Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Update: Bryce Love, RB WAS

Name: Bryce Love

Position: Running Back

Pro Team: Washington Redskins

College Team: Stanford

Draft Status: Round four, 112th overall

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

COMBINE REVIEW

• Height: 5’9”
• Weight: 200 pounds
• Arms: 29 3/8”
• Hands: 9 1/8”
• 40-Yard Dash: (Knee injury during combine)
• Bench press: 18 (39th percentile)
• Vertical Jump: N/A
• Broad Jump: N/A
• 3-Cone Drill: N/A
• 20-Yard Shuttle: N/A
• 60-Yard Shuttle: N/A

STRENGTHS

Bryce Love leads all draft-eligible RBs in elusive ratinghttps://t.co/qGUUVl2cVN pic.twitter.com/38l35zwPen

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) November 19, 2017

• Pre-Injury: Elite speed, and good agility
• Fantastic vision to identify and then exploit opportunities with rushing lanes
• Toughness and grit – played through numerous injuries
• High character player who is working towards becoming a doctor, with a major in Human Biology
• Keeps feet churning and can get tough yardage, even as a smaller running back
• Dangerous after the catch, and tough to tackle
• Very quick feet– uses a great toe drag then sticks his foot and goes
• According to Pro Football Focus, Love almost broke Melvin Gordon’s record for Breakaway Yards (runs of 15+ yards) with 1405 Breakaway Yards in 2017

WEAKNESSES

• Size and leaner build could limit his role and total volume within an offense
• Must improve his pass blocking in pass protection
• Lower body injuries and health have been issues for two of his college seasons
• At times will try to do too much and needs to take small gains when they present themselves
• Contact balance is above average, but power is not his game

OPPORTUNITIES

Statistics from sports-reference.com.

Love finished second to Baker Mayfield in the 2017 Heisman voting, gathering a majority of the second place votes. He dealt with numerous injuries in 2018, missing three games, and had nearly 100 carries fewer than his stellar 2017 season.

Washington spent a second-round pick on LSU college stud Derrius Guice last year and took Love in round four this year. The immortal Adrian Peterson is still in Washington, while third down pass-catching running back, Chris Thompson, is still on the team as well.

Coming off the knee injury he suffered in his final collegiate game against Cal on December 1st 2018, I believe it’s likely he will start the 2019 season on the Physically Unable to Perform list for Washington. The team still has plenty of depth at the running back position and there is no need to rush him back.

THREATS

Washington spent a second-round pick on Guice just a season ago. Peterson is signed through 2020, but the team can easily free up nearly $2.25M dollars by releasing him with a dead cap hit of $750K before June 1 of that year.  Thompson is not signed through 2020 and that leaves Samaje Perine as the only other running back with a contract running through 2020 on the team.

SHORT-TERM EXPECTATIONS

Little to none, honestly. As I stated, I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts the season on the PUP list. Typically it takes a minimum of six months for players to recover, but getting back to full strength and making worthwhile contributions on the football field are uncertain.

When drafting Love, make sure you have an IR spot or a taxi spot where you can stash him till he is ready to contribute. I would be extremely surprised for him to unseat either Peterson or Guice, while coming off an injury and becoming a major contributor during year one of his NFL career.

LONG-TERM EXPECTATIONS

The past two seasons, Washington has been in the middle to the bottom half of the league in pass attempts. With rookie Dwayne Haskins coming into the picture in 2019, I predict that the team will look to take the pressure off of him by featuring a run-heavy offense for the rookie. Unfortunately, as I stated above, that likely will do little for Love.

If the team moves on from Peterson after the 2019 season, with the idea to make Guice the primary running back, with Love serving as the change of pace back, that is where the value lies. His current size and past injury have shown he would be best served in that role.

Washington was willing to spend fourth-round draft capital, and make him the 112th player selected, so we would have to imagine they are ok with his medicals.

NFL PLAYER COMPARISON

I see Love as an elite change of pace back in an RBBC. I saw this comparison to a younger Lamar Miller, and thought that was a rather solid comparison. However, all of this depends on how he returns from the knee injury.

PROJECTED ROOKIE DRAFT RANGE

According to May Rookie ADP over at Dynasty League Football, he is currently going as the 30th player in most rookie drafts near the middle of round three. I imagine his draft stock will continue to slide towards the end of round three in rookie drafts come summer. For dynasty startup ADP, he’s being taken with an ADP of about 188th.

Love is a pick for the long term. His situation is not great, but things can change dramatically from season to season. He is a player who nearly took the Heisman, and was seen as one of the top running backs before injuries befell him, dropping his value. In a draft clouded with sub-optimal players in poor landing spots in the later rounds of rookie drafts, why not swing for a home run?