Inside The Numbers: Third Year Wide Outs

Draft evaluations fill the internet of opinions on who, where and why each pick was taken. Since the draft of 1992 over eighty wide receivers have been selected, 86 to be exact counting the four taken in 2011, which have yet to see live action in the NFL.

After doing some fantasy football radio discussions the wonderment of how many of these guys really are home runs that are taken in the third round, started to sink in and then the break down began. Minus those four in 2011 only 11 of the 82 who have had one full season under their belt have reached the 1,000 yard mark the plateau which is the standard barrier for running backs and receivers.

History does show that the player’s hitting the mark of 1,000 yards usually have

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2011 NFL Draft | Rd. Seven Impact & Analysis

Round By Round: Round 1 | Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 | Round 6 Round 7

204. Denver Broncos (from Carolina/Green Bay): TE Virgil Green, Nevada – Virgil Green was a superstar at the NFL Scouting Combine and shined during practices at the East-West Shrine game, but a lingering knee issue caused his epic slide down draft boards. Regardless, the value outweighed the risk at this point, and Green will have a chance for playing time in Denver alongside Julius Thomas. This was an unbelievable value at this point in the draft.

205. Seattle Seahawks from Denver/Detroit: DE Lazarius Levingston, LSU – Levingston is nothing more than an NFL body who will occupy blockers. He is a backup who can contribute on early downs but provides little to nothing

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2011 NFL Draft | Round Six Impact & Analysis

Round By Round: Round 1 | Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 | Round 6 Round 7

166. Carolina Panthers: OLB Lawrence Wilson, Connecticut – The Panthers were after linebacker depth in the worst way because most of their current players are injury prone and marginally talented. Wilson was an ultra-productive tackle machine throughout his Huskies’ career and was an All Big East selection last year, although he is extremely undersized and could have major issues taking on blockers.

167. Cincinnati Bengals: WR Ryan Whalen, Stanford – Whalen is a former walk-on receiver who has great character and excellent hands. The Bengals like his toughness and determination to go along with the rest of their now very young wide receiving corps.

168. Minnesota Vikings (from Denver/Cleveland): GT DeMarcus Love, Arkansas – The

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2011 Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings

NFL ROOKIE FANTASY RANKINGS

With another draft in the books, it’s time to project which rookies will be factors from a fantasy perspective along with those who will be forced to wait in the shadows behind established veterans.

Quarterbacks Save

1. Christian Ponder (MIN): The draft’s most NFL-ready signal caller will put his high football IQ to good use by reading defenses and taking advantage his talented safety valves in Percy Harvin and Vishante Shiancoe. Bringing back free agent Sidney Rice would put young Ponder in the driver’s seat. Comparison: Chad Pennington (with a better arm)

2. Andy Dalton (CIN): As last check, Carson Palmer has no plans on donning the orange and black tiger stripes next season, leaving the offense in the hands of the plucky redhead. Dalton projects as more of a move-the-chains game manager than a mad bomber and should only

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2011 NFL Draft | Round Five Impact & Analysis

132. Carolina Panthers: WR Kealoha Pilares, Hawaii – The Hawaii product began his career as a running back, so you know the projected slot receiver excels after the catch. Pilares is undersized and coming off a knee injury, which prevented him from working out at the combine. He is blessed with explosive quickness in and out of his breaks, but was a reach nonetheless.

133. Buffalo Bills: RB Johnny White, North Carolina – The Bills like to have a bevy of talented backs and while some may think White has marginal talent, he is actually a very explosive back with great running instincts and natural vision to see the hole

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UNC Leads The Nation With Nine Draft Picks

Chapel Hill, N.C. A school-record nine North Carolina players were selected in the 2011 NFL Draft, including five on Saturday.  Safety Da’Norris Searcy, running back Johnny White, quarterback T.J. Yates, linebacker Quan Sturdivant and tight end Ryan Taylor were picked in final four rounds of the draft.

“It’s an exciting day to be a Tar Heel,” said head coach Butch Davis.  “I’m thrilled for the guys who were selected and I’m hopeful a few others will get an opportunity as a free agents.  I think several of our players, like T.J. Johnny and Ryan, benefitted from playing in our pro-style offense.  It should make their transition to the NFL that much easier.  Our assistant coaches and our program did a great job preparing our players for the next level.”

North Carolina and USC tied for the most picks in the country with nine. 

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Steelers Pluck Another Pass-Rush LB In Carter

The Pittsburgh Steelers had to be counting their blessings over having the opportunity of drafting Fresno State OLB Chris Carter in the fifth round with the 162 pick..

Carter is a disruptive force bringing the burst needed to get to the quarterback. In true Steelers fashion he’ll be able to learn from some of the best in the business with the likes of James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley already in house.

“It an honor,” said Carter talking shortly after being selected by Pittsburgh. “Never thought I would be Steeler; they never talked to me or worked me out.” So much attention is paid to team visits and private workouts, but in this case it was all about laying low and grabbing the guy you wanted. The Western Atlantic Conference (WAC) Defensive Player of

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