Which rookies will play in 2011

He is fearless with the football in his hands and has shown tremendous athleticism at the quarterback position. Newton's 2, passing yards and 11 touchdowns are impressive enough. Add to that his rushing yards and seven scores, and Newton has unprecedented production for a rookie signal caller. Green , Cincinnati Bengals - Many thought A. Green would struggle to make a smooth transition to the NFL given his quarterback situation and lack of talent around him.

However, Green has shown that he has the talent to excel in any situation, and the Bengals have been the surprise of the season. The former Georgia Bulldog has yards and six touchdowns in nine games this season.

Andy Dalton , Cincinnati, Bengals - Speaking of the perceived weakness at the quarterback position for the Cincinnati Bengals, Andy Dalton has silenced all of his critics.

Dalton has 1, yards and 14 touchdowns this season in addition to leading the Bengals to a record. He has yards rushing on only carries and has shown no signs of slowing down. If he continues to dominate the opposition, Murray will have a shot to overtake Cam Newton. Shumpert's agility and explosiveness are going to be limited for the rest of his career.

It's a shame, because as a rookie, he showed Defensive Player of the Year potential. When he and Tyson Chandler were on the floor together, the Knicks almost always had the two best defensive players in the game.

His defense was so good that the Knicks honestly felt like they had a chance against Miami because he could contain Dwyane Wade. Rookies aren't supposed to play defense at that level. In the NBA, defense is about intelligence and experience as much as skill. Once he learned the tendencies of his opponents and started to settle in as an NBA player, Shumpert had lockdown potential.

And now there's a chance we'll never see it. It's a shame, because I can honestly say I've never enjoyed watching a rookie grow more than I did with Shumpert. Let's hope he has a speedy recovery. MarShon Brooks is the anti-Shumpert.

He's a pure volume scorer. And I emphasize the word "volume" because he's never seen a shot he didn't like. But shot selection is something that improves with experience, and Brooks was playing on a bad team. As the Nets get better, he's going to settle into a more comfortable role as a designated scorer rather than a straight-up chucker.

It's foolish to judge rookies on consistency alone, as there are so many external factors at play. They're still getting used to the speed of the pro game, the motions of their teammates and the personalities around them.

Early in the season, he looked like a future star, as he led all rookies in scoring for a brief period. He slowed down a bit, but nobody could have expected him to maintain that pace. What counts is that he showed flashes of a great player.

It may take him some time to harness it, but for now, the Nets have to be happy with him as their shooting guard of the future. Brandon Knight is a tweener, and unless you're Allen Iverson , tweeners have a pretty defined ceiling. Knight shot more than both Thompson and Brooks, yet he's supposed to be a point guard. His shooting would be fine if he was efficient, but he shot only Pure point guards need to focus on passing and only scoring on easy looks.

That isn't Knight, and it doesn't look like it ever will be. The eighth-overall selection in the draft, he averaged only 3. He'd be great at providing instant offense, as scoring is clearly his area of expertise. He just doesn't seem like a pure point guard, and like it or not, true point guards win games. If Knight is utilized correctly, he could be a very valuable player, doing for Detroit what Jason Terry does for Dallas.

Sadly, I think the Pistons are going to keep trying to use him as a point guard. Chandler Parsons is one of the more complete players from this rookie class, which is odd considering he was a second-round pick.

On offense, he does a little bit of everything. He hits almost 34 percent of his threes, but is also underrated athletically.

He's even a solid passer, putting up 2. He's not great at any one aspect of offense, but he's useful in almost every way. Parsons is long enough to defend passing lanes, has the right combination of size and quickness to guard multiple positions and has picked up the nuances of NBA defense very quickly for a rookie. In fact, he was so impressive that he actually managed to do the impossible: He received a compliment by Kobe Bryant.

Parsons will never be a star, but he has the potential to be a long-term starter because of his versatility. It's impossible to take him out of the game because he can do so much. That's a very rare trait in a rookie, especially one who was picked No. I feel a little guilty about putting Markieff Morris this high just because he got to play with Steve Nash.

Having Nash as a teammate is basically the equivalent of an MLB rookie getting to use a metal bat. It's an unfair advantage. You can't look at his raw numbers to evaluate Morris' stats, as he played less than 20 minutes per game, but he was very good with his time.

He averaged If he gets more playing time next year and improves as he should, expect him to put up those numbers every night next year. Offensively, Morris needs to work on creating his own high-percentage shots. He was a solid spot-up shooter, but almost a third of his shots were three-pointers.

At 6'10" and , that seems wasteful for someone of his size. His defense also needs work. He has the body to defend big men and the quickness to spend some time on the perimeter, but he doesn't seem entirely comfortable with either. This could stem from the fact that he doesn't have a defined position. He tries to play like a perimeter player when his body says he should be a big man. The Suns need to give him a more defined role next year. Personally, I'd like to see him work on being more of a pure big man.

The talent is definitely there, and his shooting will make him a versatile threat. He's come a long way from living in his twin brother's shadow. Derrick Williams is frustrating. In terms of physical ability, he has no equal in this class, and that includes Kyrie Irving. Yet he spends so much time on the floor looking completely lost. There are games like the one he had against the Clippers in February, where he went off for 27 points on 9-of shooting, but then he'll disappear for two weeks.

It's agonizing. It's not entirely his fault; he's in a precarious position. He should probably be used as a stretch power forward—someone who can play on the perimeter but only shares the lane with one other big man the center. The problem is, he plays with Kevin Love on the team, so playing power forward is out of the question. That means Williams is going to have to play out of position, but the Wolves are so young that the transition is going to be a challenge.

Williams' destiny is tied to Ricky Rubio. He's the one player on the Wolves that can make his situation work. Unfortunately, most of next year will be about recovery for Rubio, so Williams' growing pains will continue. He is a passer first but can also surprise you with a quick and accurate release, and is also very dangerous in close with a goal-scorers finishing touch.

If he can eventually work his way into playing with Rick Nash and the newly acquired Jeff Carter, look for the year-old to be among the leading rookie scorers and a strong contender for the Calder Trophy. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins C Edmonton Oilers : While the questions surrounding Nugent-Hopkins remain, the 1 pick in the draft showed in the pre-season that his speed and skill make up for any of the worries people might have about his light frame.

The slick center ranked as one of the pre-season assist leaders with five, showing some early chemistry with fellow phenoms Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle. There were times when he looked overmatched by the constant pounding of NHL defensemen, but his electrifying ability with the puck on his stick made it easy to forget those instances.

The year-old is simply a marvel to watch. He has the rare ability to dart in and out of traffic yet still have the awareness of knowing where the open player is and then deliver a pass that results in a scoring oppurtunity. Although it is unfair to judge a player based on the first 10 games of his career, that is likely to be the case with the Oilers and Nugent-Hopkins. If he can continue to produce the way he did in the pre-season the Oilers will have no choice but to keep him around for the year.

Resident of Windsor, Ontario. Here are ten first year players who should have an impact on their respective teams for the upcoming season: