Rookie Spin on Montario Hardesty

In one of our new weekly features, we will be joining forces with Fantasy Football Spin to highlight the top rookie from each team in the NFL.

The Cleveland Browns selected Montario Hardesty in the second round (59^th overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft.  Hardesty has generated plenty of buzz lately, and he is a player to know going into your fantasy football drafts this summer.

Hardesty has lined up as the starting running back over late-season breakout player Jerome Harrison in OTA practices.  A time-share for Hardesty and Harrison seems inevitable, but the early camp reports are encouraging for Hardesty owners.

Montario Hardesty has already made a good impression on head coach Eric Mangini with his maturity and ability to pick up things quickly in rookie mini-camp.  Hardesty will see plenty of action as a rookie, and could form a potent running back tandem with the undersized Jerome Harrison going forward.

Hardesty is one of our favorite running backs in this draft class and enters a great situation on the rebuilding Browns franchise.  Jerome Harrison performed admirably down the stretch in 2009, but he does not have the size to hold up for an entire season.

Hardesty finished his senior season at Tennessee with 1,345 yards (4.8 YPC) and 13 touchdowns.  The only concerns about Hardesty are his injury history and the recent struggles of the Browns’ offense.

Hardesty can hardly be called a sleeper anymore with all the positive buzz coming out of Cleveland.  Hardesty’s current ADP according to Fantasy Football Calculator is 9.01 and RB39.  His ADP will continue to rise if it becomes clear he is the favorite to start over Jerome Harrison.

In dynasty rookie drafts, Hardesty is ranked 8^th overall in our rankings and 4^th overall at the running back position.

Hardesty is someone you should consider in your redraft leagues despite the struggles the Browns will experience, although, we would not recommend reaching on Hardesty to be anything higher than your RB4 on your fantasy team this summer.