Newbies

Each of the 32 NFL teams have spent the entire offseason working on their rosters. The better teams have made minor changes. Except the Denver Broncos. They were in the Super Bowl and still made a ton of changes. The lesser teams have done what they could to join the better teams. Every team has new players that will make an impact on the 2014 season. Here are the Flea Flicker choices for impact newbies for each of the 32 teams.

Minnesota Vikings:
LB Anthony Barr
Barr was selected 23 spots before Teddy Bridgewater in the 2014 NFL Draft. You wouldn't know it by the attention paid to the two rookies. It's always about the quarterback. Barr has the ridiculous sort of athletic ability to be an impact player early. If his understanding of Mike Zimmer's defense and NFL offenses ever catch up with that athletic ability, Barr will be a star.

Green Bay Packers:
S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix
The Packers defense may finally be catching up with their terrific offense. Clinton-Dix should play a big role in that. Plus, he has one of the best names in the entire league.

Chicago Bears:
DE Jared Allen
Allen's motor still does not quit.

Detroit Lions:
LB Kyle Van Noy
Van Noy was one of my favorite defensive players in the draft. He can make plays all over the field. He'll also be playing behind one of the better defensive lines in the league.

San Francisco 49ers:
S Antoine Bethea
Bethea was solid with the Colts for a long time. He'll be solid with the 49ers. He will also be an excellent mentor for rising safety Eric Reid and rookie Jimmie Ward.

Seattle Seahawks:
WR Paul Richardson
Percy Harvin, when he's healthy, is the Seahawks most dangerous receiver. The problem with that is that he doesn't really play receiver. He rarely runs the designed route. He just gets the ball and makes something happen with it. Richardson might already be the Seahawks must gifted receiver. Good hands. Fast. Makes plays. Every time that I saw him play at Colorado he took over the game.

Arizona Cardinals:
G Jonathan Cooper
Cooper was the 7th pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. He broke his leg in the preseason and didn't play a snap last year. Cooper will move things in the Cardinals favor this year.

St. Louis Rams:
DT Aaron Donald
Donald was another of my defensive favorites in this past draft. If he was about four inches taller than his listed 6', he might have been the first pick in the draft. He was unblockable at times in college. He will make a very talented Rams defensive line even better.

New Orleans Saints:
WR Brandin Cooks
As with Richardson in Seattle, Cooks might already be the most talented receiver in New Orleans. Drew Brees will love throwing to Cooks.

Atlanta Falcons:
WR Julio Jones
The Falcons offense fell apart when Jones injured his foot last year. He's back. When he's healthy, the Falcons offense is a threat every moment that they are on the field.

Carolina Panthers
WR Kelvin Benjamin
Benjamin simply has to be an impact player early. After letting Steve Smith go in the offseason the Panthers simply have no other receivers that throw a tremble in a defense. Benjamin is nearly tight end-sized. He has the talent to succeed.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford
Not a player. The Buccaneers added a bunch of players this offseason. Any one of them (Michael Johnson, Alterraun Verner, Mike Evans) could be the choice here. As Cal's head coach, and as an assistant at Fresno St. and Oregon, Tedford earned a reputation as a quarterback guru. Aaron Rodgers was the only one of his quarterbacks that did anything in the NFL. That's hardly on Tedford as he didn't follow those quarterbacks to the NFL. Now, Tedford is in the NFL for the first time. He's a very good football coach. If he can get the Buccaneers offense humming, he should be a hot head coaching candidate next January.

New York Giants:
CB Walter Thurmond
The Giants made some nice additions this offseason. The addition of Thurmond might be their best. He had a lot of talent around him in Seattle but he proved last season that he can cover NFL receivers. Paired with Prince Amukamara, the Giants have a couple of nice, young corners to help get the defense back on track.

Philadelphia Eagles:
WR Jordan Matthews
It seems that Eagles head coach Chip Kelly has a strange fascination with showing that his offense shines with marginal receiving talent. In an extremely talented receiver draft class, Matthews was probably the most underrated. I wouldn't be surprised if Matthews is the first rookie receiver to make an early impact.

Dallas Cowboys:
DT Henry Melton
Melton was right on the cusp of becoming one of the best defensive linemen in the league. Then he tore his ACL last season and the Bears chose to go another route. If healthy, the Cowboys got an excellent football player.

Washington Redskins:
QB Robert Griffin III
I'm going with the assumption that a Griffin with a bad wheel isn't a real Griffin. He wasn't really around last season so he's a newbie this season. With Alfred Morris, Pierre Garcon, DeSean Jackson, Jordan Reed, and Andre Roberts, Robert Griffin III has some serious offensive weapons around him. With defense's ability to slow an offense in serious doubt, the Redskins could be in some shootouts.

Denver Broncos:
T Ryan Clady
It's incredible that Peyton Manning was able to have the season that he had last year without Clady in front of him. Clady is one of the best tackles in the game. He returns and the Broncos offense is automatically better than it was last season.

Kansas City Chiefs:
The entire offensive line
It's hard to believe that the Chiefs lost tackle Branden Albert, and guards Jon Asamoah and Geoff Schwartz. That's a lot of talent to lose all at once. The Chiefs will be going with a nearly new offensive line in 2014. They have to find some combination of big guys to keep Alex Smith's pocket clean and open holes for Jamaal Charles.

San Diego Chargers:
CB Jason Verrett
If Verrett was 6'2", rather than 5'10", he would have been a top-10 pick. Instead he was the 25th. No matter his size, he's an excellent corner and the Chargers defense will be better with him in it.

Oakland Raiders:
LB Kahlil Mack
The Raiders added a lot of players this offseason. They had to. Mack is an elite football talent.

Indianapolis Colts:
DE Arthur Jones
I thought that the Colts addition of Jones was one of the most underrated in all of free agency. Head coach Chuck Pagano will build an effective defense in Indianapolis. Jones will be a big part of it.

Houston Texans:
DE Jadeveon Clowney
Clowney has out-of-this-world talent. Consistent effort during games was the only question. It's difficult to imagine J.J. Watt allowing anything less than 100% effort on his defense.

Tennessee Titans:
RB Bishop Sankey
Sankey was an excellent back in college. With Chris Johnson in New York, the door is open for Sankey to be the same excellent back in the NFL.

Jacksonville Jaguars:
RB Toby Gerhart
Gerhart got a raw deal when he was drafted to be Adrian Peterson's backup in Minnesota. When he did get a chance to play, he was great. While he is a downhill, power runner, Gerhart can run with a little wiggle. The Jaguars got a terrific football player.

Baltimore Ravens:
LB C.J. Mosley
A year after the retirement of Ray Lewis, the Ravens may have found their new defensive leader. Mosley should make an impact early and often.

Pittsburgh Steelers:
LB Ryan Shazier
For a draft that seemed to be best known for it's receivers and a certain quarterback, there were a lot of excellent linebackers in the 2014 NFL Draft. Mack, Barr, Mosley, Van Noy, and this guy. Shazier is fast. Very fast. It's incredible that the Steelers nearly overhauled their entire defense in about two years. The addition of Shazier should complete the changes at linebacker.

Cleveland Browns:
QB Johnny Manziel
It's difficult to imagine Brian Hoyer starting over Manziel. The likely loss of receiver Josh Gordon to a suspension leaves any Browns quarterback with modest pass-catching talent. If Manziel can play with the playmaking pizzazz that he had in college, it might not matter.

Cincinnati Bengals:
RB Jeremy Hill
After drafting Giovani Bernard in the second round last year, I was little surprised when the Bengals selected Hill in the second round this year. Bernard and Hill bring different sorts of running to the Bengals offense. Bernard will run past you and around you. At over 230 lbs, Hill will just tear you up. The Bengals have a lot of firepower and versatility on offense.

New England Patriots:
CB Darrelle Revis
The addition of Revis to the Patriots defense might be the biggest addition in the entire league. He's nearly two years removed from his ACL injury. Revis and Belichick together at last. Oh my.

New York Jets:
S Calvin Pryor
Rex Ryan should have the sort of fun with Pryor this season that his brother had with Kenny Vaccaro in New Orleans last season.

Buffalo Bills:
WR Sammy Watkins
The top of the rookie crop of receivers. The Bills gave up a decent amount to move up in the draft to select Watkins. His talent was worth the cost. Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods are excellent young receivers for the Bills.

Miami Dolphins:
T Branden Albert
The Dolphins line was a mess last season. Off the field as well as on. They had to get better. They couldn't have had a better start to improving the line than adding Albert to it.