Ask a Scout
Our Dynasty Scouts specialize in college football players and we’re going to answer your questions. Devy players, rookie prospects, draft questions, trade questions, etc. If you would like to submit a question, please see the thread in DLF forums in the College/Prep Scouting section or feel free to email me [email protected]. Be sure to include details and check in to see if your question got picked for future editions of this series.
Question: Our first question comes from Diti51 from the DLF forums. After the combine, there seems to be a second tier of RBs after Gordon and Gurley. Who would you rank in the second tier of RBs and what order? This includes Coleman, Ajayi, Abdullah, Langford and Duke Johnson?
Response: I actually have Jay Ajayi ahead of Melvin Gordon in my rankings. Among the players you listed, I would rank that second tier as Ajayi, David Johnson and Ameer Abdullah. All three backs bring a good receiving element to their game and I think have good upside as starters at the NFL level. Tevin Coleman is sliding down my rankings because he’s more scheme dependent and needs a solid front line. I’m not drafting Duke Johnson or Jeremy Langford in any of my leagues and think they’re both very overrated.
Question: I’m going to combine two questions from Steveeb and pjh0736 from the DLF forums. I’d love some info on players who are off of the radar mostly due to scheme in college. Georgia Tech has produced some prolific WRs in Megatron and DThomas. This year we have DeAndre Smelter and Darren Waller entering the NFL. These guys are both big bodied athletes – do either have the tools to put it together in the NFL?
I have the same thoughts, but also wonder about players like Terrell Watson, Zach Zenner, Jahwan Edwards, Tre McBride?
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Response: I’m high on Smelter because I see all of the necessary skills for him to succeed at the NFL level. He’s actually a more refined route runner than one would think coming out of that Georgia Tech program. Waller is one heck of an athletic specimen, but he doesn’t have the technical skills and has poor hands. If he can develop those, he’s actually more athletic than Dorial Green-Beckham and bigger! I would guess that it doesn’t all come together for him.
I’m sky high on McBride and have a write-up on him in the following question. Edwards doesn’t appear to be athletic enough for me to think of him in fantasy football terms. I break down prospects into two categories (athletic enough to be a FF factor, not athletic enough) off of film, then I figure out if they have enough football skills. Edwards doesn’t have either in my estimation. Watson falls into the category of having good football skills, but not a great athlete. I really like Zenner and he has the ability to play in the NFL and maybe even become a FF factor if he lands in a good situation.
Question: Swampdonkey17, Dookmariot, and pjh0736 from the DLF forums all wanted more information the second and third tier wide receivers such as Strong, Funchess, Coates, Perriman, Hardy etc. In depth analysis, comparisons and cutting through the noise.
Response:
If you’re looking for great value later in your rookie drafts, you will be disappointed with this wide receiver class. Many refer to it as deep, others will think about the 2014 rookie class and think that this class is similar…it is not. I find it underwhelming outside of the top four prospects.
Breshad Perriman has been steadily on the rise this offseason and it only got heightened after his impressive pro day. He ran in the 4.2-4.3 range, with impressive jumps as well, but that doesn’t show up on the tape. He would be my fifth receiver right now by default, but I would be cautious due to his raw route running skills and techniques. Players that are raw and test better than I see on the field are passes for me in fantasy drafts because others will take them earlier than I’m comfortable. If I had to guess, Perriman never develops fully to meet expectations created by his pro day.
Jaelen Strong is like Perriman’s cousin, as he also tested better than what is shown on the field. However, Strong is not at the same level as Perriman athletically. On film, Strong looks like a JAG (just a guy) and someone that I don’t think will ever become anything special in fantasy football unless paired with a great quarterback. Strong thrived in a spread offense and had to have some good ball placements to do his dirty work. I don’t see the physicality or athleticism to be a fantasy factor. He gives me a Jon Baldwin-like feel and that makes me run in the other direction.
Sammie Coates shows athleticism all over the field and plays physical. However, he drops passes and is raw as a route runner. He should go later in rookie drafts (second round) and then I might take a chance on him if he lands in a good situation. But he’s very far from a finished or fantasy ready product.
Devin Funchess is the biggest question mark of skill position players in this class. What position will he play? What happened at the combine? He’s sliding down most boards, but I would take him in the third round of rookie drafts if he lands in a decent situation because that provides good value. Sure, he drops some passes and has flaws to his game. But he also is a better football player than most are giving him credit for and his upside is higher than some of the other third round rookie picks.
Chris Conley is intriguing because of his combine performance. I’m one of the more, anti-combine, people out there because film matters the most to me. But Conley isn’t a terrible player on the field either; Georgia rarely uses their wide receivers in a strong capacity, so it’s tough to get a thorough feel. I wouldn’t spend a first through third round rookie pick on Conley, but if it’s late…I can see a flier spent on him.
Justin Hardy has had some hype because of his route running skills. I don’t see a lot of burst or ability to combat physical defenders. He’s already 23 years old and turns 24 in December and I don’t see a lot of upside as a starter.
Tre McBride is a player I really like and he’s been my sleeper pick for quite some time now. He has solid size and athleticism, but proved it at the combine as well. Fearless player that has all of the necessary skills to be a WR2 in fantasy football circles, but you can grab him in the second round of rookie drafts.
Nelson Algholor is another guy that I like because he’s a good football player and not a combine darling. He is good at most things on the football field, but great at not one thing. I would take him in the second round of rookie drafts and he will outperform his ADP.
Kenny Bell is similar to Conley in that he wasn’t used a lot on the field, but had a great combine. Just someone to monitor later in your drafts as a guy I would take a shot on.
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Nick can be found on Twitter at @_NickWhalen
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