by Michael Grass

Created on: August 20, 2009

Football season is nearly upon us, and we all are looking forward to watching our favorite teams and players. In New England, everyone is eagerly awaiting Tom Brady's first snap. In Detroit, the Lion fans want to see their team just win a game and in Pittsburgh the Steelers will be trying to repeat as Super Bowl champions.

The NFL holds a draft every April. Each team gets 7 draft picks to try and better their teams for the coming season. Some teams get more picks and some less. Picks are gained or lost based on trades and the signing of free agents. Every pick that a team makes is not going to be a great one, some may be All-Pro's, and others may be out of the league in a year but without a doubt there will be some rookies that will make a huge impact this season.

To be clear, impact should be defined by not only playing, but playing well. Both the Jets and the Lions drafted quarterbacks in the 1st round and I am sure both Matthew Stafford (Lions) and Mark Sanchez (Jets) will play a lot this season, but as rookie QB's I do not think they will make the same positive impact that Joe Flacco of the Ravens and Matt Ryan made from the Falcons.

The first rookie I see making a huge impact this season is Percy Harvin of the Minnesota Vikings. He was the 22nd pick in the 1st round by the Vikings. The Vikings have the number one running back in the league in Adrian Peterson, so the defense will not be focusing their efforts on stopping Harvin. Covering him one on one will be a huge mistake made this season, he was one of the fastest players in college last season, running a 4.41 40 yard dash in front of scouts. The Vikings will be quarterbacked by Brett Farve this season and with his strong arm and Harvin's speed on Minnesota's indoor stadium I predict many long gains on passes to Harvin this season.

Another offensive rookie who I believe will have a huge impact this season is Chris Wells of the Arizona Cardinals. Chris was drafted by the Cardinals with the 31st pick in the 1st round. Chris is the rare kind of running back, who likes running between the tackles for the tough yards, but also who has the speed to break away for the long gains. This is the perfect team for Chris to run with because Arizona is known for its passing game. Kurt Warner will be throwing a lot of balls to Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, so when the defense uses more defenders to stop the pass, this will allow Wells

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