NFL Rookies You Should Be Following on Social Media

With thousands of professional athletes already on social media and new classes joining their ranks each year, it’s impossible to keep tabs on all of them—and nearly impossible to even keep tabs on the small percentage worth following.

Just recently, 256 NFL rookies were drafted into the league, and that doesn’t even include the many undrafted free-agent rookies that will be signed. How’s a fan to know who among those guys are worth creepily monitoring via Twitter and Instagram?

Well, not to worry! Thankfully we are here to do the heavy lifting for you. If you’re looking to expand your social media circle (or trolling circle, whatever) here are some NFL rookies absolutely worth a follow.

Maxx Williams, Baltimore Ravens

Draft Position, Playing Position: No. 55, TE

Instagram: maxxwilliams

Twitter: williams_maxx

The second-round pick of the Ravens, Minnesota tight end Maxx Williams is just getting his social media game going. He’s new to both Twitter and Instagram, but something about that impressive stack of cups tells me he’s going to be worth the follow.

Cedric Ogbuehi, Cincinnati Bengals

Draft Position, Playing Position: No. 21, OT

Instagram: nuff_ced70

Twitter: Nuff_ced70

Drafted out of Texas A&M, Cedric Ogbuehi is a workout warrior and isn’t shy about sharing his regime on Instagram. As for Twitter, what his tweets lack in substance, they make up for in regularity. He’s pretty active, but the Bengals will be pleased he doesn’t seem to be the least bit controversial.

Dorial Green-Beckham, Tennessee Titans

Draft Position, Playing Position: No. 40, WR

Instagram: dgb15

Twitter: realdgb

The Titans' second-round selection, Dorial Green-Beckham—a wide receiver out of Missouri—is all sunshine and rainbows on social media at the moment. He’s giving round-the-clock shout-outs to Titans Nation and just can’t seem to say enough about his new home in Tennessee. He’s a great follow for Titans fans, but a solid enough follow for the rest of us.

Jaelen Strong, Houston Texans

Draft Position, Playing Position: No. 70, WR

Instagram: jaelenstrong21

Twitter: JaelenStrong

The Texans rookie wideout out of Texas, Jaelen Strong isn’t especially active or interesting on Twitter, but he has enough of a presence to make a follow worthwhile. Strong shares a lot more of his life on Instagram, including pictures of one of the cutest French Bulldog puppies you’ll ever see.

Preston Smith, Washington Redskins

Draft Position, Playing Position: No. 38, DE

Instagram: prestonsmith94

Twitter: PrestonSmith94

A defensive end out of Mississippi State, the Redskins second-round pick’s tweets leave something to be desired—a lot of bad jokes followed by the "laughing so hard I’m crying" emoji. Smith’s Instagram, on the other hand, so far is a very interesting chronicle of a dizzying array of terrible tattoos. 

Phillip Dorsett, Indianapolis Colts

Draft Position, Playing Position: No. 29, WR

Instagram: dorsett4

Twitter: Dorsett_4

A wide receiver out of Miami, the Colts first-round selection, Phillip Dorsett, is all about the self-promotion on Twitter, but the guy has opinions and isn’t afraid to share them on occasion. So far his Instagram isn’t much but haircuts and hang sessions, but action should pick up as we get into the summer months.

Eric Kendricks, Minnesota Vikings

Draft Position, Playing Position: No. 45, ILB

Instagram: ekla6

Twitter: EKLA6

An inside linebacker out of UCLA, the Vikings second-round pick, Eric Kendricks, absolutely isn’t worth following on Twitter at the moment, with a paltry 229 tweets to date. On the other hand, he’s thinking about getting a really big snake, so following on Instagram could be interesting.

Danny Shelton, Cleveland Browns

Draft Position, Playing Position: No. 12, NT

Instagram: 55s_up_bluebow

Twitter: Danny_Shelton55

Selected by the Browns in the first round, Washington nose tackle Danny Shelton is a Twitter neophyte, it seems, but he’s got some game going on Instagram already. He’s a large man with a whole lot of large people in his life—overall a pretty interesting peek into his world. Plus, his dogs are adorable...and numerous. 

Jake Fisher, Cincinnati Bengals

Draft Position, Playing Position: No. 53, OT

Instagram: thevanillagorilla75

Twitter: J_Fish231

Selected by the Bengals out of Oregon, big man Jake Fisher is a man of relatively limited interests, judging by his social media presence. Those interests include, but are not entirely limited to: trucks, sports, guns, and shooting things with guns. Mostly guns, though.

Cameron Erving, Cleveland Browns

Draft Position, Playing Position: No. 19, C

Instagram: bigerv_74

Twitter: bigerv_75

The Browns second-round selection, Cameron Erving, a center out of Florida State, is another rookie just finding his footing on social media—a lot of universities have rules in place to keep players from embarrassing themselves. That being said, his Instagram account is entertaining enough. And you know most of those Seminoles have…personality.

Leonard Williams, New York Jets

Draft Position, Playing Position: No. 6, DE

Instagram: leonardwilliams

The sixth pick of the draft was Leonard Williams, a defensive end out of USC chosen by the Jets. Unless I’m missing something, the guy is nowhere to be found on Twitter, but his Instagram account is more than enough. He’s been making his rounds the last few weeks, in between hanging with his adorable daughter and a brand new puppy—not to mention his lovely lady friend.

Melvin Gordon, San Diego Chargers

Draft Position, Playing Position: No. 15, RB

Instagram: melvingordon25

Twitter: melvingordon25

A superstar running back out of Wisconsin, who broke LaDainian Tomlinson’s single-game rushing record last season, Melvin Gordon is one to be watched. Not just on the field in San Diego, but on social media as well. So far he doesn’t seem the least bit controversial or scandalous, but considering the year the NFL had in 2014, the nice guy thing is a very welcome change.

Todd Gurley, St. Louis Rams

Draft Position, Playing Position: No. 10, RB

Instagram: tg4hunnid

Twitter: TG3II

Surprising more than a few, Georgia’s stud running back, Todd Gurley, was the first running back chosen in the draft, despite a history of injury issues and some relatively stupid NCAA violations. Gurley is a great follow on both Twitter and Instagram, where he interacts a lot with fans and shares more than enough of his private life to make things interesting. Gurley also seems like a genuinely nice guy, so let’s not hold that Duke thing against him.

Shaq Thompson, Carolina Panthers

Draft Position, Playing Position: No. 25, OLB

Instagram: datboi__54

Twitter: shaqthompson_7

An outside linebacker out of Washington, Shaq Thompson was taken by the Panthers in the first round. Thompson needs to up his game on Instagram, for sure, but he tweets and retweets pretty regularly, and most of what he says makes sense. (I follow a ton of athletes on social media—it’s fair to say my standards have lowered over the years.)

Bud Dupree, Pittsburgh Steelers

Draft Position, Playing Position: No. 22, OLB

Instagram: bud_dupree

Twitter: Bud_Dupree

The first-round pick of the Steelers, outside linebacker Bud Dupree out of Kentucky is just getting warmed up on social media. He’s been pretty active for a while, but he’s already stepped up his game. Plus, I can say as a Pittsburgh native myself, he’s gonna be so pleased to learn that acid wash jeans never died in the Steel City.

Eli Harold, San Francisco 49ers

Draft Position, Playing Position: No. 79, OLB

Instagram: eliharold_

Twitter: EliHarold_

An outside linebacker out of Virginia, the 49ers third-round pick, Eli Harold, is a pretty interesting character. He tweets and retweets, basically, around the clock, though it’s fair to say they’re not all gems—but whose tweets are? Harold has well over 1,000 posts on Instagram and a very small fraction of them are lions or motivational sayings. What more can you ask? Plus, just look at that dog!

Trae Waynes, Minnesota Vikings

Draft Position, Playing Position: No. 11, CB

Instagram: twaynes

Twitter: twaynes_15

Darn near a top-10 pick out of Michigan State, the Vikings rookie cornerback, Trae Waynes, is one of my personal favorite follows out of the rookie class so far. He live tweets events, retweets fans and is just generally completely random. And you know his hair is going to have its very own Instagram account at some point.

La'el Collins, Dallas Cowboys

Draft Position, Playing Position: Undrafted, OT

Instagram: lcoll70

Despite what many deemed first-round talent, offensive lineman La’el Collins went undrafted out of LSU and was signed as a free agent by, who else, the Cowboys.

Mike Davis, San Francisco 49ers

Draft Position, Playing Position: No. 126, RB

Instagram: mikedavisrb

Twitter: mikedavisrb

A running back out of South Carolina, Mike Davis could end up being one of the steals of the draft, having slipped to the 49ers in the fourth round. I’ve been following him for a few years now, which means I can personally guarantee his entertainment value. Davis has a lot of opinions and shares them regularly. He also seems to have his fair share of drama with the ladies, which is always interesting—and that’s just Twitter. Davis’ Instagramming might be even better, but it’s too close to call.