Developing Assets: The Best of What’s Left

Ryan McDowell Posted On January 26, 2014

mariota

Now that the deadline has passed for underclassmen to declare for May’s NFL draft, it’s time to put together draft boards for upcoming rookie and devy drafts. Here at DLF, we will have a ridiculous amount of coverage of the incoming rookie class over the next few months, but for this series, its time to focus on the remaining college players. While the rookie class of 2014 has high expectations, the class of 2015 might be even better and dynasty owners are already anxious to acquire rookie and devy picks to put themselves in position to acquire as many of those future studs as possible. Here’s a look at the top devy players for 2014 drafts.

Quarterbacks

Thanks to the decisions of a couple of draft eligible players this year, the current group of devy quarterbacks looks to be very deep, headlined by a trio that are likely to be very high first round draft picks in 2015.

Jameis Winston, QB FSU

Florida State redshirt freshman quarterback Jameis Winston took the college football world by storm this year, leading his team to the national championship and winning the Heisman trophy along the way. It seems that many NFL owners and general managers were ready to put him on their team right away and dynasty owners are no different.

Marcus Mariota, QB ORE

Marcus Mariota, a redshirt quarterback from Oregon, surprised many when he made the decision to bypass the NFL draft and instead return to college for another season. Mariota was already considered a top five overall prospect, so it’s questionable how much he can improve his draft profile. He has high upside for dynasty owners thanks to his rushing ability, but some question if he can succeed as an NFL starter.

Brett Hundley, QB UCLA

Another redshirt sophomore who said no to the NFL was UCLA’s Brett Hundley, though he did make it clear in his announcement that his junior season in Westwood would indeed be his final one. He’s another who is aided by his rushing ability, but was somewhat inconsistent this year.

Christian Hackenberg, QB PSU

Penn State University has obviously had its share of troubles over the past years, but one bright spot has been quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who just completed his freshman season for the Nittany Lions. Though he will be playing for a new coaching staff following the departure of Bill O’Brien, hopes are still very high for the Big Ten Newcomer of the Year. New coach James Franklin and his staff once turned Josh Freeman into a first round draft pick. Imagine what they will do with a talent like Hackenberg, who is still only eighteen years old.

Bryce Petty, QB BAY

Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty was yet another player who surprisingly chose to return for his senior season, rather than option to declare a year early and enter the NFL draft. Few defenses had answers for Petty and the Bears offense and he should continue to put up video game numbers in 2014, especially with his top wide receiver Antwan Goodley also returning.

Running Backs

As I’ve mentioned before, the trend in dynasty football is to lean heavily upon wide receivers as owners build their teams. While that has shown to be a solid strategy and one that will show up again in upcoming dynasty rookie drafts, that won’t be the case a year from now. The running back class of 2015 has the potential to be one of the best in many years, with some of the players listed below and many others that I’ll cover over the next few weeks.

Todd Gurley, RB UGA

Georgia running back Todd Gurley is one of the favorites among devy and dynasty owners. Though he had somewhat of a disappointing season due to an injury that cost him a month of the season, Gurley is still one of the most valuable devy assets, if not the top. With quarterback Aaron Murray moving on to the NFL this season, the Bulldogs offense will lean heavily on its running game and that means we’ll see a lot of Gurley.

TJ Yeldon, RB ALA

Last off-season, there was the great debate about which freshman running back was the better dynasty prospect, Gurley or Alabama running back TJ Yeldon. After all, we all saw what Yeldon could do in limited carries behind starter Eddie Lacy, so imagine what he would do as the starter. Well, Yeldon had a fine 2013 campaign, but at times a pair of younger backs outclassed him for the Crimson Tide. This seems to happen often with stacked college programs like Alabama. Once we get a small look at the new man on campus, we often forget about the player that has already been producing.

Melvin Gordon, RB WISC

Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon enjoyed a breakout season and became the favorite for many dynasty owners as the possible top running back in the class of 2014. The only problem is the redshirt sophomore chose to return to the Badgers for another season. This year he shared the backfield with senior James White, and next year is expected to play the larger role in a timeshare with talented back Corey Clement.

Leonard Fournette, RB LSU

It may be odd to see a player who has yet to play a down of college football listed amongst some of these players who have already established themselves as strong prospects, but that’s what happens when you’re talking about Leonard Fournette, an incoming freshman for LSU. Fournette is widely considered to be the top overall high school senior and recently committed to play for the Bayou Bengals. Fournette has an excellent chance to start from day one for the Tigers.

Thomas Tyner, RB ORE

One of the top rated incoming freshmen running backs a year ago was Oregon’s Thomas Tyner. Tyner played behind teammate Byron Marshall and, at times, De’Anthony Thomas, but still managed an impressive season in the fast paced Ducks’ offense. Look for even more Tyner next year as his devy stock climbs.

Derrick Henry, RB ALA

Nothing like ending on a strong note. I mentioned earlier that many fans were beginning to find flaws in the game of TJ Yeldon, especially in Alabama’s bowl game. Freshman Derrick Henry totaled over 160 yards in the team’s bowl game loss to Oklahoma. With Henry breaking out near the season’s end, along with the return of top underclassmen Yeldon and Kenyan Drake, I can’t wait to see how head coach Nick Saban uses the overflow of running back talent in 2014.

Wide Receivers

While the crop of players exiting college football for the NFL features a stacked group of wide receivers, there is little proven talent left. Here are the top wide receiver prospects that will be suiting up on college campuses next season.

Amari Cooper, WR ALA

Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper was a trendy selection as the top overall devy pick in drafts a year ago. He was coming off a true freshman season in which he caught fifty-nine passes for exactly 1,000 yards, along with eleven touchdowns. Cooper came back down to earth a little in his second season as all of his receiving numbers dropped. Cooper is still a great prospect, but maybe not the slam-dunk stud many made him out to be a year ago.

Laquon Treadwell, WR MISS

Mississippi wide receiver Laquon Treadwell could be the new version of Cooper following his freshman season in which he caught seventy-two passes for over 600 yards and five scores. One scout called Treadwell the best receiver in the country early in the season. While that’s somewhat hard to believe, it says a lot about Treadwell’s talent. With teammate Donte Moncrief off to the NFL, Treadwell will dominate the passing targets and should be a huge part of the Rebels’ offense.

Dorial Green-Beckham, WR MIZZ

Possibly my favorite talent in all of college is Missouri wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham. Unfortunately, he won’t be topping my list of must draft devys, not after his arrest last week on drug charges. It’s Green-Beckham’s second run in with the law and second drug arrest. There seems to be some confusion and uncertainty regarding whether Green-Beckham will be charged with a crime, but it’s a troubling sign regardless. More and more, I am becoming very conservative in my player evaluation when it comes to off the field issues. This is enough to cross Green-Beckham off my list.

Tight Ends

This year was an interesting one for the tight end position. Everything we thought we knew proved to be wrong as Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Colt Lyerla struggled with off field issues and were quickly overtaken by some breakout stars. With all of these players now entering the NFL, here’s a look at what’s left for devy owners.

OJ Howard, TE ALA

True freshman tight end OJ Howard was not heavily involved in the Crimson Tide offense, but that should change in 2014. Howard is an excellent blocker, which is unusual for most highly rated tight ends. Howard is a huge weapon in that offense and his teammate Derrick Henry calls him the next Jimmy Graham.

Devin Funchess, TE MICH

Michigan tight end Devin Funchess is an athletic freak who was somewhat overshadowed by the breakout season of some of his fellow tight ends like Jace Amaro and Eric Ebron. With some surprise departures like Troy Niklas and Richard Rodgers, Funchess could be one of the top tight ends in the nation next year. Well, that is if he remains at tight end. There are rumors that the Wolverines could move Funchess to wide receiver, which would hurt his value in dynasty and devy leagues.

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Ryan McDowell

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

In addition to his senior leadership role here at DLF, Ryan is also a husband, father of three and PE teacher. Ryan is the commissioner of multiple dynasty leagues, most notably the Kitchen Sink Dynasty Leagues. Here at DLF, Ryan’s focus is on identifying, monitoring and analyzing player value.