Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Update: James Proche, WR BAL

Bruce Matson Posted On July 1, 2020

The NFL Draft is behind us, rookie drafts are taking place, and as dynasty owners, we are looking ahead to the upcoming season. In the Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Update series, we break down all the incoming fantasy-relevant rookies, looking at their profile and where they fit.

Name: James Proche

Position: Wide receiver

Pro Team: Baltimore Ravens

College Team: SMU Mustangs

Draft Status: Round six, 201 overall

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M3GgB_Hf_Y

COMBINE REVIEW

Height: 5’11’’
Weight: 201 pounds
Arm length: 29 3/4’’
Vertical jump: 34 1/2’’
Three-cone drill: 7.27 seconds
20-yard shuttle: 4.4 seconds
Bench press: 20 reps

STRENGTHS

Has very good ball skills and does a good job of tracking the ball while it’s in the air
Can make highlight-reel contested catches look easy
He’s sudden getting in and out of his breaks
Aggressive in contested catch situations

WEAKNESSES

Can get derailed from running his route while facing press coverage
Fast enough to get the job done, but is not an elite-level burner
Not a nuanced route runner. Will round out or use extra steps to break off sharp routes
Doesn’t have the spring in his step to out-jump defenders

OPPORTUNITIES

Speaking about opportunities, Proche will get the chance to compete for snaps in one of the most explosive offenses in the league who averaged 31.9 points per game in 2019. Although a large portion of his production is from rushing, Lamar Jackson is still one of the best quarterbacks in the game. There’s going to be a time in his career where he’s going to need to unleash the cannon and pass it more. It might not be this year or next, but it’s going to happen. If Proche inserts himself as a long-term contributor, then he would benefit from the inflation of the passing offense.

There’s not much competition for the role in the slot. The team drafted Devin Duvernay in the third round of this year’s draft. He is projected to get the first crack as the team’s slot wide receiver. Willie Snead is still kicking the can down the road on the roster, but his time in the league is slowly coming to an end. All Proche needs to do, is to outplay Duvernay, the one-year wonder from Texas, to gain a foothold to a larger snap share. This is easier said than done, Duvernay is more than good enough to win the job and develop into a key contributor to the team.

However, Proche was considered one of the top slot receivers in the draft. His skill-set matches up perfectly with what the team needs from that position. Even if Duvernay excels, Proche still has enough juice to work his way on the field.

THREATS

What makes Jackson one of the most polarizing quarterbacks in the NFL also creates a lot of questions for the pass-catchers in his offense. Yes, his rushing ability is unmatched and is a tantalizing spectacle to watch. Nevertheless, his rushing production still takes away from the overall ceiling for the passing offense, making it harder for ancillary pieces in the offense to churn out reliable fantasy stats.

Jackson finished his sophomore campaign ranked 26th in the league with 401 pass attempts. He averaged 236 air yards per game and 8.4 air yards per pass attempt. The volume just isn’t there for multiple receiving targets to feast. Baltimore is a rare case where their tight end, Mark Andrews, owns a 23 percent target share while also owning a 28 percent share of the air yards. Not to mention the Ravens spent a first-round pick on Marquise Brown who came out of the gate during his rookie season owning an 18 percent share of the passing targets while also taking a large 23 percent share of the air yards, accumulating an 11 average depth of target in the process.

Even if luck breaks his way and he becomes a starter or the main option out of the slot, Proche will still need to battle for passing volume. Unless he develops to his ceiling and becomes a standout pro bowler, he will see a lot of competition for targets and snaps. Previously, we mentioned Duvernay and how he could road black Proche’s path to success. However, Duvernay also projects as a slot receiver with speed who can make things happen after the catch. These two players could be competing for the same spot but have very different skill sets. Likely, only one of them will blossom, and Duvernay since he was drafted in the third round will get the first crack at the starting job.

The Ravens drafted Miles Boykin in the third round of last year’s draft. He’s a highly athletic wide receiver prospect with a 98th-percentile size-adjusted speed score. There’s a good possibility that he takes a step forward and siphons more of the workload as he heads into the second year of his career.

The odds are stacked against Proche. Most wide receivers drafted in the sixth round don’t make it in the NFL. Just being able to stick with the team for a couple of years would be a major win for him. Although he has some potential, we do have to be realistic about his overall chances of becoming a must-own dynasty asset.

SHORT-TERM EXPECTATIONS

It wouldn’t be fair to expect him to be productive during his rookie season. Due to circumstance from Covid-19, this year’s batch of rookies will be even more behind the eight ball. He might struggle to see playing time throughout the season. We need him to just flash some of his talent while he’s on the field by making a few big plays, and demonstrating that he can compete at the NFL level.

We need him to hit the ground running during his second season. If he’s not earning more snaps by the middle of the 2021 season, then the longevity of his career will be in jeopardy. The competition for a roster spot will only get tougher, and we might see him fall between the cracks if he doesn’t prove himself early in his career.

LONG-TERM EXPECTATIONS

There are multiple scenarios that could play out during the course of his career. There’s a chance that he works his way up the depth chart and becomes the team’s main slot receiver. In this role, he should see plenty of playing time and possibly become a worthwhile fantasy asset. The sheer passing volume from the offense would be the main driver to his dynasty value.

Unfortunately, it’s also in the realm of possibilities that we see him quickly fizzle out of the league. Like I mentioned before, there are some vulnerabilities with him being a late-round prospect. He might hover around the depth chart a few years without seeing much playing time before his final exodus. We see this often with a lot of late-round picks. The team just simply doesn’t have enough capital invested in him to remain patient while he develops during the early stages of his career.

NFL PLAYER COMPARISON

If we’re going by best-case scenario with his player comparison, then we might want to look at Jarvis Landry. Both players are very similar in height and weight while also being very effective in the slot. The major difference between the two players is that Landry is more of a complete route runner and can also compete on the outside. The jury is still out whether Proche will be just as effective at the NFL level.

A more realistic comparison for Proche would be Willie Snead. Both of these wide receivers possess limited athleticism and are served best in the slot. Even though Snead isn’t the most robust wide receiver in the league, he’s a very cerebral player who figured out a way of maximizing his abilities.

PROJECTED ROOKIE DRAFT RANGE

According to DLF’s Rookie ADP, he is falling to the later part of the fourth round with a 47.70 average draft position. In this range, he is typically the 23rd wide receiver off the board. At this price point, he’s technically a no-risk investment. The odds of any player contributing to your roster in this stage of the rookie draft is highly unlikely. With that being said, there’s nothing to lose here other than a roster spot. On the contrary, all he has to do is mildly produce for him to increase value in dynasty.

I like Proche and I’m looking forward to adding him to some of my dynasty teams. He is currently listed at a more than palatable price point. There’s a chance he could be sitting on the waiver wire in some leagues. He’s a cheap lottery ticket that could pay dividends for our dynasty rosters if lady luck sings us the right song.

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Bruce Matson

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

I'm a financial counselor for a hospital in South Central Ohio. I graduated from Muskingum University with a bachelor's in business while minoring in Economics and Accounting. I won my first fantasy football title with Jake Plummer as my quarterback.