However, each year a few rookies will break out and merit draft consideration. But you usually don't know who they are until we are well into the regular season, and by then they have usually been scooped up by another owner who picked them off the waiver wire with blind luck.
So here are a few rookies that have shown, at least in training camp and the preseason, that they may produce enough during the regular season and their teams may use them enough to merit a draft pick.
- Zach Sudfield, TE, Patriots. The 6' 7" undrafted free agent (UDFA) from Nevada looks like he may be able to take away some of the sting the Patriots have felt by losing Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez, Brandon Lloyd, and Danny Woodhead during the offseason. Gronkowski's status for the beginning of the preseason is still tenuous, so Sudfield has a opportunity to become one of Brady's targets. So far he has 3 receptions in two games for 54 yards and a touchdown.
- Joseph Randle, RB, Cowboysz. Three games into the preseason Joseph Randle is fourth in yards rushing, first in attempts, but way down the list in yards per attempt. The Cowboys fifth-round pick (no. 151 overall) has a great situation in Dallas; He's listed as fourth on the depth chart, but the two guys ahead of him behind injury prone starter DeMarco Murray aren't household names (Lance Dunbar and Phillip Tanner). He's definitely only worth a late-round flyer, but with Murray's injury history, he could start some games this year.
- Denard Robinson, OW, Jaguars. much has been made of the Jaguars listing Robinson as an offensive weapon (OW) instead of a RB, WR, or QB. So far he's been used mainly as a RB; He leads the team in carries (20), rushing yards (61), and is tied for seventh in receptions (2). During the regular season I could see him being used all over the field creating interesting mismatches. With Justin Blackmon suspended for the first four weeks of the regular season, and the uncertainty surrounding Maurice Jones-Drew's productivity, Robinson is another late-round flyer that could pay off.
- Khiry Robinson, RB, Saints. Every article written about Saints' RBs should include a caveat that they use the running-back-by-committee (RBbC) strategy more than any other team. Former Saint Chris Ivory left the Saints for the Jets this offseason and it seems the new RB in town is Robinson. The UDFA from West Texas A&M leads the Saints in rushing with 22 carries for 102 yards, and is third in receptions with 4 catches for 43 yards during the first two preseason games. Due to the Saints' RBbC approach, I'm not sure he's worth a draft pick yet, but he's someone to definitely keep an eye on during the remaining preseason games
- Jermaine Kearse, WR, Seahawks. If you watched Kearse and the Seahawks 40-10 dismantling of the Broncos Saturday night, you know who he is. His 107-yard kickoff return for a touchdown (TD) and 12-yard TD reception put him in the national spotlight. Through two preseason games, the 6' 1", 209-pound WR has the one kickoff TD return and a total of 3 receptions for 43 yards and 2 touchdowns. Last year the Seahawks had three receivers with more than 25 receptions (Sidney Rice 50, Golden Tate 45, TE Zach Miller 38, and Doug Baldwin 29), but none with more than 50. The Seahawks' return specialist, Leon Washington, is now a Patriot, so there's room on the roster for a player with a nose for the end zone.
