2021 NFL Draft Prospect: Rashod Bateman, WR Minnesota
Our NFL rookie profile series continues with this analysis of 2021 NFL Draft prospect Rashod Bateman, WR from Minnesota. We will continue to provide you with these in-depth rookie profiles and a ton of other fantasy football rookie analysis right up through the NFL Draft. Stay tuned and stay ahead of your league!
Rashod Bateman is the cleanest wide receiver prospect in the 2021 NFL Draft from a numbers perspective. His breakout age, draft age, early declaration, and age-adjusted college production check all of the boxes for a wide receiver prospect.
THE STATS
Statistics from sports-reference.com.
Bateman averaged 5.2 receptions, 80.8 receiving yards, and 0.57 receiving touchdowns per game during his collegiate career. He averaged a seasonal dominator of 31.8 percent, which is the second-best in this class. His career average of 1.06 yards per team attempt is top-five in this class and is well above important thresholds in a metric that is fairly predictive of NFL success.
Bateman has an age-18 breakout age and eclipsed the 30 percent threshold with a 36.3 percent seasonal dominator rating the following season. He did this while having a big-time college producer Tyler Johnson on the same team at Minnesota. Additionally, across several different production metrics, Bateman outproduces the historical averages for successful NFL wide receivers and receivers from the Big Ten.
Image from DLF’s College Market Share App.
When adjusting Bateman’s production for age, he far exceeds the average production for successful NFL wide receivers.
THE FILM
Watch All-22 film, complete games, and highlight clips in our DLF Film Room.
Here is every single Rashod Bateman touchdown for Minnesota. pic.twitter.com/PvI7htjCPg
— James Simpson (@JS_Football) March 30, 2021
This highlight clip illustrates what Bateman does well:
- Can win in the slot or out wide and in a variety of ways.
- Succeeds in traffic and contested-catch situations.
- Has the requisite speed to pull away from defenders for big plays.
- Is an elite separator and is a great route runner.
- Creates after the catch.
Here are my pros in terms of film production:
– Solid hands 🙌
– Good contested catch 👐
– Good route running (creates separation with breaks and leverage.. inside and outside) 🏃♂️
– Above average YAC 💨
– Can lineup in the slot and outside (versatility) 🔁— Tyler_FF (@Tyler_FF_) February 26, 2021
Here’s another great thread illustrating Bateman’s strength from a film perspective.
THE MEASURABLES
Image from Relative Athletic Score.
Bateman weighed in lighter than expected at his pro day but his size and athleticism met important thresholds for wide receivers. His 4.43-second 40-yard dash at 190 pounds was the last hurdle Bateman had to clear to ensure day one or early day two draft capital.
DYNASTY VALUE
In the latest DLF March 2021 Superflex Dynasty ADP, Bateman is going in the mid to late eighth round of startups as the WR32. I personally have him as a top-30 dynasty wide receiver given his projected late-first round or early second-round draft capital and his elite age-adjusted college production.
In superflex rookie drafts, Bateman is going as the 1.12 and the rookie WR3 according to DLF Superflex Rookie ADP. He is in my second tier of wide receivers. This tier of receivers should be considered as soon as the top-four rookie quarterbacks, Ja’Marr Chase, Najee Harris, and Travis Etienne are off the board.
CONCLUSION
Rashod Bateman has a very strong analytical profile and is highly regarded in the film community for his route running and versatility. He is one of the top wide receiver prospects in the NFL Draft.
He has adequate size, requisite athleticism, and demonstrates the skills necessary to be a top-24 dynasty wide receiver. His ADP in the late-first round of superflex rookie drafts makes him an excellent target for managers who made the playoffs last season. Bateman’s potential makes him the type of pick that can extend a team’s championship window.
You can find my free spreadsheets and databases in my pinned tweet on Twitter. Please DM me with any questions or for help with Excel/Google Sheets.
- 2024 Dynasty Rookie Early Look: Keon Coleman, WR Florida State - February 2, 2024
- 2024 Dynasty Rookie Early Look: Brock Bowers, TE Georgia - January 28, 2024
- 2023 Dynasty Rookie Post-Draft Update: Sam LaPorta - June 17, 2023
