment in itself, let alone on a terrible team. Vaughn has great vision but he lacks the ability to pass protect which could be his downfall. He has underrated hands, which will come in handy being the future running back in a Tom Brady led offense. If he can win the starting job, which I believe he will, I can see RB2 upside for him easily.
Last year, Ronald Jones had an average of 4.1 yards per carry, and Peyton Barber averaged 3.2 ypc, neither of the two pops off the screen on Sundays. In the defense of Jones, he did finish somewhat strong. He was more involved in the passing game, and was more efficient in the last two games of the season than he was all season long. I think the news that came out about Arians praising Jones was more smoke than fire, but only time will tell.
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Jalen Reagor
Jalen Reagor will burn right past an average corner with a simple double move and find himself in the end zone for a touchdown. His best asset is going up and getting a ball that's too high for a defender to reach. He is a more than reliable kick returner as well. His college stats don’t exactly jump off the page, 43 catches for 611 yards and 5 touchdowns last year but that could be attributed to the inconsistency of the offense as a whole.
As per usual, the Eagles are already injured at Wide Receiver. Alshon Jeffery still has no timetable for returning to playing form. Desean Jackson is getting up there in age, and was injured most of last season. Reagor is currently listed as the WR5 but I could see him getting snaps right away. Keep an eye on this burner if he is in the game, he has the speed and vertical to win you a fantasy week.
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Justin Jefferson
Justin Jefferson is walking into a minimum of 80 targets right out of the gate. Adam Theilen will be healthy this year and get his targets but Jefferson couldn’t be in a better position to succeed. Over the middle, he is a man among boys with strong hands. Those same hands cannot be said for going over the top of defenders, as he struggles with balls that are over his head. He benefited greatly by having Joe Exotic putting the bread in his basket with deadly accuracy last year. Jefferson pulled in 111 catches for 1540 and an insane 18 touchdowns in 2019. Helps when you have an accurate QB throwing the ball to you… Cough Kirk Cousins Cough.
He will be a solid fit in the Vikings offense as a target over the middle on slant routes and in routes for Kirk Cousins. They are a very run heavy team so targets are minimal, but Dalvin Cook was 2nd in targets last year. I expect Jefferson to be the number two option in the passing game this year.
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Brandon Aiyuk
This man is a play maker with the ball in his hands. He was used a lot in the screen game in college because of his run after catch ability. Aiyuk can stop on a dime, and make any defender miss. The negative side of things is his ability to break press coverage, but with a run game like the 49ers, he won’t be seeing too tight of coverage.
Aiyuk could step right into a big role with the recent news of the Deebo Samuel injury. Even if Deebo is back for the start of the 2020 season, Aiyuk is still the number two receiver on the roster. I don’t see how Kendrick Bourne could get more targets than Aiyuk. This is a great landing spot for his skill set, and he could be a breakout waiting to happen.
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