Fantasy rookies are generally fools’ gold. Now and then, however, a fantasy rookie will come through and provide his owners with bunches of points. Generally, rookie running backs are the players who make the quickest impact, but this season saw its fair share of first-year receivers stand up and make a contribution. It’s probably not a coincidence that three of this year’s finalists will be playing in the playoffs.

This year’s batch of finalists came from votes collected from the FSWA Board of Directors. FSWA members can vote for this year’s top fantasy football rookie by sending a ballot (Deadline Jan. 18) listing the top 5, in ranking order, to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Here are the 2009 FSWA fantasy football rookie of the year finalists (in alphabetical order):

WR Austin Collie, Indianapolis Colts
When the question came up about who was going to replace Marvin Harrison, many people had answers. The likely candidate seemed to be Anthony Gonzalez, but he was hurt in the opener and never again appeared. Collie was a fourth round draft pick out of BYU who did not do much for the first three games. He was likely found on waiver wires across the country. In Week 4, Collie made the most of his appearance against the Seahawks and started a streak in which he had four touchdowns in three weeks. Collie was quiet on the touchdown front in the middle of the season, but again found the end zone in Weeks 13 through 15. He ended up with 60 receptions for 676 yards and looks like he’ll be a vital part of the Colt offense for years to come.

WR Percy Harvin, Minnesota Vikings
Unlike Collie, Harvin entered the season with expectations. With Brett Favre bringing his gun-slinging ways to the Twin Cities, Harvin had a chance to use his speed in the Vikings passing attack. The 5-foot-11 Harvin made the most of all of his opportunities and turned into a veritable touchdown machine. He also returned a pair of kickoffs for scores and had a 27.5-yard return average. For leagues that count return yards, Harvin added 1,156 yards. The former Florida Gator opened the season with touchdowns in his first two games and had three more touchdowns in Weeks 11 through 13. He finished the season with 60 receptions for 790 yards and six receiving touchdowns.

RB Knowshon Moreno, Denver Broncos
Fantasy touts were quite undecided about Moreno entering the season. He had a fine career at Georgia, but they figured that the Denver running situation is always a quagmire. Of course, under Mike Shanahan, that was the case. However, the Broncos were under new management and after a four-week apprenticeship in which Correll Buckhalter started, Moreno took over. The 5-foot-11 dynamo was never quite used as a workhorse back and only tallied more than 20 carries four times, yet he scored seven touchdowns and ran for 947 yards. Moreno established himself as the future of the Bronco running game.

WR Hakeem Nicks, New York Giants
Like Harvin, Nicks was a first round pick for a team that needed a wide receiver. The former North Carolina Tar Heel was the 29th player chosen in the first round of the 2009 draft, but like Collie, he started the season slow. He only had two receptions in the first three weeks of the season. Starting in Week 4, he had four straight weeks in which he found the end zone. While he didn’t become a regular starter until Week 14, he regularly contributed to the Giants passing game. Nicks helped himself to two more scores in Weeks 13 and 14 to finish the season with six touchdowns to go along with 47 catches and 790 yards.

RB Chris "Beanie" Wells, Arizona Cardinals
Heading into the 2009 draft, Wells was the most widely known running back. He had a stellar career at Ohio State, but entered the NFL with a reputation of being rather soft. Wells fell to the 31st pick of the first round and went to the Super Bowl runner-up Cardinals. His draft stock was diminished by a timeshare with Tim Hightower, but the 6-foot-1, 228 pound Wells managed to take over as the short yardage back in the second half of the season. Wells scored six touchdowns in his last eight games and finished with seven total. Although Wells was never the official starter, he outplayed Hightower in the second half of the season and looks ready for a bright career in the desert.