Developing Assets: Week One, Part Two

We’re back with a second Week One installment of Developing Assets. Two in one week? That’s how much we love dynasty football!

We’ll take a look at future NFL players to help those of you in developmental (devy) leagues. For those in regular dynasty formats, we’ll give you all the information you need to help you start the preparation for 2016 rookie drafts.

We have in-depth rankings for the 2016, 2017 and 2018 classes, which we update throughout the season. We also have a breakdown on what the heck a devy league is, in case it’s foreign to you.

We dissected the Thursday and Friday matchups in Part One, leaving us with Saturday’s and Monday’s games to cover in this one. Let’s get to it.

Saturday

Wake Up and Watch: Tennessee Martin at No. 17 Mississippi (SECN, 12:00)

This is must-see TV for dynasty and devy players for one simple reason: Laquon Treadwell, our No. 1 overall player for 2016.

Treadwell, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound junior, is all-world talent coming off a horrific lower leg injury suffered last season. Hopefully he hasn’t lost any of his elite burst and athleticism. In nine games as a sophomore, Treadwell caught 48 passes for 632 yards and five touchdowns. According to reports out of Ole Miss, Treadwell is fully recovered from his gruesome injury, but it wouldn’t be a shocker if the Rebels limited his snaps in this one, especially since the outcome likely won’t be in doubt over the final two quarters.

In addition to Treadwell, the Rebels — who may have the most 2016 NFL draft prospects of any SEC team when you factor in all positions, not just the standard fantasy spots — boast two other highly-regarded wideouts in sophomore Markell Pack and true freshman DaMarkus Lodge. Pack, our No. 16 receiver for 2017, caught 14 passes for 173 yards last fall. Lodge was Rivals No. 7 receiver coming out of high school.

The Rebels also have Evan Engram, our No. 2 tight end for 2016, giving them a truly elite group of pass catchers. Engram, a junior who stands at 6-foot-3, 227 pounds, hauled in 38 passes for 662 yards and two touchdowns last season.

Other teams in action around the noon hour, along with some players to focus on, include:

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• Louisiana Monroe at No. 9 Georgia (Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, Keith Marshall, Jeb Blazevich, Terry Godwin), SECN, 12:00
• Wofford at No. 12 Clemson (Deshaun Watson, Mike Williams, Deon Cain, Artavis Scott), ACCN and ESPN3, 12:30
•  Youngstown State at Pittsburgh (James Conner, Tyler Boyd), ESPN3, 1:00

Midday Marquee: Louisville at No. 6 Auburn (CBS, 3:30)

Even though it’s not a Top 25 matchup, this is undoubtedly one of the opening weekend’s top games as it pits two quality programs against one another. While Louisville has churned out some top-level NFL talent in recent years (10 draft picks last season), they don’t feature a slew of NFL talent at the skill positions this season. Auburn, on the other hand, is absolutely loaded. Tigers Head Coach Gus Malzahn is going to have some fun with this group.

It starts at running back, where Auburn has an embarrassment of riches, with three backs ranking in the top 10 in their respective class, according to our devy rankings. Auburn has put Tre Mason and Cameron Artis-Payne into the NFL in the last two years, and junior Jovon Robinson, our 2016 No. 8 back, will look to continue the trend. He was the nation’s top-ranked junior college running back and is in his first year with Auburn. Kerryon Johnson is a true freshman and our No. 8 running back for 2018. He was Rivals fifth-ranked back. Lastly, Roc Thomas, our No. 8 back for 2017, is the only player returning to the backfield who has played in Auburn’s system. Thomas started two games last year and finished the season with 43 carries for 228 yards and two scores.

Jeremy Johnson, our No. 4 quarterback for 2016, will be pulling the strings in Malzahn’s up-tempo, spread attack. He played sparingly behind Nick Marshall as a sophomore a year ago, connecting on 28-of-37 passes for 436 yards and three scores. D’haquille Williams will be Auburn’s top receiving weapon. Williams, our 2016 No. 8 wideout, led the Tigers with a 45-730-5 line last year as a junior.

Redshirt junior running back Brandon Radcliff is Louisville’s best devy option. Radcliff broke out over the second half of last season, finishing the season with 737 yards and a whopping 12 touchdowns despite starting just five games.

Other teams in mid-day action, along with some players to watch, include:

• Virginia at No. 13 UCLA (Paul Perkins, Josh Rosen, Soso Jamabo, Chris Clark), FOX, 3:30
• UTEP at No. 18 Arkansas (Hunter Henry, Alex Collins), ESPNU, 3:30
• Penn State (Christian Hackenberg, Juwan Johnson, Saquon Barkley, Adam Breneman) at Temple, ESPN, 3:30
• Bowling Green at No. 25 Tennessee (Joshua Dobbs, Alvin Kamara, Marquez North, Jalen Hurd, Josh Malone, Dan Helm, Preston Williams), SECN, 4:00

Primetime Play: No. 20 Wisconsin vs No. 3 Alabama (ABC, 8:00)

The unquestioned top matchup of the first weekend is this one, which will be played at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, between two teams built on running the ball. Alabama has their usual roster full of NFL talent, but Wisconsin’s roster is far from barren.

Let’s start with the Crimson Tide, who have two of the nation’s best running backs in Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake. Henry, a junior, is our No. 2 back for 2016, and he figures to get the lead role in the backfield. Playing behind T.J. Yeldon a year ago, Henry rushed for 990 yards and 11 touchdowns. Drake, a senior, played just five games due to injury, but as a sophomore in 2013 he averaged 7.5 yards per carry and finished with 694 yards and eight scores.

Junior tight end O.J. Howard is our No. 3 tight end for 2016. He’s coming off a sophomore campaign where he caught 17 balls for 260 yards. Sophomore ArDarius Stewart, sophomore Robert Foster and freshman Calvin Ridley are vying to replace Amari Cooper as the team’s top receiver. Ridley was the top-ranked wideout in the 2015 class, according to Rivals.

Wisconsin will have its usual strong running game as junior running back Corey Clement gets to step out of Melvin Gordon’s shadow. Clement, despite playing second-fiddle to Gordon all year, still rushed for 949 yards on 147 carries (6.5 YPC). He is our No. 5 draft-eligible back for 2016. The Badgers also have a future prospect in redshirt freshman quarterback D.J. Gillins, but fifth-year senior Joel Stave is expected to start under center this year.

Other teams with evening games, along with some players to focus on, include:

• Louisiana Lafayette (Elijah McGuire) at Kentucky, ESPNU, 7:00
• No. 15 Arizona State (Demario Richard) at Texas A&M (Kyle Allen, Speedy Noil), ESPN, 7:00
• Texas at No. 11 Notre Dame (Will Fuller, Corey Robinson, Justin Brent), NBC, 7:30
• McNeese State at No. 14 LSU (Jacory Washington, Travin Dural, Malachi Dupre, Trey Quinn, Leonard Fournette), 7:30, SECN

Monday Night Football: No. 1 Ohio State as Virginia Tech (ESPN, 8:00)

Before Ohio State tries to get revenge for its lone loss a year ago, the Buckeyes have to decide who will play quarterback, either Cardale Jones or J.T. Barrett. Truth is, they can’t make a bad choice. We have Jones (first) and Barrett (fifth) both in the top five of our 2016 quarterback rankings. Jones had such an incredible late-season run in 2014. In 12 months he’s gone from third-stringer to likely top 10 draft pick — but he may be a backup this year, which is all very odd.

Regardless of who’s playing quarterback — and both of them may see time in this one — he will be surrounded by a lot of talent.

Junior Ezekiel Elliott, our top 2016 running back, ran is 273 times for 1,878 yards and 18 scores last year. Junior wideout Michael Thomas, our No. 5 2016 receiver, had 54 grabs for 799 yards and nine touchdowns. Thomas will see plenty of Virginia Tech cornerback Kendall Fuller, who rates out as one of the top corners for next year’s NFL draft. It’ll also be interesting to see how former quarterback Braxton Miller does in his first game as a receiver — or however Head Coach Urban Meyer employs him.

Virginia Tech’s top offensive NFL prospect is tight end Bucky Hodges, who we have as our No. 1 player at the position for 2016’s class. Hodges had 45 receptions for 526 yards and seven scores.

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