Developing Assets: Week Four

 

After last week’s slate of juicy SEC matchups, this week isn’t quite as enticing. The top matchups are a pair of nationally televised Top 25 Pac 12 clashes.

In this series, we take a look at future NFL players with a focus on the offensive skill positions to help those of you in developmental (devy) leagues. We’ll give you several games to watch, along with some key devy players who will be in action. For those in regular dynasty formats, this gives you a chance to start checking out some of the players who will be available in 2016 (and beyond) rookie drafts.

We have in-depth rankings for the 2016, 2017 and 2018 classes, which we update throughout the season. We also have a breakdown on what the heck a devy league is, in case it’s foreign to you.

Saturday

Wake Up and Watch: No. 8 LSU at Syracuse (ESPN, 12:00)

Fresh off a thrashing of Auburn, eighth-ranked LSU makes a rare trip up north to face off with Syracuse.

The Heisman has been a quarterback award of late, but Leonard Fournette is trying to change that. Our No. 2 overall prospect in the 2017 class, Fournette has been a machine in the Tigers’ first two games, totaling 387 yards and six touchdowns on 47 carries in wins over Mississippi State and Auburn. Fournette shredded Auburn a week ago, racking up 228 yards on 19 carries (12.0 average!) with three scores.

Fournette is far from the only LSU offensive skill player bound for the NFL as head coach Les Miles has continued to stockpile NFL talent all over his roster.

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Receivers Travin Dural, Trey Quinn and Malachi Dupre were all highly-rated recruits and probably give LSU the best receiving trio in the country. The only problem for us is we don’t really get to see what they can do with quarterback Brandon Harris throwing the ball. Despite boasting three NFL prospects at wideout, Harris has thrown for just 145 yards in two games, which decimates the stats for LSU’s receivers. With this being one of their easier opponents this season, maybe we’ll get to see some more passing offense from the Tigers.

Dupre, a 6-foot-3 sophomore and the No. 2 wideout in our 2017 rankings, is the highest-ranked receiver, according to our devy rankings. He had 14 grabs for 318 yards (22.7 average) and five touchdowns last year as a true freshman. Quinn, a sophomore, made 17 grabs for 193 yards in 2014. We rank Quinn as 2017’s No. 16 receiver.

A 6-foot-2 junior, Dural is our No. 23 overall devy player and No. 16 receiver for the 2016 class. He averaged 20.5 yards per catch in 2014, totaling 37 grabs for 758 yards and seven scores. Dural leads the way this season with eight catches for 42 yards.

Tight end Jacory Washington has yet to make an impact this season, but his future remains bright. The 6-foot-6, 228-pound redshirt freshman was the fourth-best tight end in the 2014 high school class, according to Rivals. We have him as our No. 2 tight end among the 2017 draft eligible players.

After a 3-9 campaign a year ago, Syracuse has won its first three games. Although the three opponents — Rhode Island, Wake Forest and Central Michigan — weren’t directional schools, they weren’t LSU.

The Orange don’t feature much in terms of devy prospects. Steve Ishmael, a sophomore, leads Syracuse in receiving with five catches for 144 yards and one touchdown. Freshman running back Jordan Fredericks has 31 carries for 197 yards and two scores.

Other teams in action around the noon hour, along with some players to focus on, include:

• Central Michigan at No. 2 Michigan State (Connor Cook, L.J. Scott, Macgarrett Kings), BTN, 12:00
• Southern at No. 7 Georgia (Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, Keith Marshall, Jeb Blazevich, Terry Godwin), SECN, 12:00

Midday Marquee: Western Michigan at No. 1 Ohio State (ABC, 3:30)

Coming off a close win over Northern Illinois, Western Michigan may be getting an angry Ohio State team after what figures to be an unpleasant week of practice.

Western Michigan isn’t a pushover, though, and this is the Broncos’ second clash with a highly-ranked opponent. In its opening game, Western Michigan lost 37-24 to second-ranked Michigan State.

The Broncos have one of the top devy assets in wide receiver Corey Davis, and this will be the last time this season to see him against top-flight competition. A 6’2”, 205-pound junior, Davis is our third-ranked devy receiver and will likely be one of the first receivers off the board in the 2016 NFL Draft, assuming he leaves early. He figures to face off with Ohio State corner Eli Apple, one of the top cornerbacks in college football.

Through three games, Davis has amassed 18 catches for 309 yards and three scores. A year ago, Davis racked up 78 catches for 1,408 yards and an eye-popping 15 touchdowns. As a freshman, he totaled 67 grabs for 941 yards and six scores.

Junior Daniel Braverman is leading Western Michigan in receiving with 40 catches for 398 yards and three touchdowns. He has at least 13 catches in each of the Broncos’ three games this year. Junior quarterback Zach Terrell is completing 71 percent of his passes for 947 yards and eight scores.

Jarvion Franklin (read our feature on him here) is one of the top-ranked devy running backs, checking in as our No. 19 running back for 2017. Franklin was a fairly unheralded recruit, but he burst onto the scene last year as a true freshman with 1,551 yards and 24 touchdowns on 306 carries (5.1 YPC). Franklin has 52 carries for 242 yards and one touchdown this season.

Ohio State still hasn’t resolved its quarterback conundrum. Cardale Jones was named the starter, but he was pulled last game in favor of J.T. Barrett. We have Jones (first) and Barrett (fifth) both in the top five of our 2016 quarterback rankings. Jones profiles as more of an NFL-type signal caller thanks to his powerful arm.

Junior Ezekiel Elliott is our top 2016 running back. After running 273 times for 1,878 yards and 18 scores last year, Elliott has 331 yards and four touchdowns on 61 carries. Junior wideout Michael Thomas, our No. 5 2016 receiver, came on last season with 54 grabs for 799 yards and nine touchdowns. He has 10 receptions for 158 yards and two scores thus far.

With two 50-yard touchdowns, Braxton Miller has put up some highlight reel plays in his hybrid receiver/running back role. He’s caught five passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. As a running back, Miller has totaled 17 carries for 125 yards and another score.

Other teams in midday action, along with some players to watch, include:

• Massachusetts at No. 6 Notre Dame (Will Fuller, C.J. Prosise, Corey Robinson), NBC, 3:30
• San Diego State (Donnel Pumphrey) at Penn State (Christian Hackenberg, Daesean Hamilton, Juwan Johnson, Saquon Barkley, Adam Breneman), BTN, 3:30
• Louisiana Monroe at No. 12 Alabama (O.J. Howard, Damien Harris, ArDarius Stewart, Robert Foster, Calvin Ridley, Kenyan Drake, Derrick Henry), SECN, 4:00
• No. 3 TCU (Josh Doctson, Trevone Boykin) at Texas Tech, FOX, 4:45

Primetime Play: No. 9 UCLA at No. 16 Arizona (ABC, 8:00)

UCLA freshman quarterback Josh Rosen will steal a lot of headlines in the lead up to this showdown between Pac 12 unbeatens.

Rosen was Rivals’ No. 1 quarterback and No. 2 overall player in the 2015 high school class. He’s lived up to expectations through three games, completing 61 percent of his passes for 680 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions. Rosen is our No. 1 quarterback for the 2018 prospects. This will be the stiffest road test he’s faced in his young career.

Rosen isn’t the Bruins’ only high profile freshman. Running back Soso Jamabo, Rivals’ No. 4 back in 2015, has the size NFL scouts love at 6-foot-2, 201 pounds. He’s gotten 15 carries this season and rushed for 87 yards.

Jamabo, who is ranked as the No. 9 running back in the 2018 class, is behind standout Paul Perkins on the depth chart. Perkins, our No. 14 back for 2016, is off to a fast start. He has 429 yards and three touchdowns on 58 carries. As a receiver, he’s made seven catches for 82 yards.

With 12 grabs for 183 yards and two scores, senior Jordan Payton is the Bruins’ leading receiver. Chris Clark, Rivals No. 1 tight end for the 2018 class, signed with UCLA last spring but is no longer enrolled at the school.

Head Coach Rich Rodriguez, in his fourth year at Arizona, has built the Wildcats into a perennial Top 25 team behind his signature spread offense.

Running back Nick Wilson is the Wildcats’ top devy prospect. Wilson, ranked as our No. 10 back for 2017, has 62 carries for 432 yards and five touchdowns already in 2015. As a true freshman, Wilson racked up 236 carries for 1,375 yards and 16 touchdowns a year ago.

Quarterback Anu Solomon has completed 68 percent of his throws for 10 touchdowns and zero picks. Junior wideout Cayleb Jones, a transfer from Texas, has made 11 catches for 172 yards and a score.

Other teams with evening games, along with some players to focus on, include:

• No. 14 Texas A&M (Kyle Allen, Speedy Noil, Ricky Seals-Jones, Christian Kirk) at Arkansas (Hunter Henry, Alex Collins), ESPN, 7:00
• Vanderbilt at No. 3 Mississippi (Evan Engram, Laquon Treadwell, Markell Pack, DaMarkus Lodge), ESPNU, 7:00
• No. 25 Missouri at Kentucky (Stanley Williams, Patrick Towles), SECN, 7:30
• No. 18 Utah (Devontae Booker) at No. 13 Oregon (Royce Freeman, Byron Marshall, Kirk Merritt, Pharaoh Brown, Johnny Mundt,Taj Griffin), FOX, 8:30
• No. 19 USC (Juju Smith-Schuster, Cody Kessler, Isaac Whitney, Justin Davis) at Arizona State (D.J. Foster, Demario Richard), ESPN, 10:30

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