Target Acquired: Week Four

Travis May Posted On September 19, 2017

Welcome to another edition of Target Acquired. If you’re new to the series, let me catch you up. Dynasty strategy has many layers to it, but one of the more fun aspects of it all is player research and analysis. And whether you play in devy leagues, “normal” dynasty leagues, or just love college football, it’s a blast to dig into some of the best NFL prospects in the country. This series takes a look every week at a mix of college football players who just bolstered their chances of making it to the pros with a stellar performance.

Some will be names you recognize. Others will be the deepest of sleepers that no one knew until yesterday. Regardless, the point is to tuck these names away as your prepare for all of your drafts, trades, and just-for-fun research in the future.

The draft gets closer every day, and I have my set of “Targets Acquired” for any and every format out there.

Quarterback

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Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi State

This former three-star recruit is probably the most low-key amazing duel threat quarterback in college football. Nick Fitzgerald had some pretty massive shoes to fill in 2016 after best quarterback in Mississippi State team history, Dak Prescott, left for the Dallas Cowboys. Everyone was pretty far down on Mississippi State, but Nick Fitzgerald led them to a bowl game victory in his first year as the starter. Did I mention he was a “duel-threat” guy before? Nick not only threw for 2423 yards and 21 touchdowns, but ran for another 1375 yards and 16 touchdowns! Now Nick’s back at it again in 2017. He’s personally responsible for 12 touchdowns through three games (7 passing, 5 rushing). And it’s not just against nobody competition. This past weekend Nick threw for two touchdowns and ran one in against an incredibly formidable LSU defense. That performance helped lead Mississippi State to a 37-7 destruction of the tough Tigers. If he continues to grow expect to hear his name called in the middle rounds of the 2018 NFL Draft.

Running Back

David Montgomery, Iowa State

You may have seen some talk of David Montgomery lately on Twitter, but he’s been hiding in plain sight for over a year now with Iowa State. He actually carried the ball over 100 times as a freshman and even caught some passes too. Montgomery boasts adequate speed, size, vision, burst, and physicality necessary to make at the next level. That showed up big time against Iowa two weeks ago, and again this past weekend against a much weaker Akron team. Montgomery just looked like he was in a different league against the Zips’ defense as he took 22 carries for 127 yards and a score. He’s showing true feature back ability as of late. If that continues you can expect a late surge in draft season to make Montgomery a mid-late round steal in next year’s draft.

Royce Freeman, Oregon

Royce Freeman used to have quite the hype train going back as a freshman and sophomore, but now it’s quite the opposite. Royce looked sluggish a few prime time games as a sophomore. Then he got injured in 2016 before struggling for much of the season on a surprisingly terrible Oregon team. However, many don’t realize that Freeman has quietly run for nearly 5000 yards averaging about six yards per carry in his time with Oregon. Not only that, but Royce is obviously much faster and slightly leaner than he was a sophomore when he was probably pushing 240 pounds. Freeman has logged AT LEAST 150 yards and two touchdowns in every game this season. That’s insane. Many people are going to sleep on Royce because of two-year-old film or highlights, but he’s the real deal. NFL teams will line up to take Royce next spring.

Wide Receiver

Anthony Miller, Memphis

I began to fall in love with the talent of this incredible walk-on superstar last year when he caught ten passes for 132 yards at Ole Miss in 2016. Miller ended up finishing the 2016 season with the 9th most receiving yards in the nation at 1434 yards and 14 scores. What does it take for a walk-on with a non-descript name to get our attention in the devy fantasy football world? I guess he just needs to catch 9 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns against UCLA on a major cable network. That’s what he did last weekend, and the secret is out. Anthony Miller can ball. He isn’t the biggest wide receiver, but his balls skills are near elite. If Miller puts together another 1400-yard seasons there isn’t any reason to see him go undrafted in 2018.

Deontay Burnett, USC

Yes, Burnett plays for a well-established program with plenty of fans and primetime games. There’s virtually no chance that you haven’t at least seen a Deontay Burnett highlight from a big game or two. But for some reason, Burnett simply doesn’t get the love he deserves in NFL Draft circles. For the first two years of his college career Burnett lived in the shadow of JuJu Smith-Schuster. It was assumed that Michael Pittman Jr. or Tyler Vaughns would come in and make some noise instead of Deontay. That hasn’t been the case. Pittman’s been hurt. Vaughns has been almost completely nothing. Even the veterans like Steve Mitchell haven’t done much. The USC offense has run solely through Burnett and running backs. Deontay has AT LEAST 121 yards and seven receptions in every game so far this season. He can win at the line of scrimmage 25 yards downfield. His weight might be a concern, but coming off his monstrous performance against a solid Texas defense, his NFL Draft hype is about to start building.

Tight End

Dallas Goedert, South Dakota State

This year may be the first time in South Dakota State football history that they have two legitimate NFL Draft prospects ready to make the leap together. Dallis Goedert and teammate Jake Wieneke (wide receiver) make for quite the duo. They’re both fun to watch and massively productive, but Dallis is just a freak of nature. At 6’4”, 260 pounds Dallis can block and run all of the routes you want to see as a pro NFL tight end. That’s great, but he can always make diving contested one-handed grabs over the middle. Dallis caught 92 passes for 1293 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2016. There’s absolutely no reason he won’t do the same in 2017. He just grabbed his first touchdown of the season this past week against Drake. Plus, he already has 16 catches for 210 yards through three games. Expect Goedert to go as high as round two when it’s all said and done.

IDP (Individual Defensive Player)

Malik Jefferson, LB Texas

If you missed the USC versus Texas game this past Saturday I am sorry for your loss. It was an incredible matchup between two solid defenses that ended up going into double overtime. Coming into the game many thought USC would blow out Texas. Malik Jefferson was a huge part of why that didn’t happen. He logged 11 total tackles (a whopping nine solo), including two tackles for loss. When Malik mixes his elite athleticism with instincts and drive he makes for a nearly impassable wall. Malik projects to play middle linebacker in a 4-3 defense at the next level. He could potentially be a top five linebacker prospect in 2018 if he continues to shine.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s Target Acquired. Let me know if you have any questions on any of these guys. If you want me to watch any specific upcoming games closer than others just let me know via Twitter @FF_TravisM. Best of luck to you in all of your fantasy leagues!

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