Stewart has the ability to become the rarest of fantasy football commodities - the everydown back who can both grind down a defense and apply the knockout blow with long speed. He is blessed with terrific size and an ideal build for an NFL RB. He runs with a low center of gravity and can both rub off of contact and power through it. He has a lot of bounce in his cuts and initial burst and he has the vision to see daylight, change direction and accelerate quickly. He's big and physical enough to hang with anyone in blitz pickup. He's got natural hands and great body control as a receiver. Of course, Stewart has his flaws - he's had ankle issues for a while, and his constellation of talents lacks a trump card. His game reminds me of another back who played in the Beaver State - Steven Jackson - and I think Stewart can be that kind of workhorse at the next level.

McFadden is by far the most explosive offensive skill player in this draft. He can and will bust long TD runs at least a few times a year. Unlike Stewart, McFadden does have a trump card - a sick initial burst and MACH 1 home run speed. He's also a fine passcatcher who can line up at WR. McFadden has outstanding lateral agility and cuts for a lanky back, and he's more physical than his body type would suggest. Ah, but that WR build is the sticking point. The reality is that a lot of teams will have a back that is better at picking up those tough yards than McFadden. McFadden also could be more patient - he will need to set up his blocks better in the pros. His fumble problems and compounding off the field questions also help knock him from #1 perch in my mind. McFadden will have a handful of weeks every season where he is the #1 fantasy back of the entire league, and other weeks where he is painfully held in check. McFadden is #1 on my NFL board, but he's slightly behind Stewart on my FF board. I can't blame anyone for taking McFadden #1 - which highlights why #2 is the pick to have this year.

In the right system, Mendenhall could end up being as good or better for FF as Stewart or McFadden. He runs with a great body lean and can motor in a straight line - generating the force to tear through arm tackles and absorb and shed tacklers that don't wrap up. Mendenhall is also more than tough and big enough to hang at the next level. With his vision, burst, and subtle, but effective change of direction moves, Mendenhall could make hay in a good one-cut run game. He's an effective receiver with good hands, but not as fluid as Stewart or McFadden. My biggest concern about Mendenhall is whether he can create on his own. I don't see a RB who is going to be able to do much when the creases aren't there in the defense. I'm not sold on Mendenhall's ability to be a quality FF back in a middling to weak offense, but I'd probably be happy to land a back of his caliber at #3 in the RB hungry world of FF.

Kelly's inability to work out at the combine is your gain if you are sitting in the back half of the first round of your rookie draft. He's a rare intersection of size, speed, agility, good ups and ball skills while in the air, *great* hands, and toughness. Kelly can do damage deep, and defenders better bring it with strong form tackles after the catch. Kelly didn't dominate at Oklahoma, but he was also never asked to. If there's a knock on his game, it's the lack of elite track speed, but I think we've all seen that 4.5 is plenty good when you're in the 6'4" 220 range like Kelly.

You probably won't have to take Rice this high to get him, but I like his chances better than the speedier, bigger backs who will be drafted before him in the NFL and FF rookie drafts. I can't get too down on Rice because of his size - he runs just like the smaller backs who have defied that limitation in the past. His weight is well-distributed, so he runs with a very low center of gravity and good power - often winning collisions with larger defenders. He deflects off contact and is very hard to arm tackle. Maybe he doesn't have the speed to take runs to the house, but his hard-nosed style combined with excellent balance and legs that never stop churning makes him more likely to break big runs than the burners he is vying with for draft position. Rice shows nifty change of direction and good hands out of the backfield. He also gets the most out of his smallish frame in blitz pickup with desire and willingness - although he will get run over by some of the behemoths in the NFL. Consider yourself lucky if you land Rice in the second half of the first round of rookie drafts.

Rarely would I rank a possible "one year wonder" this highly, but Thomas has shown me enough to justify this lofty ranking. No wide receiver nailed the combine more than Thomas. We already knew he was big and agile enough to bang and be a good YAC threat, but his all-around receiving game, with terrific hands and body control, showed the potential to be a #1 at the next level. He's not a great WR in the air, and I don't know if he plays as fast as his 4.4 combine time, but he'll make his living over the middle and turning shorter passes in good gains.

Like his backfield mate at Arkansas, Jones speed and lightning initial burst are undeniable and they will make him a gamebreaker in the pros. He's better at letting plays develop than his teammate, and has a more ideal NFL build. Jones runs "hot", flying through arm tackles and generally showing great effort at all times. Jones is also tough and will take tacklers head on. Still, I can't get that excited about a speed back who goes down on first contact way too often. Like McFadden, I wonder if he's going to always have to share with a more powerful back. He has shown the potential to round out his game and is a good character guy, so I can't drop as far as other speed backs like Jamaal Charles and Chris Johnson, but I would probably look to trade down from #4 if Jones ends up there because of a first round nod in April.

Hardy has established himself as the last of the first tier FF rookie WRs on my board. He's big, but not a big stiff - with good enough speed and agility for a tall WR, plus great ups, soft hands, and a "my ball" mentality. He'll be an ultimate weapon in the red zone, which alone makes him a viable choice as first WR off the board in FF rookie drafts. Hardy does need to bulk up and play stronger, plus dedicate himself to running better routes to be more than a specialty WR. There are also some off the field questions that linger, which make him a little more volatile investment than Thomas and Kelly, and third in the first tier - but that could change if he lands in a strong passing game.

I have found very little in Matt Ryan's game that I don't like. I have him rated about as highly as any QB prospect that has come down the pike in the last few years. I love his toughness, his underrated athleticism, his fiery leadership, and his ability to put a team on his back and carry them to victory. Ryan should start early on in his career, and is a no brainer pick in the second half of the first round if you need a QB. The main reason he is this low is the time involved waiting for a QB to hit his stride, and the possibility that Ryan will have to help a team like Atlanta or Kansas City dig out of a bad stretch. If he falls far past the 10th pick, I'll be tempted to trade up for him even if I don't need a QB. Both he and Brian Brohm present excellent value in rookie drafts this year.

Charles is a tough guy to project. Either you'll find yourself wanting to take him as high as 4th or 5th, or not want to take him at all. You can find plays where Charles demonstrates everything you want in an RB. His blinding speed is what he's known for, but Charles can also play physical - lowering his head, winning collisions, and throwing a stunning stiffarm\ - and he can leave would-be tacklers grasping at air in the open field with ankle-breaking moves. I shudder when I think of Charles when he's right in the Broncos one-cut system after watching him side by side with Selvin Young in 2005 and 2006. On the other hand, Charles fumbles way too much and is prone to stretches of play where he runs small and goes down on first contact. He's also going to struggle in blitz pickup and may not be ready to contribute right away. Chances are, he's going to go before I would consider him in every rookie draft.