fantasy football, numbers, rankings, NFL, sportsWhen the Texans sent Steve Slaton to injured reserve last week, I spent some time researching last year’s rookie class and came across a bunch of names pretty familiar to fantasy owners these days. Some more familiar than others, some infamous and some still undeservedly obscure.

Instead of focusing on the negative — that was done last week in the piece linked to above — I thought it would be a good idea to mention some of the bright spots from the class of 2008.

The obvious suspects:

Chris Johnson, RB, Titans
Making a run at Eric Dickerson’s single-season record, entrenched in the MVP race on a losing team and becoming Adrian Peterson’s biggest competitor for the No. 1 spot in fantasy drafts next summer.

Ray Rice, RB, Ravens
Rice was mentioned yesterday as the No. 1 option outside of the obvious top-tier of fantasy backs — Johnson, Peterson and MJD — in fantasy drafts next year.

Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Steelers
Mendenhall and the rest of the Pittsburgh offense have been slumping, but Willie Parker will be gone next year. This job is his for year’s to come.

DeSean Jackson, WR, Eagles
Jackson has become a one-man scoring machine. So many were highly critical of his chances as a small receiver out of the Pac-10, but all he has done is taken the league by storm.

Chad Henne, QB, Dolphins
The leader of an enigmatic offense has proven that he can throw when called upon, but can he maintain enough consistency when Ronnie Brown returns next season?

Jamaal Charles, RB, Chiefs
All it took for Charles was the opportunity to start, and now some are calling him Chris Johnson Lite. He is a small-framed guy running behind a bad offensive line, so durability questions will be a concern.

Kevin Smith, RB, Lions
Speaking of durability issues, Smith was having a nice fantasy season before suffering a season-ending knee injury against the Ravens. He may be in danger of missing some or all of the preseason next year.

Still on the fringe, but becoming more fantasy relevant by the day:

Devin Thomas, WR, Redskins
Thomas only recently showed flashes of fantasy goodness, so time will tell for this young receiver.

Mario Manningham, WR, Giants
If Manningham’s season had continued as hot as it started, he would be in the group above. As it stands, he has one foot in-bounds but one still out.

Pierre Garcon, WR, Colts
Garcon might be closer to the group above than any of these guys, and it only became possible before of the injury to Anthony Gonzalez.

Tashard Choice, RB, Cowboys
Choice may not get the chance to move up until Marion Barber and/or Felix Jones get out of his way, or he gets out of Dallas.

Justin Forsett, RB, Seahawks
As long as Julius Jones is on the roster, Forsett is going to have trouble carving out a consistent fantasy niche.

Not on the decline, not on the rise, just somewhere in the middle:

Jonathan Stewart, RB, Panthers
Had a good rookie season and had some good weeks in 2009. Has not taken a giant leap, but that is hard to do with a fantasy stud ahead of you on the roster.

Donnie Avery, WR, Rams
So frustrating. All he does is catch touchdowns and pile up yards when he plays, but that is the problem. He just cannot stay on the field long enough.

Felix Jones, RB, Cowboys
Ho-hum, status quo. Tons of talent and speed, still some durability concerns. Would love to see him stay healthy and become the starter in Dallas.

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