Future Dynasty Playmakers: Jalen Reagor, WR TCU

Ray Garvin Posted On August 26, 2019

This Series will focus on college football prospects who are not only great players, but have the talent profile that dynasty owners will be looking to invest in when they enter the National Football League.

This series is designed to give you a quick glimpse into potential fantasy stars of tomorrow, what they do or don’t do well, and why you should or shouldn’t be investing in them.

Recruiting

Jalen Reagor is a 5’11” 195 do-it-all wide receiver from Texas Christian University. He was a four-star wide receiver prospect; the number 13th-ranked player at his position, and 96th overall player from the 2017 recruiting class, according to 247sports.com.

The Under Armor All-American had 116 receptions for 2,116 yards and 27 touchdowns during his final two varsity seasons at Waxahachie High School in Texas.

He ran a verified 4.41-second, 40-yard dash time in high school and was also a standout in track as he posted the best long jump distance (26 feet) for a high school athlete in the county in 2017. If you’re not familiar with track and why that’s important or how it translates to the game on the field, one word: explosion.

College Production

Stats from sports-reference.com.

The quarterback situation for the Horned Frogs was not good in 2018, and that’s stating it kindly. Reagor had to deal with passes from three different throwers – none of whom had a completion percentage over 61% for the season. Despite the ineptitude behind center, he had one of the most productive single seasons ever for a TCU receiver.

He finished his sophomore campaign with 72 catches for 1,061 yards (both good enough for second all-time at TCU in a single season) and scored nine touchdowns. His 44% college dominator rating illustrates just how lethal he was as the focal point of the TCU offense. This follows-up an outstanding freshman campaign where he had 33 receptions for 576 yards and eight touchdowns.

Dynasty Impact

Reagor was fantastic in high school, he’s been outstanding for the past two years at TCU, but as dynasty owners, you want to know how he is going to make your dynasty rosters better. Why should you invest in this player and what can he bring to your dynasty teams as early as 2020?

💥Jalen Reagor, WR TCU💥 can & will challenge for WR1 honors in 2020

🏈 Game reminds me of a faster Percy Harvin (don’t dismiss how good he was before the injuries etc)

Elite Speed/Playmaker – 18.8 BOA 🤯(@JaredWackerlyFF)

Reagor/Harvin 🎞⬇️ #devy #NerdHerd https://t.co/SY7agazG4D

— Ray G (@RayGQue) June 10, 2019

Dynasty Owner Reward

Dynamic Playmaking Ability – It’s hard to describe just how dynamic Reagor is on the football field. With his size, some may immediately think he is a slot receiver, but that is not the case when it comes to his game. He routinely lined up as the outside “X” position receiver.

In 2018, he had 15 plays that went 21 yards or more; seven of those were touchdowns. He had 20 more plays that gained 14 to 20 yards scoring one touchdown on those. When looking at the NFL game today, in particular the LA Rams, and how they utilize the jet sweep with their receivers; Reagor will be outstanding in this area. He’s averaged 11.2 yards per carry on his 21-career rushing attempts gaining 235 yards and scoring two additional touchdowns.

I feel like I’ve ignore my guy Jalen Reagor a little bit over the past couple of weeks…but the Reagor fan club is still rolling! He’s as DYNAMIC as they come!

Ready for him to give that “Reagor Work” to the entire Big XII this fall.

So damn GOOD 🔥 #devy #GoFrogs pic.twitter.com/M6iSKgSqvu

— Ray G (@RayGQue) August 13, 2019

Elite Speed – So often elite speed is tossed around for very fast players but not truly elite. Since 2000, there have only been 25 wide receivers who have run a 4.33 or faster 40-yard dash time at the NFL Scouting Combine. There are reports that Reagor has been timed at 4.32. If you add .05 to that time to adjust for laser time, that puts his time at a 4.37 which would still be rank him top-70 for the wide receiver position in that same time span. This speed will allow him to take the top off of defenses, or catch a two-yard bubble screen and turn it up for massive yards after the catch.

TCU Rising Junior WR, Jalen Reagor National Ranks in 2018

1st – Team Receiving TDs 64.3%
1st – Dominator Rating 55.2%
2nd – Team Receiving Yards 46.1%
3rd – Team TS 39.4%
8th – Team Catch Rate 34.1%

18.8 BOA

You may not be familiar with the name now but you should be #devy pic.twitter.com/4vFarSuQ0j

— Ray G (@RayGQue) June 15, 2019

Competitive Toughness – There are some aspects of a player’s game that cannot be measured with a stopwatch or quantified by numbers. Reagor’s fight and toughness are some of those traits. He is not the biggest receiver, but he plays like he is. He is fearless going across the middle, never goes down on first contact, always fights for extra yards, and finishes every single reception. He has what I call some ‘dog’ in his game. Make no mistake – this is a very good thing that dynasty owners should be excited about.

Dynasty Owner Risk

Technical Skills – Reagor is a good route runner, but not a great one. It’s easy to see how often he wins on film with his athleticism. This is an area for improvement that is correctable as early as this season, but definitely in the NFL.

Concentration Drops – He had 119 targets on the season, catching 59.7% of those targets. That catch rate wasn’t all his fault as we’ve already discussed the quarterback situation. However, there were times on film where he would just lose focus, running before he had the ball, or looking up at an oncoming defender causing him to drop passes. I didn’t find this to be a consistent problem, but a problem nonetheless. Again, this is a negative aspect of his game that can and should be cleaned up easily.

Size – He is not a small receiver; however, he does not possess ideal size. You cannot ignore the fact that he is under six feet tall and weighs less than 200 pounds. Does he truly have the size to be a number one receiver at the next level? This is a fair question that dynasty owners will have to consider when looking to draft him. While I believe that he can be, his height is one thing he cannot change, and why he must improve in the other areas of his game.

Dynasty Outlook

According to DLF Devy WR Rankings, Reagor is fifth at his position and third overall out of the 2020 eligible wide receiver prospects. He is still being undervalued in the devy community with a second-round ADP according to devywatch.com. It’s not only the devy community that seems to be lower on him – there are many NFL draft analysts who don’t even have him inside their top-32 at this point.

He has a chance to silence all critics of his game this fall with his continued dominance. As the alpha in the TCU receiving game, I only expect his 38% market share to increase which will compensate for the uncertainty and potential inefficiency at quarterback. If TCU wants to win football games, rest assured Reagor will get the ball early and often. He is a playmaker who will enter the pre-draft process with tremendous buzz and come out a bonafide star. He is playmaker certified.