In devy leagues, we are all looking for not only the generational talents at the collegiate level that will be NFL stars when they go pro, but we are also looking for the hidden gems that go under the radar but will be league winners someday. While the generational talents like Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne, and Ja’Marr Chase are all well known in the fantasy community this article will try to determine breakout players who can be attained in future devy drafts based on their on-field play and analytical profiles.
This has been a vastly different type of season due to COVID-19 as it has forced most teams into conference-only scheduling and each conference starting at a different point. Some conferences decided to cancel their seasons, these conferences then scrambled back into Fall action after seeing the success of college football elsewhere. Each week we have highlighted a breakout player of the week, and we finally have a large enough sample size to track our previous breakout players’ success.
Devy Breakout Player of the Week Health Check
Week 0 – Grant Wells, QB, Marshall
Our hands were a bit tied this week, with only nine games on the slate. However, Wells played amazingly in his 2020 debut. In the two games since, Wells has failed to match his debut mastery as he has thrown zero TDs and one interception since, and has failed to pass for over 200 yards in a game. We will continue to check up on the young quarterback, but this is a lesson to always take into account the level of competition with these smaller schools.
Week 1 – Spencer Rattler, QB, Oklahoma
After a blazing start to his career, Rattler’s inexperience has been the talk of many as the Sooners were sitting 1-2 heading into this week. The issue is the two losses can be attributed to Rattler’s late-game decision making. We expect these young quarterbacks to still need to develop especially in their first couple of starts. Rattler turned it around in Week 4 by leading Oklahoma to a four-overtime victory in the Red River Rivalry. Rattler has a pro-caliber arm and his statistics have backed that up. In his four games, Rattler has put up 1,186 yards to go with 13 TDs and five interceptions.
Week 2 – Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Georgia Tech
Jahmyr Gibbs broke out in his first active game for Georgia Tech, after which I compared his skill set to Alvin Kamara. Since that he has looked just as good, if not better as a college prospect compared to Kamara. The true freshman is averaging 126 yards from scrimmage and has scored five TDs in his young three-game freshman season. Gibbs is performing favorably compared to some big-name prospects did In their career, and even more impressively compared to their freshman season production. Gibbs has worked his way up to the 2023 RB1 and it will take extremely impressive play to dethrone him.
Week 3 – I highlighted a number of mini breakouts
We will keep an eye out going forward. The most notable of which is Oklahoma’s receiver Marvin Mims who has continued to be counted on as one of Rattler’s main targets in clutch situations.
Week 4 – John Metchie III, WR, Alabama
Metchie followed up his great performance with a solid four catch 75-yard game in a shootout against Ole Miss. In this game, Najee Harris scored five TDs and Devonta Smith added two more. This Alabama offense will rotate the big games between Harris, Smith, Waddle, and Metchie, but Metchie is now a fixture in this explosive offensive attack.
This week we will highlight another freshman running back, but also touch upon two other young players that may have supplanted themselves as the number one option in their perspective position battles. The devy breakout player of this week may be Auburn’s best running back since the tandem of Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams in the early 2000s.
The Breakout Player of the Week – Cartavious “Tank” Bigsby, RB, Auburn
The Impact
Auburn has been known for producing NFL-caliber running backs. Over the past decade-plus, they have had a system that is based on the running game and could get by with above-average talents. Some of the players since the tandem of Brown and Williams include the likes of Ben Tate, Peyton Barber, and Kerryon Johnson. All of these are solid NFL backup-level talent. We believed that JaTarvius Whitlow could make the jump to become that special back after back to back seasons going over 750 yards. However, Whitlow strangely transferred to Western Illinois, the FCS program. This confused many, but we can clearly see that part of Whitlow’s decision was he knew Tank Bigsby was looming over his starting job.
The Prospect
Standing at 6’0” and 204 lbs. Bigsby is thickly built to power through SEC defenses. He was a four-star recruit out of Georgia, despite playing against the lowest public classification of competition. He portrayed the difference in talent level between him and his high school competition by averaging over nine yards per rush in high school. He was timed in at a 4.55-second 40-yard dash at The Opening combine, however, where he excelled most was as a receiver out of the backfield. Bigsby is an impressive athlete in a very deep 2023 running back class.
The Analysis
Against Arkansas, the Tigers turned to Bigsby to power them to a win, and he did just that. The true freshman ran for 146 yards om his 20 rush attempts, though he did not find the endzone. Though the numbers alone are not that impressive, it’s how Bigsby had to get the yardage that was truly incredible. Look at this run as an example of how hard Bigsby makes it to take him down:
Bigsby is an incredible talent, and if he continues to dominate SEC defenses like on the play above, expect him to earn his way into the second day of the NFL Draft in 2023.
Honorable Mention
Kevin Harris, RB South Carolina
Harris has clearly taken over as the Gamecocks’ starting back and has been producing for Will Muschamp. He had a strong game against Florida last week with 127 yards from scrimmage and two TDs. This week he proved that he is the real deal with a 171-yard game on the ground to go along with two scores, he also showed that he has pass-catching ability with his second straight four-catch game. Harris was a three-star prospect out of high school in 2019 but is blossoming into a star in Columbia.
Kearis Jackson, WR, Georgia
Georgia rode their star freshman receiver George Pickens to end their 2019 season and many believed that Pickens cemented himself as the 2022 WR1. However, Kearis Jackson has quietly outplayed Pickens the last two games and arguably in all three. The undefeated Bulldogs will take on Alabama next week and it will be crucial to see who they go to in crunch time against a top tier team. On the season Jackson has put up 300 receiving yards and one TD on 19 catches compared to Pickens’ 87 yards and two TDs on just eight catches.
What to Look For
In the coming weeks, we will be looking out for the breakout of several highly talented freshmen along with some second-year players bolstering the 2022 draft class that is currently leaving much to be desired. I will be keeping a keen eye on the sensation freshman running backs Bijan Robinson and Zach Evans in the state of Texas. I will also be looking out for the dynamic playmaker Demond Demas for the Aggies.
Thank you for reading my article! If you enjoyed it, keep an eye out for my future articles. You can also follow me on Twitter @DynastyDiagnos1 and reach out with any questions, comments, or ideas you’d like me to explore for a new article.
