Last year's preseason All-Rookie team was solid. I had a lot of hits (and, OK, some misses). For this year's team, let's see if I can get every pick right.
Of course, that's a fool's errand. There will be some injuries and disappointments and undrafted rookies who emerge.
So here are my predictions for rookies who will perform well, along with my picks for rookies of the year on both sides of the ball. One reminder: This is not just a talent survey. It's all about opportunity. Oh, and I'm not including specialists yet.
Check out my final Big Board 2017 Big Board here, and I've included rankings below for each rookie on my team.
Here we go:
OFFENSE
Quarterback
DeShone Kizer, Cleveland Browns
Final Big Board rank: 60
Who else am I going to go with here? Kizer is the only rookie QB who's going to start in Week 1. I still expect Deshaun Watson and Mitchell Trubisky to play at some point, but the Browns will likely stick with Kizer to see what they have before evaluating their options in the 2018 draft. I was critical of Kizer before the draft -- even his college coach said he should have returned to school, after all -- and said several times that I thought he needed to redshirt in the NFL. But Cleveland is throwing him in. It's not like it has better options. Now, I've never questioned Kizer's arm talent, but will he ever be consistent as a thrower? We're about to find out.