Developing Assets: Week Five

This may be the best week yet of college football as we have three big-time matchups in each of our three timeslots. You won’t have much incentive to get off the couch once noon hits on Saturday. It’s always great for both entertainment and scouting purposes to see future NFL players go up against one another, and we get a lot of that in Week 5.

In this series, we take a look at NFL prospects with a focus on the offensive skill positions to help those of you in developmental (devy) leagues. We’ll give you several games to watch, along with some key devy players who will be in action. For those in regular dynasty formats, this gives you a chance to start checking out some of the players who will be available in 2016 (and beyond) 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.

Saturday

Wake Up and Watch: No. 23 West Virginia at No. 15 Oklahoma (FS1, 12:00)

It’s an early kickoff in Norman for the Big 12’s best game of the week. West Virginia, despite losing Kevin White to the draft, has been on a tear, outscoring its opposition 130-23 in three games, granted only Maryland can be counted as a Power Five Conference foe. The Sooners are averaging 41.3 points per game and have an impressive 31-24 road win over Tennessee on their resume.

Oklahoma is running a more pass-happy offense this season, and the unit will face off against a West Virginia defense currently leading the nation in points allowed (7.6).

Quarterback Baker Mayfield, a former walk-on at Texas Tech, has been a revelation for the Sooners. After beating out Trevor Knight for the starting gig, he’s erupted for 1,062 yards and a 67 percent completion percentage, tossing 10 touchdowns to two interceptions. He’s added four touchdowns on the ground.

Mayfield is surrounded by weapons, including top receiver Sterling Shepard, our No. 23 wideout for 2016, who has 18 grabs for 246 yards and two scores.

The Sooners have one of the best backfield tandems in the country with Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine. Both Perine (seventh) and Mixon (eighth) rank inside the top eight in our 2017 running back rankings. Perine, a sophomore had 1,713 yards on 267 carries (6.5 average) with an eye-popping 21 touchdowns last season. He has 263 yards and two touchdowns on 56 carries in 2015. Mixon was a monster recruit, rated by Rivals as the No. 1 back in the 2014 high school class. He’s playing second fiddle to Perine right now, racking up 93 rushing yards and 176 receiving yards through three games.

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Sophomore wideout Michiah Quick, 2017’s No. 14 receiver, missed the opener for an undisclosed reason and has been slow to crack the Sooners’ receiving rotation. He saw his first game action in Oklahoma’s last contest and is expected to be more involved against West Virginia.

The Mountaineers don’t have any players in our devy prospect rankings, but they feature two versatile offensive weapons in Wendell Smallwood and Rushel Shell.

Smallwood, a junior, plays a little bit of a Percy Harvin role in Head Coach Dana Holgorsen’s high-powered attack. Smallwood has rushed 48 times for 331 yards and four touchdowns, adding 10 catches for 70 yards through the air. Shell, a redshirt junior, was Rivals’ sixth-ranked running back in the 2012 high school class. He originally attended Pittsburgh but has transferred to play for the Mountaineers. Through three games, Shell has carried the ball 34 times for 146 yards and two scores.

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

• Purdue at No. 2 Michigan State (Connor Cook, L.J. Scott, Macgarrett Kings), ESPN2, 12:00
• Iowa at No. 19 Wisconsin (Corey Clement), ESPN, 12:00
• Texas (Johnathan Gray) at No. 4 TCU (Josh Doctson, Trevone Boykin, Aaron Green), ABC, 12:00

Midday Marquee: No. 13 Alabama at No. 8 Georgia (CBS, 3:30)

Alabama and Georgia square off in this week’s top SEC game. These two powerhouses haven’t played since the 2012 SEC Championship game, and they haven’t met in a regular season contest since 2008, when a then-freshman Julio Jones led the Tide past Matthew Stafford, A.J. Green and the Bulldogs. Athens will surely be rocking.

After losing to Ole Miss, Alabama likely can’t afford another loss if it wants to be in the playoff, so this is basically a must-win for the Crimson Tide. Georgia, on the other hand, sits at 4-0 but has yet to face a ranked foe. Alabama will help us figure out if Georgia is truly a contender this season.

If Oklahoma doesn’t have the most talented backfield in the country, then the title may fall to either Georgia or Alabama.

Georgia sophomore Nick Chubb is our No. 1 devy running back. Filling in for an injured Todd Gurley a year ago, Chubb went bonkers, totaling 1,760 yards and 16 touchdowns in just seven starts. Through four games in 2015, Chubb has 71 carries for 599 yards and six scores.

Chubb isn’t the Bulldogs’ only standout running back. Sony Michel, our No. 17 back for 2017, and Keith Marshall, the No. 22 running back for 2016, are both NFL prospects. On 32 attempts, Michel has 233 yards and four touchdowns. Marshall, a senior, was a highly coveted recruit, coming to Georgia in the same class as Gurley, but he missed most of the past two seasons due to injuries. He rushed for 759 yards as a freshman, forming a potent one-two punch with Gurley. Through four games this season, he has 125 rushing yards on 22 attempts.

Alabama’s offense is spearheaded by the running back duo of Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake. Henry, the No. 2 running back for 2016, is the lead back and has 67 carries for 422 yards and eight touchdowns. Drake has rushed 37 times for 217 yards and a score. Drake is a weapon in the passing game, as well, hauling in seven passes for 139 and another touchdown. Alabama also has true freshman Damien Harris, who was Rivals’ No. 1 running back in the 2015 high school class. Harris has gained 101 yards on 21 rushes in limited action.

Georgia junior quarterback Greyson Lambert, a Virginia transfer, has been outstanding early on. He’s completing 76 percent of his passes for 733 yards, seven touchdowns and no interceptions. Over his last two games, Lambert is an absurd 33-for-35 for 476 yards and five scores.

Jeb Blazevich is Georgia’s top pass-catching prospect. Blazevich, the No. 1 tight end in the 2017 class, has just five grabs for 54 yards and one score. Senior Malcolm Mitchell leads the team in receiving with 20 receptions for 306 yards and three scores.

Alabama has plenty of talent at the receiver position, but the Tide lack a true No. 1 wideout, as of now. Their top weapon is junior tight end O.J. Howard, our third-ranked tight end for 2016. He’s made 13 catches for a team-best 183 yards. Sophomores ArDarius Stewart and Robert Foster, along with freshman Calvin Ridley, are Alabama’s top receivers. Stewart leads the crew with 21 receptions for 177 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Ridley was the top-ranked wideout in the 2015 high school class, according to Rivals.

Other teams in midday action, along with some players to watch, include:

• No. 11 Florida State (Dalvin Cook, Travis Rudolph, Jesus Wilson, Everett Golson, Ermon Lane, Auden Tate, George Campbell, Jacques Patrick) at Wake Forest, ESPN, 3:30
• No. 1 Ohio State (Cardale Jones, Ezekiel Elliott, J.T. Barrett, Michael Thomas and Braxton Miller) at Indiana (Nate Sudfeld), ABC, 3:30
• No. 5 Baylor (K.D. Cannon, Davion Hall, Corey Coleman, Ishmael Zamora) at Texas Tech, ESPN2, 3:30
• Washington State at California (Jared Goff, Kenny Lawler), PACN, 4:00

Primetime Play: No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 12 Clemson (ABC, 8:00)

Notre Dame has been one of the surprise teams this season. Don’t get me wrong, the Irish were supposed to be a playoff contender, but with the injuries they’ve suffered — losing both their starting quarterback and starting running back, in addition to two key defensive players – makes what they’ve done thus far extremely impressive.

Junior receiver Will Fuller is Notre Dame’s top offensive prospect. Our No. 17 receiver for 2016, Fuller has elevated his game this season, amassing 22 grabs for 454 yards and six touchdowns, averaging a robust 20.6 yards per catch. At 6’0”, 184 pounds, Fuller isn’t a physical receiver after the catch, but he has elite speed and has shown the ability to win jump balls.

Fellow junior Corey Robinson, who is 6’4”, 216 pounds, is two spots ahead of Fuller in our rankings, but that’s based on potential, not production. Robinson came on at the end of 2014, but he has struggled to make an impact this season, snatching just four passes for 45 yards. Torii Hunter Jr., 2017’s No. 17 wideout, has four grabs for 57 yards.

The diminished numbers for Robinson and Hunter can somewhat be attributed to the loss of starting quarterback Malik Zaire. Sophomore DeShone Kizer, who didn’t play a snap in 2014, has filled in admirably — 67 percent completion percentage, five touchdowns — but the Irish have become more of a run-based offense, even without starting tailback Tarean Folston, who tore his ACL in the opener. C.J. Prosise has been superb in Folston’s absence. A former defensive back, Prosise has rushed for 600 yards and six scores on 71 carries.

We typically focus on offensive skill players, since a large majority of leagues only employ those players, but it’s worth mentioning Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith. A junior, Smith was Rivals’ No. 1 linebacker and No. 3 overall player in the 2013 high school class. He’s lived up to the billing. At 6’2”, 240 pounds, Smith is rated by many draft pundits as the top linebacker for the 2016 NFL Draft. He ran a 4.41 40-yard dash in a high school combine, which may not be the most accurate measurement, but it gives us a glimpse into his speed. He plays inside and outside for the Irish and is certainly a guy to know for IDP leaguers.

Deshaun Watson leads the way for unbeaten Clemson, who is coming off a bye week. Watson, our No. 1 signal caller for 2017, has it rolling through three games, completing 74 percent of his passes for 641 yards, seven scores and three picks. He’s added 93 yards on the ground.

The Tigers have churned out some serious NFL talent at receiver the past few years — Martavis Bryant, Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins — and the pipeline is still flowing with Artavis Scott, Deon Cain and Mike Williams.

Scott, a sophomore, is our No. 3 wideout for 2017. He has 20 grabs for 188 yards and two touchdowns. As a freshman in 2014, Scott had 795 yards and eight scores. Cain, a true freshman, was Rivals’ No. 4 receiver in the 2015 high school class. Through three games, Cain has six receptions for 70 yards.

Williams, 2016’s No. 8 wideout, is one of the top receivers in college football, but he suffered a horrific neck fracture when he fell into the goal post in the Tigers’ opener. At 6’4”, 210 pounds, Williams has enticing size and speed. He caught 57 passes for 1,030 yards and six touchdowns as a sophomore in 2014. The neck injury is not believed to be career-ending, but there is no timetable for his return. It’ll be interesting to see if Williams will be back at Clemson next season or enter the draft early.

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

• No. 3 Mississippi (Evan Engram, Laquon Treadwell, Markell Pack, DaMarkus Lodge) at No. 25 Florida (Demarcus Robinson), ESPN, 7:00
• Arizona State (D.J. Foster, Demario Richard) at UCLA (Josh Rosen, SoSo Jamabo, Paul Perkins, Jordan Payton), FOX, 7:30
• No. 21 Mississippi State (De’Runnya Wilson, Dak Prescott) at No. 14 Texas A&M (Kyle Allen, Speedy Noil, Ricky Seals-Jones, Christian Kirk), SECN, 7:30
• Arizona (Nick Wilson) at No. 18 Stanford (Kevin Hogan, Christian McCaffrey, Trenton Irwin), PACN, 10:30

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