Three Wide Receivers to Buy, Sell, or Hold in Devy Leagues

We are back with another installment of Buy, Sell, Hold for devy leagues. This week, we will go over wide receivers again and focus on some high-profile players. You can check out the last installment on wide receivers here.

Now let’s get to the good stuff, which includes one player who I think is not thought of nearly high enough.

BUY: Barion Brown, Kentucky

Brown was a top-70 recruit and there was immediate playing time available in 2022 with Wan’Dale Robinson leaving for the NFL. With uneven play from quarterback Will Levis, Brown did not have huge numbers, but he did show flashes. He was the leading receiver on Kentucky last year with 50 catches for 628 yards and four touchdowns. He is slight in size, only weighing 166 lbs, but he only lined up in the slot 27% of the time last year. The versatility to be moved around the field is something I really like moving forward for him.

Levis struggled last year and has gone to the NFL. Now Devin Leary transfers in from NC State and he should be able to threaten with deeper passes down the field. In 2021, Leary had 25 touchdowns that were 10 yards or more down the field. Brown had 40% of his catches behind the line of scrimmage, up from the 32% that Robinson had in his stellar season in 2021. The connected passes might not have been consistent, but Brown’s average depth of target was only .7 yards down from Robinson.

The devy wide receiver rankings on DLF have him as WR8, but I could see him finishing near the top three. With both top Ohio State receivers leaving after this year, Brown could challenge for WR1 in 2024. Now is the time to go get him before the hype train gets on the rails during the season.

An offseason reminder that Barion Brown had 10 catches for 145 yards and a TD against national champions Georgia as a true freshman last year pic.twitter.com/8QTpMcTgww

— Kyle (@KL_Fantasy) July 11, 2023

SELL: Beaux Collins, Clemson

Collins came in as a top 200 prospect in 2021 but has not produced at the high-level people at Clemson were hoping for. I know the Clemson offense has struggled as of late, but he only has 780 total receiving yards in two seasons. Last year he finished fourth on the team in yards and sixth in the team in receptions. Collins is not going to be the number one and he may not even be the number two option.

He only had seven total targets in his last four games compared to freshman Antonio Williams, who had 19 in those same games. Williams lead the team in receiving last year and fellow freshman Adam Randall will be looking to bounce back from his injury in his freshman season. Both Williams and Randle are ranked in the top 30 of wide receivers in our rankings but Collins is not on the list. He still needs to be more precise on his route running and with being overtaken by younger players, I am out on him until he shows improvement.

HOLD:  Ja’Corey Brooks, Alabama

Brooks is one of the holdovers from the talented 2021 wide receiver class that Alabama brought in. He ended up second on the team in receiving last year but it was a down year for the receivers. He had over 60 yards in five of the last six games of the season and had three TDs in that span. Those are not groundbreaking numbers, but it is good to see him start to have more consistency game to game. He more than doubled all his stats from his freshman year and showed he had big-play potential, catching five of his eight touchdowns for more than 20 yards.

Brooks has the size to play in the NFL and is able to play outside as he lined up 70% of his snaps there. He has more potential than former receiver John Metchie who went in the second round of the NFL Draft. He averages more yards per reception and average depth of target than Metchie. Bryce Young is gone and the QB situation is unclear at Alabama. But I am willing to hold and wait to see how the season goes. If Brooks can take over as the number one receiver, we know the NFL will take notice. There is the Bama bump for receivers when it comes to the NFL Draft.