Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Update: Antonio Gandy-Golden, WR WAS
The NFL Draft is behind us, rookie drafts are taking place, and as dynasty owners, we are looking ahead to the upcoming season. In the Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Update series, we break down all the incoming fantasy-relevant rookies, looking at their profile and where they fit.
Name: Antonio Gandy-Golden
Position: Wide receiver
Pro Team: Washington
College Team: Liberty
Draft Status: Round four, 142nd overall
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
COMBINE REVIEW
- Height: 6’4’’
- Weight: 223 pounds
- Hands: 9 5/8”
- 40-yard dash: 4.60 seconds
- Bench press: 22 reps
- Vertical jump: 36”
- Broad jump: 10’07”
- Three-cone drill: 7.33 seconds
- 20-yard shuttle: 4.55 seconds
STRENGTHS
- Strong
- Tall
- Physical
- Makes contested catches
- Good body control
- Catch radius
- Downfield blocking
WEAKNESSES
- Release off the line
- Route running
- Lacks speed
- Hand size
- Agility
- Change of direction
- Flexibility
- Burst
- Balance
- Athleticism
OPPORTUNITIES
Washington do not have elite pass-catchers. The team is headlined by newcomer Terry McLaurin, who had a great season during his rookie campaign last year. Alongside him last year were fellow rookies Steven Sims and Kelvin Harmon, and second-year wideout Trey Quinn.
The team attempted 479 passes last year — 28th in the league — and finished dead last in passing yards with 2,812 on the season. Dwayne Haskins will be entering his second season at quarterback, as he looks to improve upon his league-low 58.6% completion rating. When you have rookies passing the ball to other rookies, there are bound to be some poor numbers across the board. I think we can expect an uptick in all areas for 2020.
THREATS
Both Sims and Quinn are smaller receivers who play more in the slot, so Gandy-Golden’s main competition will be Kelvin Harmon, who did 73% of his work over the final six games of the season last year. The fact that Washington trusted Harmon so much down the stretch makes it plausible that the coaching staff has a guy they like opposite McLaurin.
Harmon was a sixth-round pick out of NC State, so Washington already has more draft capital invested in the newly acquired fourth-rounder that is Gandy-Golden. Considering how deep the draft was at the position, it’s likely that Washington consider him to be a receiver who can challenge for the Z spot at wideout.
SHORT-TERM EXPECTATIONS
I think the position is wide open for the taking, but with the absence of any real off-season activities or pre-season of any kind, I believe this is currently Harmon’s spot to lose. Gandy-Golden will need to make the most of any opportunities he receives if he is to take the spot over sooner than later.
LONG-TERM EXPECTATIONS
What I love about Gandy-Golden is his size and ability to fight for the football at its height and wrestle it away from defenders. What I don’t like about him is nearly everything else.
Statistics from sports-reference.com.
Although he had a productive few years at Liberty — including a sophomore campaign omitted from the above image where he amassed over 1,000 yards on 69 receptions — most of his work was done by simply being the bigger and stronger player on the field. His highlight reel is almost exclusively go-routes and jump balls.
A closer look at his combine scores indicate a parallel to his days in college. He excelled in the broad jump, vertical jump, and bench reps. This shows a powerful lower and upper body, one that can be used to box out defenders and to out-muscle for the football at its highest point.
The downside is that his 40-time was a slow 4.6 seconds and three-cone and 20-yard shuttle drills were abysmal at 7.33 seconds and 4.55 seconds, respectively. The three-cone drill measures agility and change of direction, and a target score of under seven seconds is preferred.
The shuttle drills measure flexibility, burst, and balance. A target score of 4.55 seconds puts him 0.4 seconds slower than a desired score of 4.15. This might help show why Gandy-Golden’s highlights are all go-routes and not curls or comebacks. As a result, I question if he has the ability to add much more to his skillset.
NFL PLAYER COMPARISON
The best I can come up with is Brian Quick, the former second-rounder out of Appalachian State. He wasn’t athletic or speedy, but he was big and physical and used as such in the Rams offense back in the early 2010s.
The best stats Quick ever assembled were in 2016, where he had 41 catches for 564 yards and three touchdowns. Even though he was in the league for seven years, he was only ever semi fantasy-relevant for one or two seasons. I have a feeling that Gandy-Golden would need to work hard to deliver these same kinds of numbers.
PROJECTED ROOKIE DRAFT RANGE
Our rankers at DLF have him rated as the 35th best player off the board, which is on par when compared to MFL rookie drafts who have him 37th. He’s projected to be available nearly 100% of the time until the 30th overall spot, and his availability slowly decreases from there according to our draft app.
All things considered, I think Antonio Gandy-Golden might be one to pass in this year’s rookie draft. Given his athletic restraints, it’s feasible that he could be touchdown-dependent for his career. Unless your league uses a best ball format, it might be wise to stay away and select another player with better upside.
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