Devy Stock Market: Week Two

Nathan Powell

The fantasy football stock market is constantly fluctuating and it is always important for us to know which players have a price that has become exploitable whether it be to buy or sell. Pieces like this one have been fairly commonplace in the industry for a while in both redraft and dynasty, but I will be focusing on college players for devy dynasty leagues and how their week-to-week performances are affecting their price in those leagues.

Stock Up

Ta’amYou Wish You Drafted Me – Jordan Ta’amu, QB Ole Miss

Football’s version of the “chicken or the egg” argument is: does the wide receiver make the quarterback or does the quarterback make the wide receiver? This was an argument had in the 2014 NFL draft when Derek Carr and Davante Adams were both drafted in the second round of the NFL draft out of Fresno State. Both players have had highs and lows in their career thus far, so the answer there is probably a little bit of both.

If you told many college football fans prior to the season that Jordan Ta’amu would be third in the FBS in passing yards through two weeks, many would credit wide receivers A.J. Brown and Dekaylin Metcalf, who account for 425 of his 784 passing yards so far this season.

The Ole Miss Senior has started the season strong with an AY/A (adjusted yards per attempt) of 14.2 along with seven touchdowns and zero interceptions, his AY/A will go down as competition increases, but just as a comparison, Baker Mayfield had a 12.9 AY/A in his final season. Ta’amu may end up being the rare Senior who slipped through the cracks of many devy superflex leagues.

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Snell is No Snail – Benny Snell Jr., RB Kentucky

Benny Snell Jr. caught the eyes of devy drafters with a huge first season at Kentucky with 1,333 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns, much of that coming against SEC competition. He went undervalued for much of the off-season because many people question or discard the play of Kentucky football players because of their lack of success. But it’s more about the play of the individual player against tough competition in the SEC.

Snell has continued his Kentucky success with 400 rushing yards and two touchdowns in his first two games. Snell is eligible for the 2019 draft class and could be one of the first backs drafted. With everyone infatuated about the 2020 running back class, it is plausible that you could buy Snell for a lower-ranked 2020 back and get the production a year earlier.

Lawrence Puts It On A Tee – Trevor Lawrence, QB Clemson and Tee Higgins, WR Clemson

Tee Higgins was the number two WR prospect in the class of 2017 and Trevor Lawrence was the number QB prospect in the class of 2018: A match made in college scouts heaven. Higgins flashed toward the end of the 2017 season with nine catches for 262 receiving yards and two touchdowns in Clemson’s last two regular season games.

Last week against Texas A&M, Higgins and Lawrence showed why they should become the focal points of the offense. Higgins caught three passes for 143 yards and one touchdown, while Lawrence has outplayed starter Kelly Bryant, outgaining him 12.9 to 11.3 in AY/A and outscoring him 4-2 in passing touchdowns despite Lawrence having nine fewer passes (33-24).

Both of these players will be very highly drafted in new devy leagues this off-season and will be valued as one of the top assets at their position in all of devy. The statistical success of both players will hinge on Clemson’s ability to give these two opportunities over more experienced/less talented players.

The Passing of the Dortch – Greg Dortch, WR Wake Forest

From Corey Davis to Courtland Sutton, many devy players await the tout of former DLF Writer Nick Whalen, seeing who he pins his tail to for the upcoming season as he has had success finding deeper devy plays before they rocket to the top of draft boards. Late this off-season, Whalen touted Greg Dortch as his latest devy crush. Dortch has rewarded him handsomely for that prediction with a hot start to the season.

Dortch has caught 19 passes for 243 receiving yards and one touchdown, proving to be a high volume weapon in the first two games of Wake Forest season. Along with moving the chains on offense, Dortch has shown explosiveness on special teams with a pair of punt return touchdowns, averaging 43.7 yards per return last Saturday.

The main concern many have with Dortch at this stage is his size. At 5’9” 170 pounds, not many are penciling him in as a first round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, but if he continues to put up numbers on offense and special teams like he has to start the season, it’ll be hard not to target him just because of his size in devy leagues next off-season.

Stock Down

Rodney’s Stock Is In Danger(field) – Rodney Anderson, RB Oklahoma

A right knee injury has ended the 2018 season for Rodney Anderson. This is the third injury that caused him to miss all or most of a season, 2015 (leg) and 2016 (neck) injuries never gave Anderson the opportunity to show his talent.

In 2017, Anderson shined, rushing for 1,161 yards and 13 touchdowns with 6.2 yards per carry in a tandem with Trey Sermon. It looked like the duo would run all over opponents once again in 2018 with 169 rushing yards on only 14 carries between the two in the season opener against Florida Atlantic.

Anderson’s week two injury has ended that dream and will likely delay any hopes of Anderson entering the 2019 NFL draft. In a running back class that many consider, Anderson had a chance at impressing and becoming one of the top backs drafted.

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