East / West Shrine Game Recap

Nathan Powell

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When a game ends with the kicker being named the MVP, you know a game is filled with star-studded future dynasty assets….. or not.

Regardless, there were possible future dynasty assets at the 90th annual East-West Shrine Game and I will recap the game through my eyes, including the week that was through the eyes of people who attended practices and talk about what they did in their careers that got them to the game and what NFL teams will like and dislike. For most Shrine Bowl participants, a mid round pick is usually their NFL draft ceiling, so where they go in the NFL draft will have a huge impact on how I value them in dynasty leagues when rookie draft season comes.

Quarterbacks

The quarterback play at the Shrine Bowl was less than stellar. Between the two teams and six quarterbacks, only one succeeded in the opportunity to raise his draft stock.

Hutson Mason of Georgia was the only one who completed more than 50% of his passes, going seven of eight for 71 yards and also showed his scrambling ability, running twice for 15 yards. Mason led the East drive that resulted in the only touchdown of the day. 2014 was Mason’s first year as the full-time starter at Georgia. In 13 games this season, Mason threw for 2,168 yards, 21 touchdowns and four interceptions. Mason will likely be a late round selection in the 2015 NFL draft and will not be selected in most dynasty rookie drafts, other than players taking a deep sleeper in 2QB/Superflex leagues.

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Running Backs 

The best performance from any running back was Louisville’s Dominique Brown. Brown had a good week of practice, CBS Sports Dane Brugler said “RB Dominique Brown was easily the best RB during pass protection and receiving drills. Possible hybrid H-back candidate w/ that size.” During the game itself, Brown turned in the best performance of any skill position players, running the ball 19 times for 70 yards and the game’s only touchdown. In Brown’s junior season, he had 1,053 total yards and nine touchdowns with an average of 5.1 yards per carry. Injuries and a backfield timeshare hampered Brown as he only put up 463 total yards and four touchdowns with 3.9 yards per carry.

Zach Zenner may have not done much in the game itself with two carries for no yards, but the FCS star from South Dakota State did impress some people in practice. During the Tuesday practice, Jeff Risdon of Bleacher Report said “Zach Zenner showing good interior vision and burst thru line. Impressed.” Zenner had a prolific college career in the FCS, running for more than 2,000 yards three straight years and tallying 22 and 23 touchdowns in the last two years respectively. In the 3rd Annual January Expert Dynasty Rookie Mock hosted by Scott Fish, Football Guys Sigmund Bloom selected Zenner at 4.04, saying “Don’t sleep on ZZ Top – he’s thick and fast, with adequate juice in his legs to find holes, good vision, and all terrain handling. Prepare to hear a lot more about him in the next three months.”

Malcolm Brown from the University of Texas is another running back who was unimpressive in the Shrine Bowl, putting up -2 yards on four carries, but that doesn’t mean he can’t still be a solid prospect. Brown ran for 2,678 yards and 24 touchdowns in his four years at Texas, averaging 4.2 yards per carry. Brown was also selected in the Expert Dynasty Rookie Mock, Shane Hallam grabbing him at 3.11, saying “Not a ton of guys out there who thrill me. Was between Brown and a WR, but Brown is big, powerful, and athletic. Could be a solid 3 down back at the next level IMO and worth a chance in the 3rd round.”

Wide Receivers 

Austin Hill tied for the Shrine game lead with four receptions and led all receivers with 41 receiving yards. Hill tore the ACL in his left knee during a spring practice which forced him to miss all of the 2013 season, coming off of a 2012 season where he was electric at the wide receiver position, catching 81 passes for 1,364 and 11 touchdowns. The two concerns with Hill are, he didn’t look like he was completely healthy in 2014 coming off of the injury and he isn’t the youngest in the world, as he will be 24 years old in July.

Andre Davis was my favorite dynasty prospect from this game, in my homer opinion (we both graduated from USF this year). I will have an in-depth sleeper article on him later this week.

Devin Gardner, the former Michigan quarterback, caught a pair of passes for 20 receiving yards in the Shrine Bowl. Gardner likely doesn’t have any dynasty value day one, but with his athleticism, he may be a guy to monitor if he can develop at the position.

Tight Ends

This is a pretty weak tight end class from what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard from other, it’s basically Maxx Williams and not much else at the tight end position.

Khari Lee was the only tight end to register a catch in the game, with one reception for 14 receiving yards. Lee, from Bowie State University, caught 34 balls for 389 receiving yards and one touchdown, so not much exciting there.

One interesting guy at tight end is former Oklahoma quarterback Blake Bell. Bell has the measurables to play the position, measuring in at 6’6” 283 pounds at the Shrine Bowl weigh in. Bell did get some buzz in the media during the week of practice. Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net said “Blake Bell looks the part at tight end in drills. Now needs to carry it over into production.” Much like Gardner switching from quarterback to wide receiver, it may take time for Bell to develop at the tight end position, but he has the size and speed to be worth a late round flyer in dynasty leagues depending on where he is taken in the NFL draft.

For the most part, the early rounds of your dynasty rookie drafts will be filled with underclassmen and Senior Bowl participants, however there will be late round value among the participants from the 2015 East-West Shrine game.

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