Keelan Doss: Super Sleeper

John DiBari Posted On April 24, 2019

In the interest of full disclosure, I’m a sucker for college players who play in the Reese’s Senior Bowl. It’s a great event and showcases some of the lesser known talent heading into the NFL Draft while rewarding players who carried out their full four-year commitment to their college programs. One such player that caught my eye this year was UC Davis wide receiver, Keelan Doss. Currently, Doss is going undrafted in rookie drafts. As a matter of fact, he’s so far under the radar, that as of this writing, he still isn’t in the MyFantasyLeague.com player database.

Doss received praise throughout the week in Mobile, Alabama and showed why during the game. Doss tallied the fourth highest receiving yardage total in the game and tied for the third most receptions. As a result of his performance in the game, and what he showed during the week of practices, multiple publications had listed Doss as one of the big winners of the Senior Bowl. DLF’s Bruce Matson listed Doss as one of the offensive “risers” after the game.

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I mentioned he is currently going undrafted in rookie drafts, but where might he land in the NFL draft? Most experts have predicted that we’ll see Doss come off the board in the fourth or fifth round. NFL.com’s Chad Reuter mocked him to the Denver in the fifth round. Draftsite.com also projected him as a fifth-round pick, landing with Washington, and USA Today/Draftwire’s Luke Easterling had him fall to Baltimore in the sixth round.

I’ve got a bold prediction that Doss gets picked in the late third round or at worst in the early fourth. 18 scouts were sent to the UC Davis pro-day to see what Doss has to offer, and he had an opportunity to show off for two NFL coaching staffs in person already, with Jon Gruden and Kyle Shanahan squaring off in Mobile.

UC Davis is an FCS school, and although some people may balk at drafting an FCS product, Doss was able to dominate his competition at that level, which is precisely what you want to see. In his final two collegiate seasons, Doss amassed 233 receptions, 2,833 yards, and 16 touchdowns. During his senior year, he led all of the FCS in receptions (118) and was fourth in receiving yards (1,334).

YouTube highlight reel videos can be notoriously unhelpful, however, as an FCS product, many folks are completely unfamiliar with Doss. He has his shortcomings, which will not be shown in a “best of” video, but it is a helpful introduction to a player many are unfamiliar with.

The on-field production was there, how did he stack up in the measurables? Unfortunately, Doss sustained a pectoral injury while performing the bench press at the NFL Scouting Combine. Subsequently, he didn’t compete in any of the other tests or drills.

His pro day was held on April fifth, and he was rumored to have done well. Only “rumored” because it’s been exceptionally challenging to pin down his exact numbers from that day. Kent Lee Platte’s Relative Athletic Score (RAS) metric saw Doss with a respectable score of 7.47 while recording his 40-yard dash time as 4.56 seconds. Most reports had it in the mid-4.4s, and it has been reported as low as 4.38 and high as 4.61 seconds.

Since injuries robbed our opportunity to see Doss run drill at the combine, here’s a look at his pro day workouts::

If Doss’ 40 time is closer to the low end of the spectrum, his height-adjusted speed score (HaSS) will surpass the “elite” score of 110. The speed would be a nice attribute to go along with his 70th percentile height and weight of 6’2” and 211-pounds, respectively.

Using the RAS data, you’ll find 38 wide receivers registered a total higher than Doss’ 7.67. Of those 38, only 14 are likely to be drafted. If Doss finds himself drafted earlier than most analysts suspect, he may see a meteoric rise in fantasy ADP as a result, ala Kenny Golladay a few years ago.

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In an earlier DLF article, Peter Howard took a look at production patterns for college receivers and used it as a tool to predict the likelihood of success at the NFL level. Using his formula, only five receivers in the 2019 class met his criteria to likely have at least one top-24 fantasy season. Although the list is assuming players are drafted in the first three rounds, one of the names on Howards’ short list: Keelan Doss. It is one of the many places where Doss’ name keeps popping up. Maybe it is the FCS alumni thing, but one of the most common comps seen around the internet for Doss is the Rams’ Cooper Kupp, and with the right team, Doss could have the same ceiling.

Doss has the ability to play inside and outside and is a strong route runner. He has good hands and has shown exceptional ball skills and above average body control as well. Doss brings plus size into the NFL and combined with his ball skills and route running, might be a red zone threat from day one. He will be a bargain for any team if he falls to day three of the NFL draft, and might be an incredible steal in the late rounds of your fantasy drafts. As your fantasy drafts draw to a close, and you feel like you’re throwing darts at that point, don’t forget the name as Keelan Doss might just be the steal of the later rounds in 2019.

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John DiBari

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

Like a true degenerate, John has over 20 years of fantasy experience across all sports. Nowadays he primarily focuses on dynasty and redraft football, fantasy golf, and fantasy hockey and has written about each across multiple platforms for nearly 5 years. He loves rookie mock drafts and can always find a negative, pessimistic angle on all your favorite players.