Developing Assets: Week Four

In this series, we take a look at future NFL players with a focus on offensive skill positions to help those of you in developmental (devy) leagues. For those in regular dynasty formats, we’ll give you some of the key players to watch as you start preparing for 2017 rookie drafts.

We have in-depth rankings for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 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 really start to get into the conference part of the regular season, and it’s a great day to watch some of the nation’s top running backs, starting with a pair of Big Ten matchups.

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Saturday

Wake Up and Watch

No. 11 Wisconsin at No. 8 Michigan State (BTN, Noon)

We touched on Michigan State in last week’s installment, so let’s spend most of our time on the Badgers.

Senior running back Corey Clement is Wisconsin’s top prospect. Just over 12 months ago, Clement seemed like a pretty sure bet to leave school early and enter the 2016 NFL Draft, but he missed most of the season with an injury and opted to come back to Madison for his senior campaign.

Clement burst onto the scene as a sophomore in 2014, racking up 949 rushing yards and nine scores on 147 carries (6.5 YPC). He only carried the ball 48 times for 221 yards and five touchdowns in an injury-shortened 2015, and Clement has run it 42 times for 197 yards and three touchdowns so far this season.

Clement, who is 5-foot-11, 227 pounds, played well in Wisconsin’s season-opening win over LSU, totaling 86 yards and a touchdown on 21 rushing attempts.

[arve url=”https://youtu.be/N7R7gixZl_w” mode=”normal” align=”center” maxwidth=”1000″]

 

He followed that up with 111 yards and two scores against Akron before injuring his ankle. It was thought to be a minor ailment, but he sat out last week’s win over Georgia State. Clement is believed to be available for this week, and Wisconsin will need him as they take on Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State and Iowa over their next four games.

On the other sideline, sophomore running back LJ Scott leads the way for Michigan State. Scott tallied 98 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries in last week’s win over Notre Dame. As a freshman in 2015, Scott totaled 699 yards and 11 scores on 146 carries.

First-year wideout Donnie Corley impressed versus the Irish, catching four balls for 88 yards and a touchdown. A big-time recruiting get for the Spartans, Corley was a four-star prospect from Detroit who chose Michigan State over the likes of Michigan, LSU, Ohio State and Alabama. He is 6-foot-2, 186 pounds, and it’s certainly worth keeping an eye on him.

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

• Kent State at No. 1 Alabama (WR Calvin Ridley, RB Damien Harris, WR ArDarius Stewart, TE O.J. Howard, RB Bo Scarbrough), SECN, Noon

• No. 12 Georgia (RB Sony Michel, RB Nick Chubb, WR Terry Godwin, TE Jeb Blazevich) at No. 23 Ole Miss (QB Chad Kelly, TE Evan Engram), ESPN, 12:00

• San Jose State at Iowa State (WR Allen Lazard), N/A, Noon

• No. 13 Florida State (WR Travis Rudolph, RB Dalvin Cook, RB Jacques Patrick, WR Auden Tate, WR George Campbell, WR Ermon Lane) at South Florida, ABC, Noon

• East Carolina at Virginia Tech (WR Isaiah Ford), ACCN, 12:30

Midday Marquee

Penn State at No. 4 Michigan (ABC, 3:30)

Michigan will probably roll Penn State in this game, but the Nittany Lions boast one of the country’s top running backs in sophomore Saquon Barkley. The No. 11 running back in the 2015 class, per Rivals, all Barkley did as a freshman was total 1,076 rushing yards and seven scores on 182 carries (5.9 YPC) while making 20 catches for 161 yards and another touchdown.

So far in 2016, Barkley has amassed 258 yards and six touchdowns on 51 carries (5.1 YPC). He cut up Temple last week, rushing for 68 yards and a score on just nine attempts. 

I repeat: he cut them up.

Those are some Sunday cuts from @saquonb21, @saquon21 #PennStateFootball https://t.co/P2D5dforpF

— Jim (@PandaPSU) September 17, 2016

The agility, feet, quickness and vision he displays in that brief clip is a great peek into why he’s one of our top-ranked backs for the 2018 class.

Penn State also features enticing 2017 draft-eligible receiver Chris Godwin. As a sophomore, Godwin recorded 69 catches for 1,101 yards and five scores. He’s 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, and he has put up 18 catches for 220 yards and one touchdown through three games this year. Godwin had a big performance against Temple, totaling seven grabs for 117 yards and a score.

Michigan is very good, but they don’t boast a ton of NFL-caliber talent at skill positions. They do have Jake Butt, one of the top — if not the top — tight end in college football. He would’ve been one of the first tight ends off the board in the 2016 NFL Draft had he elected to leave Ann Arbor early, but he stayed for his senior season.

While tight end is a forgotten position in a lot of college offenses, the pro-style attack of Michigan Head Coach Jim Harbaugh is an exception. Butt finished last year with 51 receptions for 654 yards and three touchdowns. He already has 15 catches for 192 yards and three scores this season.

Receiver Jehu Chesson is the Wolverines’ other top prospect. A 6-foot-3, 203-pound senior, Chesson hauled in 50 passes for 764 yards and nine touchdowns last season. Through three games in 2016, he’s made seven catches for 127 yards.

Other notable teams in midday action, along with some players to focus on, include:

• Boise State at Oregon State (WR Jordan Villamin), FS1, 3:30

• Duke at Notre Dame (QB DeShone Kizer, RB Tarean Folston, RB Josh Adams, WR Equanimeous St. Brown), NBC, 3:30

• No. 19 Florida (WR Antonio Callaway, RB Jordan Scarlett, RB Lamical Perine) at No. 14 Tennessee (QB Joshua Hobbs, WR Josh Malone, RB Jalen Hurd, RB Alvin Kamara), CBS, 3:30

• Pittsburgh (RB James Conner) at North Carolina (RB Elijah Hood, WR Ryan Switzer, WR Mack Hollins, WR Bug Howard), ESPNU, 3:30

• Wake Forest at Indiana (WR Simmie Cobbs), BTN, 3:30

• Colorado at Oregon (RB Royce Freeman, WR Darren Carrington, TE John Mundt, TE Pharaoh Brown), PAC12N, 5:30

• No. 18 LSU (RB Leonard Fournette, RB Derrius Guice, WR Malachi Dupre, WR Travin Dural) at Auburn (RB Kerryon Johnson), ESPN, 6:00

Primetime Play

No. 7 Stanford at UCLA (ABC, 8:00)

Christian McCaffrey is doing Christian McCaffrey things, just as we all expected. He has 291 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 52 carries (5.6 YPC), adding 11 receptions for 11 yards and another score. A year ago in his breakout campaign, McCaffrey had 2,019 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on the ground and 645 receiving yards with five receiving touchdowns. He also threw for two scores and had two special teams touchdowns.

He’s a freak.

Stanford has another potential star behind McCaffrey in backup running back Bryce Love. He doesn’t see much work now, but he averaged 7.8 yards per attempt as a freshman. A four-star recruit, Love will likely have to wait until 2017 — assuming McCaffrey declares for the NFL Draft after this season — to show what he can do as a lead back.

UCLA sophomore quarterback Josh Rosen is the frontrunner to be the first pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Rivals’ top pro-style quarterback in the 2015 class, Rosen completed 60 percent of his passes as a true freshman, throwing for 3,670 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 picks. He has gotten off to a little bit of a slow start this season, tossing four scores and four interceptions through three contests.

Sophomore running back SoSo Jamabo carries the mail for the Bruins. He rushed for 403 yards and four touchdowns on 66 carries (6.1 YPC) last season as a freshman, playing behind Paul Perkins. Jamabo is the lead dog in 2016, and he has ran it 34 times for 181 yards (5.3 YPC) and three scores in two games. With six catches for 63 yards, he has already caught more passes — and racked up more receiving yards — this season than he did in his first year.

Jamabo, who is 6-foot-3, 216 pounds, was the fourth-ranked running back in the 2015 class, and he is one of the top runners eligible for the 2018 draft.

Other notable teams in evening action, along with some players to focus on, include:

• No. 6 Houston (QB Greg Ward Jr) at Texas State, ESPNU, 7:00

• Georgia Southern at Western Michigan (WR Corey Davis), ESPNU, 7:00

• No. 20 Nebraska (WR Alonzo Moore, WR Jordan Westerkamp) at Northwestern, BTN, 7:30

• Oklahoma State (QB Mason Rudolph, WR James Washington) at No. 16 Baylor (QB Seth Russell, WR K.D. Cannon, RB Shock Linwood, RB Terence Williams, WR Ishmael Zamora) , FOX, 7:30

• No. 3 Louisville (QB Lamar Jackson, RB Brandon Radcliff, WR James Quick, WR Jamari Staples) at Marshall, CBSSN, 8:00

• Louisiana Lafayette (RB Elijah McGuire) at Tulane, ESPN3, 8:00

• No. 17 Arkansas at No. 10  Texas A&M (WR Josh Reynolds, WR Speedy Noil, WR Christian Kirk), ESPN, 9:00

• No. 9 Washington (RB Myles Gaskin) at Arizona (RB Nick Wilson), N/A, 10:30

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