The rookie class of 2013 has not been an outstanding one so far this year.  But do not fear because there is plenty of time for these rooks to make a statement in the NFL.  One of the bigger disappointments of the season has been the early fantasy drafted Tavon Austin from the St. Louis Rams.  With only one solid performance under his belt, Austin is quickly becoming drop eligible for fantasy owners.  But like I said, we are only six weeks into the season which gives more than enough time for players like Austin, and even the players on this top ten list, to prove their worth for upcoming games and seasons.

10. Andre Ellington, Running Back, Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals have most of their trust in Rashard Mendenhall but Ellington had been gaining some of that trust week by week, making him a solid number two running back for them.  Ellington is pretty versatile in the backfield and makes catches (20) almost as much as he has rushing attempts (28).  This kid has a bright future in this Cardinals offense if things don’t pan out with Mendenhall.  For now he will remain the number two back and average his five to six rushes per game as he has been doing all year.  The second that Mendenhall goes down or loses the Cardinals trust, be ready to pick up this promising rookie for your fantasy squad.

9. Geno Smith, Quarterback, New York Jets

Smith has quite literally been up and down every week in his fantasy production.  One week he will have a couple hundred passing yards with a couple touchdowns and the next week he will have no touchdowns and multiple interceptions.  As a rookie you expect this kind of inconsistency but Smith has major ups and downs week to week.  He will get better and learn from his mistakes throughout the season but he is not worth owning in almost any type of fantasy league because of his inconsistencies and the amount of interceptions he has thrown (10) already.

8. Terrance Williams, Wide Receiver, Cowboys

Williams has been a good number two receiver for Tony Romo since Miles Austin has had a bad hamstring forever now.  Now that Austin cannot be trusted as a fantasy starter, that makes Williams more valuable.  He had 13 catches the past three games with over 200 receiving yards and two touchdowns.  I fully expect that trend to continue with teams doubling up on fellow wide receiver Dez Bryant.  The more Williams is worked into this offense, the more valuable he becomes week to week.

7. E.J. Manuel, Quarterback, Buffalo Bills

Manuel had a great start to his season.  Unfortunately it has been cut short to an LCL sprain which he suffered against the Browns in week five.  The injury will most likely put him out until late November but that doesn’t stop him from making our list of top fantasy rookies thus far.  The first four games that Manuel participated in before getting hurt were at a respectable level for a rookie.  Two of those games he threw for over 200 yards and had a total five touchdowns with three interceptions in those four games and that made him a viable backup quarterback for fantasy owners.  Manuel was looking to having a fine statistical year before his injury.  We all hope him a speedy recovery and to pick up where he left off when he returns.

6. Robert Woods, Wide Receiver, Bills

Woods has been one of the more consistent rookies this season averaging three receptions and 45 yards per game.  It isn’t much but is it certainly better than other rookie wide receivers in the game.  Woods was definitely having better luck when fellow rookie E.J. Manuel was at the helm.  Now with Manuel out for a few weeks, Woods will have to build chemistry with whatever remaining quarterback the Bills have left.  Woods will have his days but I wouldn’t put much stock into him at least until Manuel returns later in the year.

5. DeAndre Hopkins, Wide Receiver, Houston Texans

The first three games of the season, Hopkins had 18 catches, 243 receiving yards and one touchdown.  Those numbers had us fantasy owners licking our chops hoping for that production to continue.  Unfortunately those numbers trailed off significantly now that Matt Schaub and the other Texans quarterbacks find defenders for touchdowns as much as they find their own receivers.  The past three games Hopkins only had seven catches, 97 receiving yards and not a single touchdown.  The day that the Texans figure out their quarterback issue is the day that Hopkins will be as productive as those first three games.

4. Keenan Allen, Wide Receiver, Chargers

The opposite can be said for Allen compared to DeAndre Hopkins in how their production has been from the first three games to the last three games.  The first three games Allen was not on the field often and didn’t see many balls come his way.  But now with injuries to many players in the Chargers receiving core, Allen has been on fire.  The past three games Allen had 20 catches for 302 yards and two touchdowns.  Clearly quarterback Philip Rivers is starting to love looking his way for big plays and it will remain that way as long as Allen keeps up with what he is producing.  Allen is only about 30 percent owned in most fantasy leagues so if you have the space to pick him up, I strongly suggest you do so.

3. Eddie Lacy, Running Back, Green Bay Packers

Lacy had many of us worried when he went down with the concussion in Week 2.  The early bye week definitely helped his health and it seems that he can play a big role in the Packers offense now that Randall Cobb is out for a while and James Jones could be out for a week and possibly more.  Lacy just achieved his first over 100 yard game of his young career against the Ravens.  Even though the Ravens have a softer defense this year, it is very impressive that Lacy played as well as he did.  If he can stay healthy expect some more big games from him throughout the year.

2. Kenbrell Thompkins, Wide Receiver, New England Patriots

The undrafted rookie has really been the surprise of the season thus far for the class of 2013.  With Danny Amendola constantly getting injured and Rob Gronkowski sill waiting to return, Thompkins has been one of Tom Brady’s main options due to having caught half of Brady’s total touchdown passes.  He doesn’t exceed in having a lot yards so he is more of a touchdown threat than anything else.  As the relationship builds between quarterback and receiver, expect Brady to look his way in the red zone as often as he does.  At least until Gronk makes his return to the field.

1. Giovani Bernard, Running Back, Cincinnati Bengals

Bernard has been the most outstanding rookie so far this year.  As every game that goes by, the Bengals trust him more by giving him more touches and more opportunities to make plays on the field over BenJarvus Green-Ellis.  Not only is he a solid rusher but Bernard has soft hands and is able to catch passes and move the ball down the field.  This makes him even more valuable in PPR leagues.  He has two rushing and two receiving touchdowns thus far and there will be plenty more as long as he keeps up the hard work and gaining more trust from the Bengals.