With only fantasy baseball left on the schedule, a fantasy freak has to spend some time starting to look ahead at the king of fantasy seasons, fantasy football.  This time of year is all about the draft, where the rookies landed and who might have some fantasy relevance in just a few short months.  Here is a look at my top five players who should be considered at your draft:

1 - Jonathan Stewart, RB, Carolina: Deangelo Williams has had two seasons to try and become the featured back in Carolina and hasn’t been able to make it happen.  He appears more suited to be the change-up back, who comes into spell the starter, and with Stewart being chosen in the first round, expect Carolina to be looking at Stewart as their expected starter.  In the very least he will compete heavily from the beginning and eventually win that starter role.  As the season progresses, Stewart will play a larger role in the offense but get most of the goalline carries from the open weeks forward.  He sounds like a bruiser, but in fact he is a lightning quick back who has big play capability.  Stewart has the best opportunity of any back drafted to get the most carries.

2 - Darren McFadden, RB, Oakland:  McFadden was drafted higher than Stewart, and has been the big name in most RB circles, but McFadden enters a crowded backfield in Raider Nation.  Justin Fargas is coming off an excellent season where he proved he could be a #1 back, and Michael Bush, an extremely talented 2nd year RB, still sits in the background waiting for his chance (and he is hungry).  McFadden will need to come out with impact in those early games if he is to win a dominant role in the offense right away.  He is the “sexy” name, so if he is producing he will easily keep his job, but if he plays merely average it could be a platoon role for most of the year.  He is still a great option for bye weeks, or injury fill-ins for any roster.

3 - Kevin Smith, RB, Detroit:  Exit Kevin Jones, enter Kevin Smith.  It is still a question mark about how much Kevin Smith will produce, or if he is the right back for this Detroit offense, but at the time of writing this there is VERY little competition for carries on the Lions roster.  Tatum Bell, who was shunned out of run happy Denver and then didn’t get carries in Detroit when no other back was available is Smith’s only obstacle at the moment.  Kitna will continue to throw a ton, especially with a rookie in the backfield, but if Smith is getting a majority of the snaps, he will prove to be fantasy valuable by default and eventually could work himself into a solid starter.

4 - James Hardy, WR, Buffalo:It is very rare that a wide receiver has a big impact in his rookie year, so even though I have Hardy listed 4th, take that with caution.  Hardy is an excellent red-zone threat, decent speed, excellent hands and runs routes well.  If he has a decent preseason, he could easily start the year across from Lee Evans, as he would play the steady receiver to Evans big play capability.  But as we saw last year with Calvin Jones, starting across from a legitimate number 1 WR doesn’t guarantee big numbers every game.  Hardy will have a solid if unspectacular rookie season, and watch for some of his best games coming later in the year as you approach fantasy playoffs.

5 - Matt Forte, RB, Chicago:  Forte wasn’t really on my top 5 radar until Cedric Benson further got himself into trouble in his recent boating incident.  With the way Benson closed out last season, and his ability to constantly get himself in trouble, the writing appears to be on the wall that he is not going to work out in Bear-land.  Benson has been in trouble with teammates or coaches since he arrived, and with the drafting of Forte, who GM Jerry Angelo called a “3-Down-Back”, it doesn’t look like Benson is going to be handed another open opportunity.  If Benson is still around by preseason, they will battle for the #1 position, but it looks like Forte is going to be given every chance to compete which screams sleeper.  The Bears have always had a solid run offense, so if Forte fits in, he could be valuable right away.  Of course, if his name is being mentioned as a sleeper this early in the spring, I doubt anyone will forget him by draft time.