Boley, Rhodes Rising; FWP, Huff, Graham Falling…

April 10, 2008 at 12:04 pm | Article by Paul Hickey |

The post-free agency, pre-NFL Draft Stock Market Report is a little slow, due to the fact that we’ve already talked about where we stand on many players up until this point. Don’t worry though, after the NFL Draft, and during mini-camps and mandatory team workouts, there will be plenty more to discuss. At this point though, there are at least a few guys who are moving around a bit, and we’d like to also introduce a third category to our Stock Market Report. We’ve always traditionally done “rising” and “falling,” but now we’d like to also introduce “steady.”

Rising - Devin Thomas, Michigan State WR -You’ve heard us mention his name several times, as we were the first to truly highlight how great of a pro prospect this kid is. Yeah, that’s right, we beat Kiper, McShay, Mayock and Davis on this one, as we wrote back in “Our Sources Tell Us…”in late February. Now, the 6′2″ cross between Steve Smith and David Boston is number one on Kiper’s big board for WRs. We could see Buffalo snatching him at number 11, but he definitely won’t last past Washington at 21. We expect him to be a solid dynasty choice in all leagues, and even a potential seasonal sleeper depending on where he ends up.

Rising - Michael Boley, Falcons SLB -25 year old Falcons linebacker Michael Boley signed a one-year tender with the team, worth just more than $2 million. This means he’ll be a full-blown unrestricted free agent in 2009. Folks, this kid was the only strong side backer in the NFL worthy of having on your fantasy team last year, as he racked up tackles and forced fumbles. Now that he needs to continue to prove himself in order to get a big pay-day next year, continue to expect big things. He’s a solid IDP sleeper in all formats.

Rising - Kerry Rhodes, Jets SS - Rhodes, one of the best young strong safeties in the NFL - and fantasy football - just signed a five year contract extension worth more than $30 million to remain a New York Jet. The Jets have shown a consistently solid effort to build their defense over the past two seasons, and this commitment to Rhodes only re-emphasizes their confidence in him to eventually become one of the league’s elite players. This may be the very last year that IDP owners can get in him “on the cheap.”

Steady - Malcolm Kelly, Oklahoma WR - Okay, the kid just had a rough pro day, but that hasn’t changed the fact that seven to nine NFL teams are legitimately interested in taking this kid in the first round. Besides the fact that he’s a beast at 6′4″, he has great hands and instincts based on his college film. Prior to the combine and his pro day debacle, he was a projected mid first rounder - after injury concerns and yet another pro day debacle, he’s still right there. He’s unlikely to be a seasonal fantasy candidate in 2008, but dynasty owners should be interested in adding him.

Falling - Willie Parker, Steelers RB -We’ve written several times in the past week about the fact that Mike Tomlin may seriously look to limit FWP’s work this season. The addition of Mewelde Moore and the recent acquittal of Najeh Davenport, combined with the fact that he’s still recovering from a broken leg, don’t bode well for Parker’s fantasy potential in 2008. He’s still one of the game’s most explosive play-makers, but it sounds like he’ll be muted a bit this year. At worst, he’ll still be the best RB3 in fantasy football, but that’s far from the first rounder he was a year ago.

Falling - Michael Huff, Raiders SS -Even before signing Gibril Wilson to a huge deal this off-season, the Raiders had made no qualms about the fact that they weren’t really thrilled with the development and overall play of 2006 first rounder Michael Huff. He’ll be given a chance to play, but with Wilson in the mix, his fantasy stock is down huge.

Falling - Earnest Graham, Buccaneers RB -News of a potential holdout isn’t great for his keeper league value at this point. Cadillac Williams is working his butt off, and 33 year old Warrick Dunn is getting rave reviews from coaches and players alike. Graham’s leverage isn’t great, especially since he’s already 28 years old. The bottom line is he may not be the “long-term” prospect that you thought he was.