After the season ends, loyal NFL fans look forward to April of each year to see what gifts the NFL draft will bring them. Of course, the NFL will extend that wait until May starting next season. No matter what position your team is drafting from, you always hope they find gems to plug those gaping holes or find the heir to replace current studs in key positions. For us, we look across the league to see which players have been drafted to teams in a place where they will make an impact on the fantasy football landscape.

Therefore, Maximum Fantasy Sports has put their collective heads together and ranked the top 5 relevant fantasy football rookies in the primary skill positions and their projected round of drafts in the standard 12-team fantasy football leagues. There was a time when we would avoid every rookie quarterback coming into the league. However, the game has changed at the college and professional levels in ways that allow talented quarterbacks to move to center and be immediately productive. It’s amazing to look at QB stats from the 2012 season and see several rookies near the top. Drafting RGIII last year led many teams to the fantasy playoffs. Adding Colin Kaepernick late in the season led many teams to fantasy gold. Who from this year’s draft will be the key players in your run to the championship? Below is Maximum Fantasy Sports’ consensus review for the NFL’s new crop of rookies.

quarterbacks

HAS. geno smith (New York Jets): Draft forecasters had Geno listed as the first quarterback off the board and many thought he would be a first-round pick. Unfortunately for his ego, wallet and job satisfaction, the Jets drafted him in the second round. Surprisingly, Jets fans were not enthusiastic about the selection. I’m confused since the back fumbler is currently their starting QB. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Geno win the boot camp job. Too bad he has no one to throw out. He is a 14th round pick at best.

b. Legal Justice Manual (Buffalo): EJ is this year’s dual-threat QB. He has the wheels and the arm, albeit not very precise, to succeed. He will start on the bench with Kevin Kolb filling in as the starter to start the season. Since Kolb is made of cupcakes and doesn’t have much talent, Manual should land the job in no time. He’s a speculative addition, at best, with the last pick in your draft.

against mike glennon (Tampa): Manuel is the QB of the “new NFL” and Glennon is the “Old NFL.” You’re not going to see this guy running much. He’s 6’7″ and has a cannon for an arm. Josh Freeman is the guaranteed starter, but he really faltered down the stretch last year. Tampa has a lot of talent on offense, so if Freeman stumbles again, Glennon could be made I would have no problem selecting Freeman as my QB2 and backing him up with Glennon as my last pick in my deeper leagues.

d. tyler wilson (Oakland): Well, it’s better than New York, but not by much. Wilson joins a team that has been looking for a good quarterback since Rich Gannon led them to the Super Bowl in 2002. Matt Flynn gets the nod this year. Carson Palmer put up some good fantasy numbers last year, but I don’t expect anything good from Wilson, even if he gets the job at some point. Not writeable.

ME. matt barkley (Philadelphia): With Michael Vick and Nick Foles ahead of him, Barkley probably won’t see the field this year. Unfortunately for him, had he come out in 2012, he would have been a first-round pick and might have had some success. He’s talented, so you might consider signing him at some point in the season if you’re in a deep Fantasy Football Keeper league.

RB

HAS. Montee Ball (Denver): Ball gets into a good spot in Denver; they have a rock-solid passing attack so teams can’t box-load to stop the run and the Broncos have a stable of RBs coming off serious injuries. The Wisconsin grad had been putting up NFL-style seasons in college (300+ carries each of the past two years). Some people may walk away from it due to workload. I think he’s set him up for a grueling NFL season. He would add him as a late third round or early fourth round pick.

b. Le’Veon Bell (Pittsburgh): Bell is a perfect fit for the Steelers. He fits the mold of him at 6’2″ and 230 pounds. The Steelers had no success with the various running backs they threw onto the field last year and they’d love for Bell to be their workhorse. I thought jonathan dwyer He was that player last year when the Steelers drafted him, but they know they weren’t happy with him when they decided to draft another RB in Bell. He should be the next off the board after Ball.

against eddie lace (Green Bay): Like Bell, Lacy will go to a Super Bowl contending team that needs a running back. Lacy would be at the top of this list if the Packers didn’t respond jonathan franklin too. I love Franklin and have decided to add him here as 3B. Both are draftable, with Lacy being a fifth-round pick and Franklin an eighth-round pick, but they will split the carries this season.

d. zac stacy (St. Louis): Who will replace Steven Jackson? The Rams face that dilemma. They have Daryl Richardson and Isaiah Pead, but neither is sure they are The Man. Stacy tore it up at Vanderbilt, which is a good place to hide your talent. I would add him in the 11th round and hope St. Louis recognizes his talent and gets him the rock.

ME. stepfan taylor (Arizona): The Cardinals can’t keep a starting RB healthy. The two boys ahead of Taylor; Rashard Mendenhall and Ryan Williams are ACL casualties in recent years, so add Taylor in the late round if he selects either of these RBs.

WR

HAS. tavon austin (St. Louis): Austin is a blazer and will love the turf in St. Louis. He’ll take the space left open by Danny Amendola’s departure. Sam Bradford will call his number as often as he did Amendola’s. There is talk that he will even slide into the backfield a few times per game. With over 100 sacks at West Virginia in the past two years, you know he can handle the workload. He would select him in the sixth round.

b. andre hopkins (Houston): FINALLY, someone who can play across the field from Andre Johnson. Matt Schaub, Johnson and Hopkins are thrilled with this draft pick. He is a true mainstay standout and captures everything in sight. There is no doubt that he starts the first game and he does not look back. He would grab it in the seventh round.

against cordarelle patterson (Minny): Patterson’s stock fell with questions about his character, which is funny considering he took Randy Moss’ number; His idol of him! If he stays focused, it’s a great play waiting to happen. Greg Jennings is Minny’s No. 1 receiver, but he’s far from the big threat that Patterson is. He won’t catch 100 balls this year, but he will have a big YPR and a lot of YAC. He’s a solid ninth-round pick.

d. Aaron Dobson (New England): Out with the old and in with the new. Dobson joins a new receiving corps in New England. Tom Brady likes to spread the ball around and Danny Amendola will take Wes Welker’s place, but Dobson should win Brady over easily. The boy had no Drops last year! I would grab Dobson in round 12

ME. Keenan Allen (San Diego): Based on sheer talent, Allen would be ranked much, much higher. His problems are that he is coming off a knee injury and has a group of WRs in front of him that he will need to buy time for. However, Vincent Brown is also coming back from injury, Robert Meachem didn’t turn out much last year and Malcolm Floyd is an enigma. It’s worth going up against him in the last two rounds of your draft.

Your

HAS. Tyler Eifert (Cincinnati): Eifert could almost be listed in the WR category since he’s got that makeup. The Bengals are convinced that Jermaine Gresham is their No. 1 TE, but they’re sure Eifert could be that and more. Quarterback Andy Dalton likes to throw his TE and adding Eifert makes him smile. Expect Eifert to be the second leading pass catcher for the Bengals this year. TE is deep into the NFL, but I wouldn’t wait too long to add Eifert. The eighth round seems the ideal place.

b. travis kelce (Kansas City): Kelce will join a team that has 2 young TEs with NFL experience in front of it. However, Alex Smith likes his tight ends and Kelce is better than Tony Moeaki and Anthony Fasano. He keep an eye out for training camp this summer and see if Kelce makes some noise. If so, you can recruit him around round 15.

against zach ertz (Philadelphia): Chip Kelly takes over Philadelphia and no one knows what to expect. Brent Celek has been TE’s mainstay for years in Philly, but we give Ertz a good chance to unseat him. He’s big and fast and should be a great fit for Kelly’s offense. With that being said, we’re talking about a rookie coach who can stick with his veterans early on, so once again, pay attention to training camp and be prepared to grab Ertz near the end of his draft if he looks like he’s getting . lots of field time.

d. McDonald Vance (San Francisco): McDonald was recruited to replace DelanieWalker. He’s not a great blocker, but he is a talented receiver, albeit a very raw one. Vernon Davis didn’t click with quarterback Colin Kaepernick until late last season and there’s no guarantee he’ll carry over this season. McDonald is 6’4″ and 262 pounds, so he’s just the right size to succeed. It’s unknown how many of Walker’s targets he’ll actually see. I wouldn’t recommend drafting him, but keep him on his watch list.

ME. jordan reed (Washington): Florida drafted Reed at quarterback. They made him a TE and became their primary pass catcher last year, though they weren’t impressive numbers. He’s still raw and has Fred Davis and Logan Paulsen ahead of him in the Redskins pecking order. He is not draftable this season and will only see the field due to injury.