Determining Most Comparable Prospects: Part Two

Kyle Pollock Posted On May 29, 2016

Player comparisons are constantly used in the fantasy football community. It seems every year, there is a new running back prospect who is “the best prospect since Adrian Peterson”, a small receiver who reminds people of Antonio Brown, or a quarterback who is reminiscent of Andrew Luck. While these comps are commonly used, very few players can actually live up to them. The same comparisons are commonly made with incoming college freshman to current or recent college superstars. Since I play in many devy leagues, I thought it would be good to actually know which players actually were most comparable to each other. With the help of Ryan Berger, I decided to use the K Nearest Neighbor algorithm to determine each player’s most comparable players based on athletic testing numbers. I’ll be outlining some players comps over this series.

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For reference I used all data from the Opening from 2013-2016, so some players might not be in the set. Notable players missing include Laquon Treadwell, Josh Doctson, Corey Coleman, Will Fuller, and Leonard Fournette.

Ezekiel Elliott

Elliott Comp

We all know that Elliott is one of the top running back prospects to come out in the past few years, and is already considered a top five running back in dynasty leagues. So it’s interesting to see that another former top recruit, Auburn’s Roc Thomas, checks in as Zeke’s best comp. Thomas is a dynamic player but he has yet to make an impact for the Tigers. He had a touchdown in their spring game, and the team is considering moving him to a slot receiver position in an effort to get him more touches. Devy owners have been waiting for a few years for him to break out, and this could finally be the year we see Thomas’ potential shine through.

Parris Campbell and Jamycal Hasty are names that most devy owners aren’t familiar with. Like Elliott, Campbell was recruited as a running back to Ohio State. But, he was moved to wide receiver last year and has a chance to start this season. With 4.41 speed and a 40 inch vertical, he brings intriguing athleticism to the position that most receivers don’t possess. After signing with Baylor. Hasty redshirted last season. While the depth chart is currently crowded with competition, most of the players ahead of him will graduate after this season. Hasty could be in line to be Baylor’s starting running back as soon as next season. While he is a bit undersized at 5’9”, 182 pounds, he is an electric player with amazing speed and quickness. He fits Baylor perfectly and could become a star in Art Briles offense.

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