Seven Weeks down; ten to go. And the NFL class of 2008 is making its presence felt on Sundays (and Mondays for that matter). Big Week 7 performances from Chris Johnson and Matt Forte showed the fantasy world that these first year guys mean business.

John Carlson caught one for a score for the second straight game and Darren McFadden is still vying to touch the ball in Oakland. The Rams offense woke up in Week 7’s upset over Dallasm which could translate into good numbers for Donnie Avery, while the Jets demise to the Raiders in OT may mean it’s time to give up on Dustin Keller for the rest of ‘08. Read more »

The NFL’s class of 2008 has made its presence felt through the first quarter of the season. Week 5 proved to be no different as many rookies found their way into the endzones and impacted fantasy games everywhere during a time when depth was huge due to bye weeks and injuries.

For the third straight week, Houston’s Steve Slaton looked great. It certainly doesn’t seem like he’s only started three games as a pro. And in Dallas, Felix Jones taught the Cowboys a valuable lesson by following up his zero-touch effort in Week 4 with an impressive showing of 96 yards on nine carries including a 33-yard touchdown scamper. Read more »

At the quarter-point of the season, we have started to learn some things about many of the young players making their professional debuts. And with major injuries and plenty of scores to be had, the rookies were busy in Week 4.

Sunday proved to be full of surprises, as Felix Jones got zero touches in the Cowboys loss to Washington, and Darren McFadden took a back seat to Michael Bush as he attempted to play through a case of turf toe. Facing one of the league’s great run defenses, Chris Johnson managed to score his first and second career rushing touchdowns. Read more »

Welcome to the first edition of our weekly rookie rankings, where Oakland’s Darren McFadden and Chicago’s Matt Forte lead a group of 20 fantasy stars and would-be producers.

Just as the NFL Draft in April told us when no wide receivers were taken in the first round, this year’s group of fantasy wideouts is pretty thin. Only two receivers - Denver’s Eddie Royal and Philadelphia’s DeSean Jackson - are worthy of starter status, but both have gone well beyond expectations. Read more »

Big names have big matchups this week, so huge performances by running backs could mark Week 3 of NFL action. On the flip side, some other top performers - Adrian Peterson, LaDainian Tomlinson, Ryan Grant and Darren McFadden - enter the weekend as question marks while they nurse injuries, making for a stark contrast between certainty and uncertainty.

Frank Gore, Michael Turner and Brandon Jacobs fall under the category of “sure things” because of their stature and soft matchups. Tomlinson tops the list of “unsure things” with a sprained toe, making him a scary must-start at home against the Jets. Steven Jackson is shortly down the same list, not because of injury, but because of how poorly he and the Rams have played so far. Read more »

Time to shake things up in our Week 3 rankings, especially at the top where the unthinkable happened - LaDainian Tomlinson lost his weekly home at No. 1 to Adrian Peterson. More struggling backs were bumped from the top five, as we try and let go of our preseason draft stocks and start seeing reality for what it is.

Reality is, Steven Jackson and Joseph Addai are no longer more desirable than Clinton Portis and Marion Barber. Ditto for Randy Moss, who was passed by Terrell Owens as our No. 1 wide receiver after seeing New England’s revamped offense with Matt Cassel at the helm. Read more »

One of the more exciting parts of preseason fantasy football, rookie evaluations can either make a quick impact on teams or fall flat on their faces as wasted draft picks. More often than not, the latter proves true, but if we learned one thing from Adrian Peterson’s 2007 romp, it’s that we should certainly believe that big results are possible.

Some overreaction is all but guaranteed in the post-A.P. Era, and most of it will center around Oakland physical specimen Darren McFadden. Owners everywhere are still sore about the fact that they passed on Peterson at nearly the same draft position (mid-3rd round) and will be damned if they make the same mistake. Problem is, odds are slim and none that McFadden’s arrival has half the impact of Peterson’s. Read more »