2013 NFL Rookies

[BINGO]

Stepfan Taylor - RB - Cardinals

XTRA 910 Phoenix's Mike Jurecki expects Cardinals rookie RB Stepfan Taylor to handle short-yardage and goal-line work.

Jurecki was asked who Rashard Mendenhall's direct backup is, and he replied with Taylor. Ryan Williams is listed as the No. 2 running back on the Week 1 depth chart. He didn't show much in the preseason while he tried to work through knee complications. Taylor averaged just 3.2 YPC on 29 exhibition attempts. The Cardinals' running back situation is one to avoid in fantasy.
Source: Mike Jurecki on Twitter

Sep 4 - 2:20 PM

 

[BINGO]

Menelik Watson - T - Raiders

Raiders LT Menelik Watson suffered a knee injury in Wednesday's practice.

Watson's availability for Week 1 could be in jeopardy after he "tweaked" his knee and was unable to finish practice. The Raiders would be forced to start Tony Pashos if Watson can't go, with Khalif Barnes moving to left tackle.
Source: Steve Corkran on Twitter

Sep 4 - 4:39 PM

 

[NinerSickness]

Menelik Watson - T - Raiders

Raiders LT Menelik Watson suffered a knee injury in Wednesday's practice.

Watson's availability for Week 1 could be in jeopardy after he "tweaked" his knee and was unable to finish practice. The Raiders would be forced to start Tony Pashos if Watson can't go, with Khalif Barnes moving to left tackle.
Source: Steve Corkran on Twitter

Sep 4 - 4:39 PM

Ouch man. Whoever starts at QB for the Raiders this year is a dead man.

Worst OL in the NFL: Cardinals, Bears, Chargers or Raiders?

 

[-AC-]

Ouch man. Whoever starts at QB for the Raiders this year is a dead man.

Worst OL in the NFL: Cardinals, Bears, Chargers or Raiders?

Were they really ever alive?

 

[BINGO]

Tavon Austin - WR - Rams

ESPN Rams blogger Nick Wagoner believes St. Louis "made it a point to be vanilla" with rookie Tavon Austin in preseason games, and is confident the team has "big plans" for the eighth pick in the draft.

NFL Films' Greg Cosell has openly suspected Austin was underutilized purposely in the preseason, where he managed eight catches for 66 yards without a rushing attempt. We won't know the extent of Austin's role until Week 1 against Arizona at soonest. Because of that, Austin is a risky WR3/flex. We still wouldn't be surprised if he winds up approaching 10 touches a game.
Source: ESPN.com

Sep 4 - 9:30 PM

 

[BINGO]

Ezekiel Ansah - DL - Lions

Lions RE Ziggy Ansah (concussion) returned to practice Thursday.

Ansah is now on track to play in Sunday's opener against the Vikings. The No. 5 overall pick is part of a ferocious front four that figures to give Christian Ponder a ton of problems. Ansah ended up missing 11 days.
Source: Chris McCosky on Twitter

Sep 5 - 11:46 AM

 

[BINGO]

Matt McGloin - QB - Raiders

NFL.com's Michel Silver says there are voices in the Raiders organization who believe Matt McGloin gives them the best chance to win.

McGloin was a walk-on at Penn State and went undrafted in April. It's still conceivable that he's more NFL-ready than Terrelle Pryor and has better skills than noodle-armed Matt Flynn. The Raiders' quarterback situation is clearly the worst in the league -- light years behind the Jets and Jags. Related: Matt Flynn, Terrelle Pryor
Source: NFL.com

Sep 5 - 11:08 AM

 

[BINGO]

Menelik Watson - T - Raiders

Raiders LT Menelik Watson (knee) was absent from Thursday's practice.

The Raiders' left tackle situation has quickly gone from bad to worse. Watson — who has never played left tackle at any level of football — missed the majority of camp with a calf injury, and now appears doubtful for Sunday's opener. His absence would shift RT Khalif Barnes to the blindside, and thrust Tony Pashos into the starting lineup. Save for perhaps Darren McFadden, there's not a single Raiders skill player worth starting in Week 1.
Source: Scott Bair on Twitter

Sep 5 - 2:27 PM

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Menelik Watson - T - Raiders

Raiders LT Menelik Watson (knee) was absent from Thursday's practice.

The Raiders' left tackle situation has quickly gone from bad to worse. Watson — who has never played left tackle at any level of football — missed the majority of camp with a calf injury, and now appears doubtful for Sunday's opener. His absence would shift RT Khalif Barnes to the blindside, and thrust Tony Pashos into the starting lineup. Save for perhaps Darren McFadden, there's not a single Raiders skill player worth starting in Week 1.
Source: Scott Bair on Twitter

Sep 5 - 2:27 PM

Tony Pashos? Is he still in the league? My god. NFL.com still lists him as playing for the Redskins, and his last season was 2011.

 

[BINGO]

The most overrated player last year IMO:

Justin Hunter - WR - Titans

The Nashville Tennessean believes Titans second-round WR Justin Hunter could be a weekly inactive.

Coach Mike Munchak said the team may dress just four receivers on game day. Tennessee's top four wideouts are Kenny Britt, Nate Washington, Kendall Wright, and Damian Williams. Hunter may even be behind Michael Preston because of Preston's special teams prowess. Hunter is well off the re-draft radar.
Source: Nashville Tennessean

Sep 6 - 8:48 AM

 

[BINGO]

Ziggy Ansah - DL - Lions

Lions rookie RE Ziggy Ansah (concussion) is listed as probable for Week 1.

This settles it. Ansah is starting against the Vikings. His practice participation increased to "full" on Friday, and he will start at right end.

Sep 6 - 4:00 PM

 

[BINGO]

Geno Smith - QB - Jets

Coach Rex Ryan confirmed that Geno Smith will start Thursday's game against the Patriots.

Obviously. Smith performed better than expected in his first NFL start, completing 24-of-38 passes for 256 yards with one touchdown and one pick. He also rushed six times for 47 yards. Most importantly, the Jets won the game (even if it took a meat-headed play from Bucs LB Lavonte David to do it). Even if Mark Sanchez's shoulder were healthy, Smith would be starting Thursday and beyond.

Sep 9 - 11:46 AM

 

[BINGO]

Cordarrelle Patterson - WR - Vikings

Cordarrelle Patterson played on just five offensive snaps in Sunday's Week 1 loss to the Lions.

Patterson produced one catch for 10 yards and returned two kickoffs for 54 yards. His fantasy re-draft stock was badly damaged as Jerome Simpson popped off for seven catches and 140 yards. Patterson needs to pass Simpson for the starting "X" job if he's going to be relevant this season.
Source: Chip Scoggins on Twitter

Sep 9 - 12:08 PM

 

[BINGO]

Jarvis Jones - LB - Steelers

Steelers first-round OLB Jarvis Jones is running with the starters at practice this week.

One week into the season and we already have a changing of the guard. Jason Worilds started in Week 1, ensuring that the Steelers defense would have a rookie in their starting 11 for the first time since Kendrell Bell in 2001. But the talent gap here is wide, as Jones showed while making three tackles for a loss on his 26 snaps against the Titans.
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Sep 12 - 9:07 AM

 

[BINGO]

Menelik Watson - T - Raiders

Raiders LT Menelik Watson (knee scope) is expected to be out for one month.

Watson, the No. 42 overall pick in this year's draft, underwent a procedure to repair a torn lateral meniscus last week. The Raiders are now down to scraps at left tackle after losing Jared Veldheer (triceps) and giving up on Alex Barron. They'll likely go forward with the same alignment they used in Week 1: Khalif Barnes at left tackle and Tony Pashos on the right side. ProFootballFocus ranked Barnes' Week 1 performance 52nd among 65 qualifying tackles.
Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter

Sep 12 - 10:50 AM

 

[BINGO]

Sidney Rice - WR - Seahawks

Sidney Rice (knee) was limited in Seahawks practice Wednesday.

Rice has a bum knee, for which he traveled to Switzerland at the start of camp, seeking out treatment. He's likely going to be limited in practice all year. Rice caught two balls for 35 yards in Week 1 and is a low-ceiling WR4.

Sep 11 - 7:54 PM

 

[BINGO]

DeAndre Hopkins - WR - Texans

Following Sunday's win over the Titans, DeAndre Hopkins said, "I feel like I can be better than Andre [Johnson]."

Hopkins put the Texans on his back late in the overtime win, finishing with a seven catches for 117 yards -- and the game-winning touchdown. The comment wasn't meant to be a shot at his mentor. "That's my mindset," Hopkins said. "And that's what Andre tells me. (He says) Don't try to shadow yourself when you know you can be better." Johnson is tentatively expected to play in Week 3 despite sustaining a concussion Sunday. Hopkins will still be on the WR3 radar.
Source: houstontexans.com

Sep 16 - 9:58 AM

 

[BINGO]

Barkevious Mingo - LB - Browns

Making his NFL debut, Browns OLB Barkevious Mingo had two tackles, one tackle for a loss, one sack and one quarterback hurry in Sunday's Week 2 loss to the Ravens.

Mingo was forced into more action than expected thanks to Quentin Groves' ankle injury. The first-round rookie responded well, flying around the field and drawing rave reviews from coaches. The Browns won't miss Groves too badly if he's forced to miss time.
Source: Akron Beacon-Journal

Sep 16 - 8:44 AM

 

[BINGO]

Cordarrelle Patterson - WR - Vikings

Cordarrelle Patterson played on just six offensive snaps in Sunday's loss to the Bears.

Patterson played on a meager five snaps in Week 1. We'd expect these snap counts to start rising eventually, but the Vikings clearly don't think their first-round rookie is ready. Even Jarius Wright is seeing more snaps. Patterson is only a re-draft stash in deeper leagues.

Sep 16 - 12:33 PM

 

[BINGO]

Cordarrelle Patterson - WR - Vikings

When asked about Cordarrelle Patterson's lack of playing time, coach Leslie Frazier said the Vikings are "going to get that rectified."

The Vikings surrendered second-, third-, fourth- and seventh-round picks in April so they could move up to 29th overall and take Patterson. The freakishly talented rookie has played just 11 offensive snaps through two weeks. "He definitely deserves to be on the field more. He's shown that in the few snaps he's gotten in these first two ball games," Frazier said. Jerome Simpson predictably crashed back to earth in Week 2, catching two passes for 49 yards on five targets. The Vikings need Patterson to do some of the manufactured things Percy Harvin did for them over the past few years. He's a hold in deeper formats.
Source: ESPN 1500 Twin Cities

Sep 17 - 8:37 AM