Rookie Report Card: Terrance West and Austin Seferian-Jenkins

Dan Meylor

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I’ve decided to put my own spin on the concept of a rookie report card. Going forward, the Rookie Report Card is exactly what it sounds like, a report card.

Not only will I cover my expectations for the player coming into the league and how he’s performed at the NFL level to this point, I’ll actually give him a grade in three categories. Those categories are performance to date, 2014 potential and long term upside. Each week I’ll cover at least two rookies and try to always include the biggest performers from that particular week.

The series continues with a closer look at Terrance West and Austin Seferian-Jenkins.

Terrence West, RB CLE
Week Ten Stats: 26 carries, 94 yards, one touchdown
Season Stats: 107 carries, 396 yards, three touchdowns, seven receptions, 39 yards, one touchdown

If you were to check out West’s production from college, you’d be impressed. After all, 4,854 rushing yards to go along with 84 touchdowns in three seasons at Towson looks like the type of numbers of a future NFL starting tailback. That’s what I thought until I watched him play.

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Watching West tear up the Colonial Athletic Association was impressive, but it looked to me like there was a reason he was playing in division 1AA. He displayed good skills as a power runner between the tackles, showing excellent vision to find the hole and always finishing runs with authority to gain extra yardage. West also was a monster around the goal line while in college. He loved to dish out punishment in short yardage and showed great drive when trying to find the end zone. Still though, there was something missing from his game that held me back from thinking he was lead back material for an NFL franchise.

To me, West’s college tape lacked something important when watching a tailback from a small school. He didn’t display great explosion through the hole and didn’t show any open field skills to shake defenders on the perimeter or at the second level. Although he outran defenders on many occasions, he lacked the burst to could beat an unblocked backside linebacker through the hole.

So far as a pro, West has done nothing to alleviate my concerns. Through eight games, he’s accounted for 396 yards on 107 carries (3.7 YPC) and three touchdowns on the ground. Some have suggested the lack of talent on the Browns’ offensive line is to blame for his rather pedestrian yards-per-carry numbers, but I’m not buying it.

Just like in college, West has shown good vision to find openings between the tackles and ran hard to immediately get up field. The problem though, is that the holes close up much quicker on Sundays than they did on Saturdays for him and he doesn’t have the burst to get through before linebackers get there.

Last Thursday night West was able to run for 94 yards on 26 carries (3.6 YPC) against the Bengals, but he wasn’t all that impressive doing it. Although he ran hard it seemed like every time he touched the ball he only got what was blocked, getting tackled by the first defender he met on nearly every carry. West also nearly fumbled on his touchdown run (which was a problem for him in college) where he barely broke the goal line before letting go of the ball while jumping over the pile.

In the short term, it seems like the Browns want to give West the opportunity to start, but that could be short lived. Each of the three tailbacks on the roster are getting touches and the coaching staff has jumped back and forth between West, Ben Tate and Isaiah Crowell so many times since the season started that it’s hard to tell who the “starter” is in Cleveland. I’d be surprised if that changes anytime soon and even more shocked if West runs away with the opportunity.

As a long term prospect, West still has upside, but likely not as a featured runner and it’s hard to believe that the Browns’ flirtation with him in the role will go very far. He could, however, excel as a change of pace power runner, getting between eight and 12 carries per game and seeing short yardage and goal line work which could translate to a weekly RB3 or flex play for fantasy owners – that role would suit him best if he was paired with a quick, shifty runner that could gash defenses on the perimeter.

Overall, I believe West could very well be at his highest fantasy value right now coming off his 26 carry game last Thursday night. If I owned him, I might try to see what I could get for him.

Rookie Report Card
Player: Terrence West
Performance To Date 2014 Potential Long Term Upside
C C C+

 

Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE TB
Week Ten Stats: five receptions, 30 yards, one touchdown
Season Stats: 18 receptions, 198 yards, two touchdowns

Coming out of college, Seferian-Jenkins was one of my favorite boom-or-bust prospects in the draft. He appeared to have the same impressive (albeit raw) combination of size and speed many of the other athletic tight ends taking over the league like Jimmy Graham and Julius Thomas possess, but there was also a glaring downside to his long term potential. I wrote the following about him after he was selected by the Buccs early in round two of the draft.

“ASJ is an impressive athlete for his size. He’s a matchup nightmare that can dominate linebackers with his speed and overpower defensive backs with his size. While at Washington, he hauled in 146 receptions for 1,840 yards and 21 touchdowns – all of which are school records. He also won the 2013 Mackey award, which is awarded to the nation’s best tight end, in his final year on campus after catching 36 passes for 450 yards and eight touchdowns.

As with any prospect, Seferian-Jenkins has some flaws to his game. He’ll have to improve as a blocker to be on the field full-time at the next level. Some have also questioned his commitment to the weight room and to perfecting his craft but that should get ironed out during his first professional training camp with Lovie Smith. There are also many that have concerns as to whether Seferian-Jenkins will be a problem off the field (he was arrested for DUI last year) but from I’ve read, his digressions look like teenage mistakes more than a teenager on the path towards bigger infractions.

From a dynasty owner’s perspective, ASJ is one of the most interesting prospects in this class of rookies. He possesses a rare combination of size and speed, has very good hands and route running skills and landed in an ideal spot to make an impact as early as his rookie year.

Seferian-Jenkins is a bit of a boom or bust prospect but has the upside of a TE1 and potential to crack the top-five at his position if he dedicates himself to his craft and stays out of trouble off the field.”

Although Seferian-Jenkins’ rookie season has been anything but remarkable from a fantasy owner’s perspective, he has shown improvement in some key areas that aren’t showing in his fantasy numbers. Since returning from a foot injury in week four, his blocking has become good enough that he’s already completely overtaken Brandon Myers on the depth chart – even on running downs. In the last six weeks, he’s played 91.4% of Tampa Bay’s offensive snaps and has ranked as the eighth best run blocking tight end in the league according to Pro Football Focus. He’s also kept his nose clean off the field and according to reports, has been an ideal teammate and is very committed to improving.

Despite posting just one catch in three separate games this year and not reaching 60 receiving yards in a single contest, Seferian Jenkins’ fantasy numbers have been improving of late. He’s scored at least 9.8 PPR fantasy points in three of the last four weeks and found the end zone twice over the last three games.

So far as a rookie, Seferian-Jenkins has been used as a short to intermediate receiver. In fact, most of his catches have been high percentage passes inside of 10-yards downfield and both of his touchdowns have come on short, play-action passes, so he’s not being asked to run vertical routes just yet, which was a strength of his in college. He’s also not been getting much after the catch so far on the year, being limited to just 2.3 yards after the catch per reception. YAC yards were another area where ASJ excelled in college which hasn’t yet transferred to Sundays.

At this point, Seferian-Jenkins shouldn’t be considered a weekly fantasy play no matter what kind of league you play in. Although he’s getting a lot of playing time, he’s not being targeted enough to put up consistent TE1 numbers – that’s unlikely to change without an injury to either of the Buccaneers’ top receiving targets – Vincent Jackson or Mike Evans.

In the long term, however, Seferian-Jenkins absolutely holds top-tier tight end upside. As he gets more experience the game will slow down for him and he’ll no doubt start to use his athleticism to not only win jump balls in the red zone, but also start racking up yards after the catch. Once he starts getting looks as a vertical threat, the sky’s the limit.

Overall, the potential to someday become a top fantasy option at his position still exists, and that makes Seferian-Jenkins a great trade target for those looking to acquire a developmental prospect at tight end before the trade deadline. Go get him, while the price is still low.

Rookie Report Card
Player: Austin Seferian-Jenkins
Performance To Date 2014 Potential Long Term Upside
C+ B A

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dan meylor