Every fantasy owner wants to show their draft prowess in front of all their buddies. What’s the best way to show your stuff? Drafting rookies that wind up killing it their first year of the NFL. The best example over the last few years is probably Cam Newton.  Not very often does a Cam Newton come out of college and and put up the kind of numbers that he did his rookie year. Will Teddy Bridgewater or Derek Carr be this year’s Cam Newton? Let’s take a look.
There was a lot of fuss made over the Browns movement in the 2014 draft. Three trades in the first round is pretty much unheard of. But the Minnesota Viking were also active, moving up at the end of the first day of the draft to grab Teddy Bridgewater. Few players’ stock rose and fell the way Bridgewater’s had over the last three months. The Vikings were in a perfect position to take a chance on the QB from Louiville. Not only did they have to give up very little to get Bridegwater, they won’t be committed to him financially the way teams with higher picks are to their players. Bridgewater will have to leap over Christian Ponder and Matt Cassel in order to get playing time. I don’t see this as being an impossible task. Since the Vikings grabbed Bridgewater so low in the draft, they won’t feel the pressure to run him out there immediately. However, they have an aging RB in Adrian Peterson that they need to keep happy. Peterson has been the face of the franchise the past five years and could be on the move this year, especially if Minnesota doesn’t compete early.( I will cross that bridge when we get to it.) How does that effect Bridgewater? If Ponder or Cassel aren’t successful early, Bridgewater will see significant time in a hurry. If the Vikings decide to blow the season up, they will give Bridgewater the keys to the car and see what happens. I’m afraid, however, that even if Teddy gets the keys to the car, there won’t be much gas in it. He shouldn’t be on your roster to start the year.
I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I’m a little bit optimistic about the Oakland Raiders this year. They’ve got a couple of solid wideouts, two skilled veteran running backs, and a defense that might be able to keep them in some games. What they aren’t sure of is the quarterback position. I understand why they went out and got Matt Schaub. He had some good years with the Texans, but last year wasn’t one of them. Schaub is not the long term answer for Oakland, he probably isn’t the short term answer either. But he does have some experience and can be a guy that Derek Carr can look to for leadership and advice. That’s what the Raiders were looking for when they acquired Schaub. They knew they were going to get a QB in the draft. They probably knew it would be Carr. Now they have to let it play out. For Carr to be valuable this year, he needs to win the starting job coming out of training camp. I can see a scenario where Schaub has moderate success this year and Carr has to sit and watch, while the Raiders actually keep a few games close for the first time in years. If Carr wins the starting job, I would take a flyer on him if he’s around late in the draft. I think your competitors will shy away from him because of the team he plays for. I can’t blame them. With Oakland’s history, they could have Tim Tebow competing for a job in a few months. If Carr is dropping, pick him up instead of one of the three defenses you were planning on carrying.
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