Which Rookies Will Have The Biggest Fantasy Football Impact?

At first glance, the logical choice would be Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton. He appears poised to supplant much-maligned Jimmy Clausen as the Carolina Panthers starting quarterback.

However, we all know that rookie quarterbacks are lucky to start more than eight games in their first season, let alone have a huge fantasy impact.

For purposes here, I’ll exclude Cam Newton from the conversation because 1) he’s one of the more obvious choices and 2) who knows if he will even start the bulk of the season?

Take a gander at my “most likely to succeed as a rookie if there is a season in 2011″ list:

1. A.J. Green, WR, Bengals. The good news: potential turnover at the receiver position in Cincinnati, with Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco aging and not necessarily in the team’s future plans. The bad news: uncertainty at the quarterback position with an unhappy Carson Palmer on the roster and a team coming off of a four-win season. The skinny: there is a lot of upside, but equal uncertainty to boot.
2. Mark Ingram, RB, Saints. The 2009 Heisman Trophy winner “dropped” to number 28 in the first round of this year’s draft. But he may be the draft’s best running back. Sure, it was a down year for the position but the guy has a college resume to die for and will be playing in one of the league’s best offensive systems. The jury: he’s a low cost, high reward late round fantasy draft selection.
3. Julio Jones, WR, Falcons. With all-world Roddy White already on the roster, this pick shocked me a bit, but there is no denying Jones’s unbelievable skill and will. He’s physical, tall and uber-competitive. In fact, he’s very similar to Roddy White, the teammate he’s likely to eventually flank as the other starting wide receiver. In White, he’ll have a great mentor and role model, but he’ll also have someone  to blunt his rookie production.

That’s my list, excluding Cam Newton of course (wink).