Junior league: Underclassmen's early impact on NFL is on the rise

The draft is all of 10 days past, and already it seems hopelessly dated to declare Oakland 's Darren McFadden the chic pick to be the NFL 's impact rookie in 2008. And not just because he's a running back. Maybe more importantly, he's a running back who entered the draft after his junior season.

In case you haven't noticed, underclassmen have fairly well ruled the NFL 's rookie classes in recent years. It was Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson 's impact that made headlines in 2007. Tennessee quarterback Vince Young , New Orleans running back Reggie Bush and Jacksonville 's Maurice Jones-Drew did likewise in 2006. And in 2004, we were all raving about the play of Pittsburgh rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger . Three of the NFL 's last four Offensive Rookie of the Year winners were among that group, and they were juniors all.

McFadden looks like the best bet to continue the impact junior trend, but he's far from the only candidate in the draft's Class of 2008. Though there were no underclassmen quarterbacks selected this year, the first four running backs off the board were all juniors -- McFadden at No. 4, Jonathan Stewart to No. 13 Carolina , Felix Jones to No. 22 Dallas and Rashard Mendenhall to No. 23 Pittsburgh . All told, eight of the 11 running backs taken in the first three rounds were juniors, with only Chris Johnson (No. 24 to Tennessee ), Matt Forte (No. 44 to Chicago ), and Jacob Hester (No. 69 to San Diego ) going against the trend.

"It's unbelievable, but the juniors actually provided the depth to this year's draft,'' said Baltimore executive vice president/general manager Ozzie Newsome , noting that 31 juniors went in the top three rounds. "If it wasn't for the juniors, I don't know what the draft would have been like this year. Take the running back position. If the juniors don't come out, what would you have had?''

Sifting through the results of this year's draft, it is hard to miss how pronounced the underclassmen effect has become at the very top of the proceedings. In 2008, juniors again made a strong showing in the top 10 and the first round, with four of the first 10 players selected being underclassmen, and 11 of 31 in the opening round.

That's actually down a bit from 2007, when five of the top 10 picks were juniors, with 14 of 32 first-round selections being underclassmen. Same basic story in 2006, when six of the top 10 were juniors -- including the first three picks in Mario Williams , Bush and Young -- and the first round included 12 underclassmen. That's a three-year total of 37 juniors out of a possible 95 first-round picks, or a whopping 39 percent.

While there haven't been quite as many impact juniors on the defensive side in the past three years, three of the past six Defensive Rookie of the Year winners were underclassmen: Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers in 2002, Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs in 2003 and San Diego linebacker Shawne Merriman in 2005. This year's strongest DROY candidates figure to include Jets linebacker Vernon Gholston , Jacksonville defensive end Derrick Harvey , and Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo , all of whom were top 10 picks as underclassmen.

"It is a case by case judgment when you're scouting juniors, but what we're learning is if you're a three-year starter as a junior, you're probably experienced enough to play in the NFL ,'' said Newsome , whose Ravens have had some success drafting juniors such as Suggs and running back Jamal Lewis , and some misses, like receiver Travis Taylor .

"That junior who is a three-year starter, he's been playing since the day he stepped on campus. But of course you've got to think about the position they play too. Certainly running backs and cornerbacks and even linebackers, they can contribute quickly because a lot of it is more instinctive. But that's not really the case at quarterback, and receiver and defensive line. Those positions are ones where it's hard for juniors to show up quickly.''

Baltimore drafted a junior running back this year, selecting Rutgers ' Ray Rice with a second-round pick, the 55th overall selection. Three more junior running backs went in the third round: Central Florida's Kevin Smith to Detroit , Texas 's Jamaal Charles to Kansas City and West Virginia 's Steve Slaton to Houston .