My Dynasty Mind: Senior Bowl Takeaways
Well, that was fun. Another year is in the books and hopefully you hoisted a dynasty league championship. While the games are great and results are obviously important, this is actually my favorite time of year. Yes, I actually enjoy the off-season more than actual fantasy football. I love breaking down the NFL Draft, evaluating rookies, re-establishing the veteran dynasty fantasy landscape and giving you all as much information as I can in order to be prepared for the beginning of the upcoming year.
This year, I’m going to be posting a regular series – My Dynasty Mind. This series is intended for me to pull back the curtain a bit and share what I’m doing in terms of team building, roster evaluation, player assessments, trade possibilities, value changes or anything else I’m thinking of. My hope is this series helps guide you through your off-season and helps you be in position to win again next year.
In this installment, let’s take a look at some Senior Bowl performances and what we may have learned.
QUARTERBACK
By most accounts, Bo Nix had a pretty good week. The game itself actually means very little but Nix completed 4-of-5 passes for 21 yards in two series. He raised some eyebrows when he claimed both Oregon and Auburn as his teams (making the Auburn faithful a little worked up) but he had a good week of practice. In an environment where quarterbacks are in ridiculously high demand, he could go late in the first round, especially for a team looking to hit the lottery with a quarterback they can give the fifth-year option to. Remember when the Ravens did that exact thing with Lamar Jackson? That worked out pretty well, I’d say.
After posting nearly 5,000 passing yards, 36 touchdowns and leading Washington to the National Championship Game, you would think Michael Penix would be rising up the draft board. It seems at this point he’s not and there’s a simple reason why – a checkered injury history. While Penix has been healthy the past two years, he played in only 20 games during his four years at Indiana and has torn his ACL in his right knee twice. He’s also endured shoulder injuries and typically just looks beat up. If he can work through it in the league, he’s obviously very talented. However, he seemingly didn’t do anything this week to separate himself from the pack.
By most accounts, Spencer Rattler and Joe Milton III had the best weeks of the group. Rattler won the MVP of the game based on a solid couple of series that featured a nice touchdown toss. Milton could be a riser as well after scouts were impressed with his practices this week. Neither of these two are considered elite prospects at the moment but they could be rising on draft boards in the coming months. Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman, Tulane’s Michael Pratt, and South Alabama’s Carter Bradley didn’t fare as well according to reports. While the sky isn’t falling for any of them, they likely missed out on a great chance to move up draft boards and didn’t take advantage of the opportunity.
RUNNING BACK
By most accounts, the best running back at the event was USC’s Marshon Lloyd. There are legitimate concerns about his ball security but he was impressive in practices all week,
New Hampshire’s Dylan Laube was impressive all week with his speed and pass catching ability. He needed a big week to get on the radar as a small school prospect and he seemingly did just that. The challenge with Laube is the fact he’s already 25, which is a prime age to likely become a Dad and not a running back.
Ray Davis of Kentucky is a flat out bruiser but I’ve seen numerous reports indicating he had a solid week catching the football. He could be a pretty solid “thunder” to a “lightning” back for those teams who like to control the weather with their running back room.
TCU’s Emani Bailey is another player to monitor through the pre-draft process. His vision has come into question but by most accounts, he had a good week and is on the watch lists for teams as we roll into the NFL Draft Combine and private workout season.
WIDE RECEIVER
You may have heard of Christian McCaffrey and he has a little brother named Luke who played at Rice and is trying to make a name for himself, While not an elite-level athlete like his brother, Luke consistently made plays at practice all week and looks like a solid mid-round prospect.
The receiver who surprised people the most was likely Southeast Missouri’s Ryan Flournoy. He apparently flourished in 1v1 drills and was singled out as a really good blocker and hard worker as well. Rookie drafts are built on sleepers and Flournoy is certainly on the sleeper radar at this point.
The Senior Bowl had a lot of small school prospects but one of those was not Johnny Wilson of Florida State. The challenge with Wilson is pretty simple – he’s super raw. While you can’t coach 6-foot-6 and 237 pounds, Wilson also struggled with drops all week and that inconsistency really defined his college career. Still, the size and speed he brings to the table is going to make someone jump on him in the late part of the draft and he could be a steal in a dynasty rookie draft should he ever put it all together.
By most accounts, the trio of Ladd McConkey, Malachi Corley and Roman Wilson were the best three receivers at the event and people’s minds didn’t change much after the week. However, none of these three really stood out and moved up draft boards significantly – they more or less cemented what they were in most people’s minds.
While the Senior Bowl rarely produces top-notch talent and many of the best prospects skip the event to guarantee their health and draft stock, these were some of the players to make note of.
I hope you enjoy my ramblings. Again, this is going to be my off-season space to share what my plans entail all off-season long. Hope it helps!
Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK
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