Kelvin Benjamin, WR Carolina Panthers Rookie Fantasy Spotlight
Byron Lambert, Rosterwatch.com

Kelvin Benjamin is a rookie a receiver who we’ve scouted live on multiple occasions. We got a very close look at him- from about 10 yards away on the sideline at Florida State Pro Day- where we video taped every single route that he ran.

He has some trouble getting off the line of scrimmage. However, he runs very well downfield for a big man – a characteristic that showed up in his 18.7 YPC average in 2013. Sometimes he drops catches he should make from what appears to be a lapse in concentration. On the other hand, he’s capable of making catches that very few others can.

Benjamin struck us as a good teammate. Fellow FSU rookies Lamarcus Joyner, Telvin Smith, and Devonta Freeman couldn’t contain their respect for Kelvin as football player during pro day interviews. Heck, even an adversary of Benjamin’s – talented rookie running back Tre Mason went out of his way at Auburn Pro Day to tell us how impressive of a football player that Benjamin is- calling him a “freak”.

We like Benjamin as a prospect, but still have our questions. He was drafted appropriately in the late first round by the Panthers. Their receiver position is a glaring need, and Carolina made a move that we love – they rolled the dice on the guy with massive upside at 6’5″ 240 pounds. Some fear if it doesn’t work out, that it’ll be USC Mike Williams Part 2. We say Benjamin likely has a floor of a nice possession receiver and red-zone target.

In terms of fantasy football, you just couldn’t draw up a better landing spot than Carolina for Kelvin Benjamin. Not a single one of out all 32.

Benjamin scored 15 touchdowns and caught passes for over a 1,000 yards last year from Jameis Winston in a pro style offense. It’s not all that hard to imagine something similar by year two with Cam Newton, who has never had a weapon like Benjamin before.

The rest of the Panthers depth chart – if you can call it that, leaves much to be desired: Jerricho Cotchery, Jason Avant, Tiquan Underwood, Marvin McNutt, and Tavarres King. (on a side note- we’ll give Gettleman some credit for trying to patchwork this pathetic group with a couple of our deep sleepers from recent years in McNutt and King.)

The circumstances catapult the polarizing rookie prospect up to the No. 2 spot on our Rookie WR Dynasty Rankings. He has a clear path to success, and upside in the Alshon Jeffery range, making Benjamin worth a top 2-5 pick in upcoming PPR rookie dynasty drafts.

In re-draft leagues, Benjamin will be neck-and-neck with Mike Evans and Brandin Cooks as our top-ranked rookie wide receivers for 2014. Likely, warranting a mid-to-late-round pick.