Wild about the Wildcat

03. Jul, 2009 0 Comments

The Dolphins shook up the NFL landscape last season during a Week 3 stunning upset of the New England Patriots. Running back Ronnie Brown took several direct snaps with Quarterback Chad Pennington split out wide, and steam rolled the Patriots to the tune of 3 rushing touchdowns and a touchdown pass. In a league of copy cat tactics, the latest buzz word in the NFL is the “Wildcat” formation.

The Wildcat formation involves having the QB split out wide or sent to the sidelines and the offense has a running threat take a direct snap in the shotgun. This formation gives opposing defenses fits because they must be ready for the option run or the passing threat from the Wildcat. Football lesson over for now, but there are several rookie prospects that RookieBlitz.com would like to highlight that may have some sleeper potential in your fantasy football drafts.

Percy Harvin was a player without a position during his career at Florida. The Minnesota Vikings drafted Harvin with the 22nd selection in the 2009 NFL draft based on the video game numbers he put up during his 3 year career. Harvin averaged almost 10 yards per rushing attempt, 15 yards per reception, and a touchdown scored almost every 10 touches of the football. Needless to say, the Vikings have to be giddy to get Harvin involved in their offense on that fast track in the Metrodome. Regardless if Brett Favre is a Viking or not, expect Harvin to be used heavily as the Viking Wildcat QB. Taking the snap from the shotgun will allow Harvin to accurate read whether to run or pass, and his speed will keep defenses up at night in preparation. If you remember the name DeSean Jackson from 2008, Harvin will make you forget Jackson’s name very quickly in 2009.

The lesser of the two rookie Wildcat prospects even though he was exclusively an option quarterback at West Virginia is Pat White of the Miami Dolphins. I don’t need to go into great detail why the Dolphins sought out White in the second round of the draft, but obviously Bill Parcells wanted more of a passing threat than Ronnie Brown in the Wildcat formation. On paper, this marriage of talent and opportunity makes all the sense in the world even at the expense of the stellar play of Chad Pennington.

White has struggled mightily during early OTA practices with his accuracy and has a strong track record of struggling as a practice player. When the lights come on for game time though, White is a gamer with 4 college bowl game wins in 4 tries. White also proved the doubters wrong during the Senior Bowl game winning Under Armour MVP honors after many pundits had him pegged for wide receiver in the NFL. White probably won’t see the field much as a rookie, but he is definitely worth keeping an eye in the future especially if he has some wide receiver eligibility in some fantasy leagues.

Analysis

RookieBlitz.com is very high on Harvin’s 2009 prospects as well as being an exciting player for many years in the NFL. The hype train is building steam, and as we get closer to the preseason Harvin’s value keeps going up. White is worth a late round flier in a rookie only draft, but will not have any fantasy impact in 2009.