by: Chris Sullivan
Hey all, I'm back from the dead (aka a nice workstation), and in catching up on reading I stumbled on Danny O'Neil's stumbling upon the NFL's "Top 10 Rookies who should make an impact" article. O'Neil skewers it a bit, but the full list is really somewhat obnoxious and worth picking apart a bit more.
1. Robert Ayers -- like O'Neil says, this is a one-year starter with 9 career sacks. Will he be good in the NFL? Sure, but as we saw last year, one of the least likely positions to have an impact in their rookie year is defensive end. Also, he plays for the Donkeys.
2. Jason Smith -- while he may have an impact, he's not going to put the Rams on his back and ride them into the sunset. He wasn't even slated in as their starting LT in the Rams' first mini camp.
6. Percy Harvin -- he didn't even show up to his first day of work! Harvin has disaster written all over him, and without a quarterback his impact is instantly limited. Come on, guys.
7. Michael Crabtree -- as we discussed in the run-up to the draft when oh so many people expected us to take Crabtree, it is very rare for a WR to have an instant impact in the NFL, especially when they're coming from a route-light offense like Texas Tech. He'll help the 49ers, but let's be realistic about this.
9. Rey Maulauga -- Drafted in the second round by the Crimecinati Bengals, Maulauga should have an impact . . . sure, I can see that. But #9? Have you noticed who hasn't shown up on this list yet?
10. Pat White -- Really? Reaaaally? Pat White will have a greater impact than either Matt Stafford or Mark Sanchez? Reeeeally? Nothing says high impact quite like a wildcat quarterback in an offense that only barely needed one (Ronnie Brown seemed to manage pretty well last year, no?).
No Aaron Curry? The last five rookies of the year have been linebackers, but the only one making this list was taken 38th overall? What a joke! What do you guys think? Is this another case of the Seahawks getting disrespected, or, as I tend to lean, is it more a case of a sportswriter trying to ruffle some feathers and make bold, rather than obvious, predictions? Only two of the top ten picks were included in the list, which can't have been an accident. Sound off below!
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