1. DeJuan Blair (Spurs): The Spurs second round pick (shown left) has come out firing on all cylinders and is tied for the lead among rookies for points per game (with Blake Griffin) at 14.7, and he’s doing it in 10 less minutes per game. Also averaging over 8 rebounds.

2. Blake Griffin (Clippers): The only reason he’s not first is because expectations are much higher of him for being the first overall pick. Leads rookies in points per game, rebounds and has a field goal percentage of .603. Not bad, kid.

3. Jonny Flynn (T-Wolves): Has been better than expected, and may very well be starting the season opener. Has averaged over 14 points and 4 assists per game. Will he lead my Wolves to the playoffs? Yeah right.

4. Tyreke Evans (Kings): Has shown flashes to indicate he’s ready to play the point for the Kings. Averaging over 14 points a game, and although not as good as fellow alum Derrick Rose, looks like he’ll be a player to reckon with someday.

5. Marcus Thornton (Hornets): The 43rd pick has been a steal averaging over 12 points a game and shooting .400 from beyond the arc. He’s also averaging less minutes per game than all the dudes on this list except Blair.

Notable Dudes Left Out:

• Ricky Rubio (uhhh, T-Wolves?): I’m glad my hometown team wasted a pick on this joker. He’ll never play a minute for the Wolves.
• Stephen Curry (Warriors): Averaging 10 points a game, but doing so with just a .366 field goal percentage, including .222 from beyond the arc. Not what I expected from the best sharp-shooter in the draft. Reminds me of J.J. Reddick.
• Jordan Hill (Knicks): The 8th overall pick has played just 13 minutes a game and is right at 5 points per game. Not much was expected considering he has yet to fully develop, but I’d hope for more from the 8th pick.

California Redwoods

• Obafemi Ayanbadejo (RB): Only 8 careers TDs, but best known for being a fullback for the Ravens during the Super Bowl winning season.
• Doug Gabriel (WR): Has 101 career catches with over 1,500 yards and 8 TDs, mostly with the Raiders.
• Mike McMahon (QB): Don’t we all love this guy? Started 14 games for multiple teams, and threw 15 career TDs.
• B.J. Sams (WR): Only 1 TD as a receiver, but lit up the league as a punt returner in ’04, including 2 TDs.
• Dontarrious Thomas (LB): Started 10 games for my beloved Vikes in 5 years. His best season was his first when he started 5 games and had 59 tackles and a forced fumble.
• John David Washington (RB): Don’t recognize this name? It’s okay. Probably the only person who does is Denzel Washington, John David’s father. Just had to throw this in here since Denzel is my favorite actor. Ever.
• Dennis Green (Coach): Was the second ever African-American head coach when hired by the Vikings in ’91. He stayed there for 10 very good seasons. Then spent 3 somewhat forgettable seasons with the Cardinals as head coach.

Florida Tuskers

• Tatum Bell (RB): Had a great season in ’06 rushing for over 1,000 for the Broncos. Sadly best known for the suitcase incident.
• Brooks Bollinger (QB): Started 10 games in 6 NFL seasons. Threw 9 TDs and 9 INTs.
• Dexter Jackson (DB): Played 11 NFL seasons and has 17 careers INTs. Was even the Super Bowl MVP with the Bucaneers in ’02.
• Michael Pittman (RB): Played over 150 NFL games and gained over 5,600 yards rushing with 33 total TDs.
• Todd Sauerbrun (P): A 3-time Pro Bowl punter, but was overshadowed by his off-field problems.
• Jermaine Wiggins (TE): Played a few serviceable seasons for my Vikes. Has 236 career receptions and 14 TDs.
• Jim Haslett (Coach): Was head coach of the Saints for 6 seasons, and won NFL Coach of the Year in 2000.

Las Vegas Locomotives

• Teddy Lehman (LB): Played 5 years with the Lions, with his best season being his first when he started all 16 games and had over 100 tackles.
• J.P. Losman (QB): Started 33 games in 5 seasons with the Bills. In ’06 he threw for over 3,000 yards and 19 TDs.
• Tony Parrish (DB): Started every game for 7 straight seasons to begin his career and has 30 career INTs.
• Marcel Shipp (RB): Played 7 seasons for the Cardinals and had over 800 yards rushing in both ’02 and ’03.
• Jim Fassel (Coach): Was head coach of the Giants for 7 seasons, and won NFL Coach of the Year in ’97.

New York Sentinels

• Quinn Gray (QB): Played in 6 NFL seasons and has a pretty stellar career passer rating of 91.4.
• Simeon Rice (DE): Had 8 seasons with double-digit sacks, as well as a nice total of 25 forced fumbles and 5 INTs.
• LaBrandon Toefield (RB): Played in 39 games in his first 3 seasons and has 9 total career TDs.
• Ted Cottrell (Coach): Coached on an assistant level in the NFL for 25 seasons, including 10 as defensive coordinator.

[image via ufl-football.com]

Adrian Peterson

Key words there being “right now”. As in October 22, 2009, who are the Top 5 RB’s in the league.

1. Adrian Peterson. Confession: I made this the very first list on the blog so I could feature my boy Adrian at number 1. There may sometimes be a little Minnesota bias with the lists, but I’ll keep it under control. He leads the league in rushing even though he had four straight sub-100 yard outings before last week’s game against Baltimore. It won’t happen again this season. He’s also second in TD’s (7) only to Maurice Jones-Drew.

2. Ray Rice. I may get some flak for this one, but I’m stickin to it for now. He only gets hotter with each week, and he’s the best receiving RB in the league, with his only competition coming from maybe Chris Johnson. I picked him up in my Fantasy league, and until he gives me reason otherwise, I’m starting him. He’s only 9th in rushing yards, but with a gaudy 6.0 yard average. He’s also 3rd in rushes over 20+ yards.

3. Chris Johnson. Second to AP in rushing yards. Has the highest average yards per rush among starters at 6.3. That in itself is quite a feat. To do so on possibly the worst team in football is downright incredible. I had a hard time picking between Rice and Johnson at number 2. My gut told me Rice, the stats told me Johnson. I went with my gut.

4. Maurice Jones-Drew. Leads the league in total touchdowns with 8, and is sixth in rushing yards. People didn’t think he could carry the load all by himself in Jacksonville, including me. He’s proven me wrong. He’s also a great receiver out of the backfield, which seems to be a trend among this list (except AP, although he’s getting better).

5. Cedric Benson. I can’t believe I just wrote that, but its’ true folks. He’s third in rushing with about 530 yards. Even though the resurrection of Carson Palmer has been the main cog in Cincinnati’s rise back to legitimacy, Cedric is at least partially responsible. He may be their first consistent back since the demise of Rudi Johnson.

Surprisingly left out:

• Michael Turner: Was 60 yards shy of the rushing title last year and was also second in TD’s with 17. This doesn’t actually surprise me as much. I think last year will end up being seen as lightning in a bottle.
• DeAngelo Williams: Led the league in TD’s last season with 18 and finished 3rd in rushing. He’s picking it up as of the last couple weeks, but I would have pegged him to be Top 3 easily at the start of the year.
• Steve Slaton: He’s picked it up a little bit, but using my first round fantasy pick on him was clearly a mistake. He’s in a bit of a sophomore slump.

Let the discussion begin. I expect that maybe this first list will be debated by many.