Devy Stock Market
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.
Devy Drafts Passed Over Elijah’s Cup – Elijah Collins, RB Michigan
Prior to Saturday, Elijah Collins had given no reason to be on the devy radar. Collins was a three-star recruit entering Michigan State per Rivals. Outside of the deepest of devy leagues, taking college players without any form of prior production is typically reserved for four and five-star recruits.
In his true freshman season, Collins had two carries for eight yards. Thanks to the new rule that players can play up to four games and retain their year of eligibility, Collins enters 2019 as a redshirt freshman.
In the 2019 opener, Collins had eight carries for 17 rushing yards. On Saturday, Collins had his breakout performance against Western Michigan with 17 carries for 192 rushing yards. This performance should put Collins in position to be the Spartans lead back going forward and if we see more of what we saw on Saturday, he will be a devy pick in the 2020 off-season.
Chase, Jefferson and Tigers, Oh My! – JaMarr Chase, WR LSU and Justin Jefferson, WR LSU
The LSU Tigers have a pair of NFL prospects at the wide receiver position. Chase and Jefferson weren’t locks to be taken in every devy draft this off-season, but some people did take them as potential breakout candidates. So far, both are in the process of breaking out.
Sophomore wide receiver Chase started the season with two catches for 21 receiving yards and a touchdown. He followed that performance up with eight catches for 147 receiving yards against Texas. Junior wide receiver Jefferson sits at ninth in college football division 1A in receiving yards with 250 receiving yards, including his six-catch, 163-receiving yard and three-touchdown performance against Texas.
While the spotlight is on Chase and Jefferson, there is a third LSU wide receiver to keep an eye on in Terrace Marshall Jr. who also put up 123 receiving yards and one touchdown against Texas.
Sitting on Top of the Hill – Kylin Hill, RB Mississippi State
Jonathan Taylor! D’Andre Swift! Travis Etienne! Cam Akers! All of these names hyped all off-season as the RB1 of the 2020 class. Through two weeks of college football, Kylin Hill has more rushing yards than all of them as he sits at second in the nation in rushing yards, only trailing Darrynton Evans from Appalachian State.
After two games, Hill has performances of 197 and 123 rushing yards, with a yards per carry average of 7.8 with two touchdowns. Now, Hill has not vaulted himself above the backs mentioned at the beginning, but he could end up putting himself in their tier come rookie draft time if these big rushing performances continue.
I expect them to continue, making Hill one of the better buys in devy leagues right now because he isn’t being valued like he’s close to the same tier as those top backs. If you can trade one of them for Hill plus another good piece – be it NFL or devy – that’s a move to consider while Hill’s value hasn’t skyrocketed yet.
Clifford The Big Blue Quarterback – Sean Clifford, QB Penn State
It is rare for me to give devy consideration to a quarterback who entered his third season of college football no career starts, but that is the case for Sean Clifford. Clifford has been one of the most impressive quarterbacks in college football in his first two career starts.
For me, adjusted yards per attempt is the best statistic to measure college quarterbacks and Clifford has a 15.1 AY/A, which only trails Jalen Hurts’ 17.3 and is currently better than the all-time record set by Kyler Murray with a 13.0 in 2018. Clifford has also completed 66% of his passes with six touchdowns and zero interceptions.
With no experience prior to 2019, it would be a surprise to see Clifford leave for the NFL after only one year of starter experience, which means Clifford will be one of the more intriguing options in superflex devy leagues next off-season.
Get Ricci, Or Die Trying – Giovanni Ricci, TE Western Michigan
Tight ends are rarely devy picks and tight ends at non-Power 5 schools as devy picks are even rarer. Dallas Goedert was an exception at South Dakota State. In his senior season, Giovanni Ricci has emerged as a possible sleeper in the rookie drafts of devy leagues.
Through two weeks, Ricci ranks tied for first among tight ends in catches with 11, second in receiving yards with 150 and tied for first in touchdowns with three. The 6’3” 240-pound tight end is putting up numbers that he hadn’t in previous years, already matching his 2018 touchdown total and 38% of his 2018 receiving yards through two games.
While other devy players swoon over Brevin Jordan and Albert Okwuegbunam, Ricci may be the hidden value in college football this season.
- Dynasty Commish Calendar: August - August 5, 2023
- Dynasty Commish Calendar: June - June 9, 2023
- Dynasty Commish Calendar: May - May 3, 2023
