Rookie Holdouts DE Harvey, LB Rivers Crushing Their IDP Value
With training camps well underway, two high-profile defensive players who entered the NFL this past April are holding out, and sliding down draft boards in the process.
DE Derrick Harvey’s agent Ken Kremer is feuding with the Jaguars’ front office/coaching staff about what is a “reasonable” signing bonus - in the meantime, head coach Jack Del Rio called Harvey’s salary demands “ridiculous” and has indicated in no uncertain terms that Harvey is falling behind by missing training camp reps. Harvey is currently 41st in the Footballguys.com IDP Experts’ consensus rankings, but has fallen completely off draft guru Sigmund Bloom’s board.
Meanwhile, the 9th pick of the NFL Draft (one pick after Harvey this past April), Keith Rivers, is also a holdout missing training camp. Rivers was the favorite to win a starting OLB slot with the Bengals after his selection at the top of the 1st round, but his chances dim with each missed practice. Right now, he’s lurking at #40 on the Footballguys.com IDP Experts’ consensus rankings.
Stay tuned to see if and when these young players join their teams - right now, they are damaging their chances to start when the season opens in September. In the worst case scenarios, each may ruin their IDP production for the entire upcoming season, depending on who claims the roster spots that Jacksonville and Cincinnati envisioned Harvey and Rivers filling back in April.
Happy Drafting!
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As it is, it is very hard for rookie defensive ends to make a big impact in their first year. Harvey’s holdout is decreasing the chance he gets any shot at being an everydown end by the day. I expect his main role to be pass rush specialist, but he’ll have to share that role with Quentin Groves, who I think is a better pure pass rusher. Mark Anderson made a big impact in a similar role in 2006, so it’s not impossible for Harvey to be relevant in IDP leagues this year, but I’m not betting on it.
Comment by Sigmund Bloom — August 5, 2008 @ 9:03 am