Dynasty Film Review: Sean Tucker, Ray Davis and Devaughn Vele
We now have six games in the books, and we now know a lot more about our dynasty assets compared to what we knew a few months ago. There are a lot of things happening right now that need more explaining from the film and analytics. We are seeing some running backs break out and we are seeing some lesser-known rookie wide receivers do some things on the field.
Let’s turn on the tape and look at three trending players from week seven.
Sean Tucker, TB
Tucker was forgotten about going into this season. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Bucky Irving in the third round. Rachaad White had a very productive season last year. It looked like the writing was on the wall for Tucker for his career.
When you connect the dots from his rookie season until now, this one-game breakout which could turn into more makes sense. Tucker fell out of the 2023 NFL Draft due to a heart condition. He wasn’t able to practice until late July, making it hard for him to gain any traction. He was also a UDFA so the team had no sunk cost invested in him and wasn’t compelled to force him on the field during his rookie season.
Bucky Irving fell to the Buccaneers in the fourth round of this year’s draft. It was an easy call to make since White needed to be paired with another running back and Tucker was an undrafted free agent who didn’t provide much production during his rookie season. We can’t fault the team for making this decision, Irving is a very good running prospect and fits well with this team.
Going into the 2024 season, the team rolls out Irving and White and the tandem splits the workload. Tucker was watching from the sideline with the Angles In The Outfield angles right behind him flapping their wings this whole time. He got his opportunity to finally prove himself and he blows up the box score.
All-22 on Sean Tucker's 6 carries that went for 10+ Yards and this 3 catches against the New Orleans Saints In Week 6.
Tucker hit 15+ MPH six times in this game. He had 45 yards after contact while averaging 3.2 yards after contact per attempt on Sunday.
He saw a 45.9%… pic.twitter.com/NCkS8PNDu3
— Bruce Matson (@MetricScout) October 14, 2024
We saw a lot of good things from Tucker on Sunday. He’s very compact and explosive. He doesn’t go down easily. This is a running back who is very cerebral when it comes to manipulating the defender’s leverage before making his move. His performance is what we envisioned he would do when he was coming out for the NFL Draft before the NFL knew he had a heart condition.
Tucker does a good job at reading the defense during pre-snap to know where the defense is going to be leveraged prior to the snap of the play. He does a good job here following his pull block to get through the hole and into the second level. Once he gets into space he’s met with a defender about four to five yards away from him. He makes a move toward the inside to bait the defender into breaking to the inside. During that time, he feels another defender approaching him, causing him to drop his anchor to push forward to absorb contact.
Although this was not a groundbreaking play, it showcases his feel of what’s going on around him in the open field. It also demonstrates his ability to feel out leverages and to find the open lane. The offensive line did a very good job creating the crease, but never take the simple things for granted that a player does well.
Ray Davis, BUF
We finally got to see Davis with a full workload. He had 152 yards from scrimmage as the starting running for the Buffalo Bills in week six against the New York Jets. The Bills utilized him as a feature back by allowing him to see 85.2% of the opportunities out of the backfield.
All-22 of Ray Davis' Carries and Catches against the New York Jets.
This is what Ray Davis can do with an 85.2% opportunity share. He averaged 3.5 yards after contact per attempt with 71.1% of his yards being after contact.
He ran 14 routes leading to a 46.7% route… pic.twitter.com/H4E23QaMUB
— Bruce Matson (@MetricScout) October 17, 2024
Davis isn’t the flashiest running back, but he will serve you the steak. He’s very decisive with his approach towards the line of scrimmage. When he is corralled by multiple defenders, he can drop his shoulders and move forward for extra yards. He’s very disciplined running between the tackles and in pass protection.
The play above encapsulates how good Davis is working through trash around the line of scrimmage. While getting the handoff, Davis notices the linebacker on his way to plug the hole. He has to make this defender miss or the play gets stuffed at the line of scrimmage. He sells toward the defender’s momentum with the dead leg before breaking his run inside. During this time the offensive lineman can make his block.
While entering the second level of the defense Davis sees the safety crashing down. He then sells the defensive back towards his outside leverage since the defender’s weight is planted on his right foot. The sell tactic works and causes the momentum to take the safety out of the play.
Davis is met with two defenders at the end of the run. In the image above you will see him instantly get low to absorb contact. Here he uses his inertia to plow forward for extra yardage pushing back the two defenders.
We are looking at a very stout running back who knows how to manipulate the opposition into getting out of position to make the tackle. He also has a lot of power to get yards after contact. Davis is a sturdy running back who is built to carry a large workload.
Devaughn Vele, DEN
Vele is a 26-year-old rookie wide receiver who is starting to gain some traction with the Denver Broncos. He started the season catching eight balls for 39 yards against the Seattle Seahawks in week one. He suffered a rib injury in this game and didn’t appear in another contest until week six against the Los Angeles Chargers.
All-22 of Devaughn Vele's 6 targets against the Chargers.
*29 Routes – 70.7% Route Participation Rate
* 68 Air Yards – 11.3 Average Depth Of Target
*20.4% Air ShareBo Nix is averaging 33 pass attempts per game leading to 260.7 Passing Air Yards Per Game.
Nix has not thrown… pic.twitter.com/QgqnS51OFF
— Bruce Matson (@MetricScout) October 17, 2024
He’s one of those wide receivers who is not going to melt your face with deep speed or surprise you with nuanced route running, but he’s always at the right place at the right time. Vele does the simple things to get open underneath the coverage to earn targets.
In the above play, we see Vele’s release from the line of scrimmage. The defense is on zone coverage and there’s open space after the break of his route. He does not attempt to sell his break since there’s no point due to the leverage of the defenders and he rapidly makes his way to the open area of the zone. He gets the target and makes the catch.
Vele is a good role player for the Denver Broncos. He’s smart and does the little things necessary to earn targets. In dynasty I wouldn’t garner him as a top-tier talent but as an option to play the matchups when injuries and bye weeks start to impact your team.
It’s important to note that in week one he has a 2.1 average depth of target while in week six he saw an 11.3 average depth of target. There’s a chance his ADOT could regress to what we saw in week one, making a wide receiver who will need substantial volume and touchdowns to be viable in fantasy. This is not an absolute but something to monitor.
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