Rookie Impact

[Au165]

I'm going Fisher. He will see time as the 6th lineman in sets designed to run, but he will have a couple catches I think too. I also believe he will start a couple games this year due to injury somewhere on the line. He will be the first guy off the bench and someone will get hurt at least for a few games.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

Dawson and Kroft are the obvious choices as the Linebacker core is weak and Dawson just makes plays.

Kroft was drafted to replace Gresham and has good hands. Nice safety valve if everyone else is covered for AD.

But i will go with Super Mario Alford who will contribute big time on ST's and take over for Tate. Big upgrade, just needs to make sure he holds onto the ball. As much as the Tater haters are correct about his bad decision making and lack of vision, he always held onto the ball well.

[*SHRacerX*]

(06-19-2015, 11:43 AM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Dawson and Kroft are the obvious choices as the Linebacker core is weak and Dawson just makes plays.

Kroft was drafted to replace Gresham and has good hands. Nice safety valve if everyone else is covered for AD.

But i will go with Super Mario Alford who will contribute big time on ST's and take over for Tate. Big upgrade, just needs to make sure he holds onto the ball. As much as the Tater haters are correct about his bad decision making and lack of vision, he always held onto the ball well.

Tater hater?  I guess I am one of them, even though I spit coffee when I read that.  I remember a game it putzburg where he fumbled away consecutive kickoffs.  He reminds me of Gresham in the way he carries the ball, but to your point; unlike Gresham he improved his ball security over time but it always looks like it is out there for the taking. 

For laughs:  I was so embroiled in my hatred for Tate (Tater Hater President) a couple years back that I made a bet that if the Bengals won the Super Bowl and Tate scored in said Super Bowl that I would have a tattoo of his likeness placed on my butt cheek.  I would have done it, too. 

[BFritz21]

I think Kroft steps in as our #2 TE and we just dominate teams with the two-TE set because Hill being a beast will being a safety into the box with the other one overtop of AJ, so who's going to cover Kroft and Eifert up the seams? Backers? Good luck with that.

I also like what Shaw brings to the defensive backfield, but I think that Hardison could have the biggest rookie impact on the D because it was a miracle that he fell to us in the fourth (maybe not a miracle, but it was a hell of a steal to get him where we did), and with Atkins returning to form, MJ back, and guys like Dunlap continuing to get better, I think we put him inside on passing downs (at least) and watch him wreak hell. It may not show up in his stats, but, at the very least, he'll call for chips and double teams, freeing up other guys to be single-blocked, which is a dream come true for us.

All that aside, I think our pass rush could still function without Hardison, so I gotta go with Kroft because I think he helps take our offense to the next level (I also think Uzomah could do some big things, but we might only see him in goal line sets).

[Mike M (the other one)]

I'm going with someone else:
Marcus Hardison

I think he will start off in a rotation and end up as starter by the end of the year.

[Hoofhearted]

I will also go with Hardison. Even though I think Dawson will probably be a good LB, I think Hawk, Lamur, Rey and them will probably eat up most of the PT. Seeing as they want their D-line rotation back to what it was, it wont be surprising at all for him to get some snaps. Hopefully he takes advantage and wows.

[Murdock2420]

(06-18-2015, 12:08 AM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: Alford could make a large impact as a kick returner.

This is the first name I thought of when I saw this thread. Not many of the rookies will play many snaps unless we have major injuries or the team is headed to 4-12. 

Alford on teams though as a returner, that has potential to be very interesting.

[Johnny Cupcakes]

Dawson and Kroft are in the best positions to immediately contribute. I think Shaw will end up being the best of the 3 though. Maybe not this year....CBs rarely have great rookie seasons, even when they don't have 4 people ahead of them on the depth chart.

[fredtoast]

I like the Hardison pick, but I also think he needs a year to get bigger and stronger.