Top 10 Offensive Rookie of the Year Candidates, Barkley...then who?

Hi, today I am going to be talking about my top 10 rookies who I think have the best chances at winning OROY. (Derrius Guice would have been no. 2 on this list had he not torn his ACL in preseason week 1).

1. Saquon Barkley, RB, Giants:
This is a no brainer at 1. Everyone has Barkley atop their list for possible offensive rookie of the year candidates. Barkley is the best, better than Leonard Fournette, RB coming out of college we've seen in awhile. Barkley balled at Penn State and he has the body skill set to be the best player in the NFL. Barkley also has amazing talent around him. If Barkley busts I will be the most surprised because he is the most non-bust material we have seen. A rookie has lead the league in rushing yards the last team seasons in Zeke Elliott and Kareem Hunt, Barkley is the best bet to continue the feat yet.

2. Rashaad Penny, RB, Seahawks:
Penny was a surprise that he rose to the first round. In training camp he is involved in a big battle with Chris Carson but I think he will beat him out. Penny has a great skillset and to be paired with Russell Wilson he should have an amazing rookie year. Penny lead the nation in yards last season so expect him to be out there with 1000+ total yards in year 1.

3. Sony Michel, RB, Patriots:
Michel could be the Pats best RB in awhile. The Pats spent one of their first round picks on the productive RB out of Georgia. The Pats do like to have a mix of pretty good RB's and it proves to work pretty well. Rex Burkhead had an amazing year last season in this multiple RB system. I think Michel has the chance to be the main player in the mix. Getting the bulk of the carries along with many reception opportunities. Playing with the Pats and Tom Brady, anything can happen. Michel could become elite in year 1 playing next to Brady. He will be in the discussion.

4. Ronald Jones III, RB, Buccaneers:
Jones was a steal where he was drafted in my opinion. With the Bucs looking like they are going into a bad year, with their starting QB Jameis Winston suspended 3 games and not too much talent all around, the Bucs will be relying on the talent Rojo to carry the offense. The first 3 games could be his best with backup QB Ryan Fitzpatrick relying on Jones to carry the ball and get receptions out of the backfield. Fitz isn't a great QB and so it won't be surprising if he is constantly giving the ball off to Jones. Jones could be the next Alvin Kamara. If he has a slow start to the season, don't count him out. It was the same thing with Kamara who heated up after the first quarter of the season.

5. Calvin Ridley, WR, Falcons:
I loved this pick by the Falcons. Picking up the talented no. 1 receiver in this draft in the late 20's of the first round was a great move. The Falcons already have an elite offense with 1-year removed from an MVP season QB Matt Ryan, elite RB and WR duo in Devonta Freeman and Julio Jones and a good o-line. Add in the explosive Ridley who was a nightmare in college and this offense could be the very best in the league. I think Ridley will get a lot of plays when no. 1 corners are completely focused on shutting down Julio Jones. I think Calvin Ridley is the Juju-Smith of this season. Antonio Brown and Juju Smith may be the best WR duo in the league right now, but Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley could be coming up from behind on them as Ridley is a better receiver than Juju in my opinion.

6. DJ Moore, WR, Panthers:
Moore was the first receiver taken in the draft. I know Cam Newton has fallen off in recent years but he is still a great QB that Moore should be able to play well with. There aren't many great receivers on the Panthers except Devin Funchess who at best is probably a little better than Stefon Diggs. Moore will get a lot of targets in his rookie season and at some point could become the WR1 over Funchess. In a mediocre-ly talented offense, Moore could be the star and could become Cam Newton's favorite target. They picked him in the first round for a reason, it should show and he could be in the race for OROY.

7. Michael Gallup, WR, Cowboys:
Gallup is getting a ton of pre-season hype. With Dez Bryant gone he could quickly become the WR1 on the Cowboys. Dak Prescott is right there in the elite QB discussion and with a bounceback year 3 could be a top 5/10 QB again. Gallup has shown some major talent and he likely won't start the season as the WR1 and so he won't always get the CB1's on him which will be major for him to start out his career. Gallup can be the breakout steal player of this draft, believe me.

8. Antonio Callaway, WR, Browns:
With a lot of uncertainty at the WR position for the Browns, Callaway could be the breakout answer. Jarvis Landry is an elite WR1 locked in for the Browns but Josh Gordon is away at some kind of rehab again and no one knows exactly when he is coming back. Former first round pick WR Corey Coleman was traded to the Bills this week. There have been rumors about Dez Bryant joining the Browns but nothing has seemed to actually happen with that. Callaway with all of this uncertainty could become the early season WR2. Callaway was possibly the best receiver in this draft but wasn't an early round draft pick because of his legal issues. Without those, he could have beem a top 20 pick in the draft. The talent is there so it shouldn't be a major surprise if he becomes a great receiver in year 1 and finds his way into the ROY discussion. Did you see him in preseason week 1? He was amazing!

9. Sam Darnold, QB, Jets:
It looks as if Darnold could be the week 1 starter in NY. Originally it was thought that Darnold would be a backup most of his rookie year learning behind Teddy Bridgewater and Josh McCown. As camp as pressed on and we've heard from the Jets and seen Darnold practice it is looking like he will be the week 1 starter. Darnold had probably one of the best upsides from a QB in the draft, if he plays the whole season and can put together a few more wins than the Jets had last season along with a nice statline since he's a QB he could be in the drivers seat of the OROY discussion.

10. Hayden Hurst, TE, Ravens:
The Ravens have a pretty talentless offense. Michael Crabtree is their WR1, their RB1 is pretty unproven in Alex Collins, their O-line is decent with a few gems, and their current starting QB Joe Flacco should be a backup. Hurst could easily break out as the most talented player on the offense and get many targets from Flacco and eventually LAMAR JACKSON! Hurst could be the Evan Engram of last season and I expect him to play a big role in the Ravens offense this season. He could find his way into the ROY discussion.

Just missed: Lamar Jackson/QB/Ravens, Baker Mayfield/QB/Browns, Quenton Nelson/OL/Colts

Thanks for reading!

Photo Cred: PennLive.com, New England Patriots, AL.com, numberFire, Newsday,