There have been several young players who have been rising in devy rankings throughout the 2021 CFB season. Bryce Young and TreVeyon Henderson were previously covered in this series, however, we have also seen consistent elevated production from second-year players like Josh Downs (WR, UNC), Sean Tucker (RB, Syracuse), and Blake Corrum (RB, Michigan).  Today, I am going to take you through all of the breakouts that shot prospects up our rankings and are going to be must-own devy players in your upcoming drafts.

NORMAN, OKLAHOMA

In a crazy unfolding of events, with ESPN’s College GameDay at the Cotton Bowl for the Red River Shootout, a change came that shook the college football and devy landscape. In the second quarter while trialing 28-7 against the 21st ranked Longhorns. Caleb Williams was put in for a fourth and short situation, where he ran 66 yards for a touchdown. Two possessions later Spencer Rattler lost a fumble while trying to evade the Texas pass rush. After Rattler’s second turnover of the game, Lincoln Riley turned to the five-star true freshman Williams.

Williams is a 6’1” and 210 lbs. dual-threat quarterback who was the top overall quarterback prospect in the class until Quinn Ewers made a late decision to reclassify from the 2022 class into the 2021 class and enroll at Ohio State. Williams was not able to participate in the 2020 season in Washington D.C. due to the canceled season. Williams is a Cam Newton-type of power runner from the quarterback position, with one of the biggest arms in college football.

With 211 yards and two touchdowns, in addition to his 66-yard touchdown scamper, Williams erased the scoring deficit and surprisingly lead the Sooners to a fourth quarter comeback victory. It was not just Caleb Williams who elevated his play, but the entire team was lifted by the presence of the freshman quarterback. Kennedy Brooks ran for over 200 yards and two touchdowns, and the defense held Heisman hopeful Bijan Robinson under five yards on all of his second-half carries except for one 33-yard rush.

Then we had a week fueled by speculation that Spencer Rattler had lost the starting job. Rattler did not attend the Sooner’s Monday practice dealing with the emotional impact of being the preseason Heisman favorite and being replaced by a freshman. A student with binoculars reported that Williams was working with the first team. However, Lincoln Riley refused to name a starter until just minutes before their matchup with TCU.

Just minutes before the game began, Lincoln Riley finally showed his hand naming Williams the starter, and the world seemingly all exhaled at once. This is because many believed that Rattler was no longer with the program. He was removed from the student portal, but this is something that colleges often do to prevent harassment from outside sources. After getting kicked off his high school program for unconfirmed reasons, many believed Rattler to show his lack of maturity and leave Oklahoma. However, there he was on the field supporting his team.

Williams went on to win another game for the Sooners in a decisive 52-31 fashion. He shined in his first start, check out @RookieWhisper‘s breakdown of the standalone game performance in his devy players of the week piece. In just over six quarters as the full-time quarterback, Williams has logged an incredible 609 yards, six touchdowns, and no turnovers. As a runner he has added 215 yards and three touchdowns, proving to be a true dual-threat.

Williams is averaging 13.1 adjusted yards per dropback, which is second in the nation, and best in the Power Five. He is throwing a touchdown on 10% of his pass attempts, and most importantly taking care of the ball, which was the reason why Rattler was replaced. Williams is now in the conversation for the devy number one quarterback with Alabama’s Bryce Young, and Ole Miss’s Matt Corral. The only reason why you shouldn’t go out and pay the full price to acquire Williams is that you will have to wait until 2024 until he hits your dynasty roster.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPENCER RATTLER OUTLOOK

The typical devy breakout does not come at the cost to another high-profile devy player, but this is not a typical situation. What are we doing with Spencer Rattler, and what is his range of outcomes? First off, do not drop Spencer Rattler or trade him for pennies on the dollar. Rattler’s off-field concerns have been well documented and put on the global stage ever since his season on Netflix’s QB1 series. When it was speculated that Rattler was no longer with the program a few weeks ago you could have bought low on Rattler, and congratulations if you did. Here is a list of the recent preseason Heisman favorites and where they were drafted:

Option 1: Rattler remains with Oklahoma and declares for the 2022 NFL Draft. Rattler can go this route as he has just as much film on tape for the NFL as prospects like Zach Wilson, Joe Burrow, among many other first-round quarterbacks. If Rattler goes this route his most likely outcome is becoming a Day 2 selection, ideally to a team with an aging quarterback, such a Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, or wherever Aaron Rodgers is playing in 2022.

Option 2: Rattler transfers to another high-profile Power-Five school and enters the 2023 NFL Draft. This route would be the case if Lincoln Riley informs Rattler that he is no longer on the NFL teams’ radars and teams are not giving him top-100 grades. He can then reload his draft grades at a program that is great, everywhere outside the quarterback position. A team like Georgia comes to mind first. However, there are plenty of options to choose from. I’d say this is the most likely scenario and offers the most value increase for those of us that drafted Rattler in the first round and are trying to recoup value.

Option 3: the blue-chip programs do not want to deal with the Rattler headache, and similar to Cam Newton, Rattler will have to go the JUCO route for a season to get back into good graces with the CFB programs. If this is the case Rattler would have to spend 2022 on a JUCO team, 2023 with a CFB team, and enter into the 2024 NFL Draft. This is the least likely outcome, but not impossible.

Rattler is not a throwaway in dynasty and devy leagues, but he will never fully recoup his preseason value. Despite his off-field issue, he is still a top-10 arm talent in college football. This is a painful reminder that off-field red flags can prohibit promising prospects from never making a difference in the NFL.

MEANWHILE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS

Bijan Robinson is playing at a Heisman-winning level, making up 35% of Texas’s offensive output. In just seven games Robinson already has 1,131 yards from scrimmage and 13 touchdowns. However, it is true freshman wide receiver, Xavier Worthy who has been a devy breakout player for October. In the aforementioned Red River Showdown, Williams led the Sooners to victory, but it was not without a fighting effort from the Longhorn’s leading receiver. Worthy is already a top-10 Power-Five receiver on the season in receiving yards with 559 in seven games. Worthy went off against Oklahoma for an absurd nine catches for 261 yards and three touchdowns.

Worthy is a 6’1” and 160 lbs. burner who was the eighth-rated wide receiver in the 2021 class, and a top-75 player overall. Worthy was originally committed to Michigan, but when Steve Sarkisian accepted the Texas head coaching job he flipped Worthy, who he recruited hard during his time at Alabama. By flipping Worthy’s commitment, Sarkisian made it a point to get instant production from his first hand-picked prospect.

Worthy is a dynamic athlete, who will run a sub-4.4-second 40-yard dash at his NFL Combine. He is a clean route runner and will come into the 2024 NFL class with his only concern being his frame. At just 160 lbs. he will need to pack on some muscle to be a persistently available option against NFL-level competition. 

Worthy is testing off the charts in his advanced metrics and trending for a freshman season breakout age. His adjusted dominator rating is 35% and his yards per team pass attempt is 3.1 (more than double any other true freshman receivers right now). He also has an awesome 1.48 adjusted yards per team play. Robinson and Worthy are making up an insane 52% of all of Texas’s offensive production. Worthy is going to be a must-draft devy player this offseason as he has distanced himself as the clear top wide receiver in the 2024 class.

SMALL SCHOOL SHOUTOUT

Tyrese Chambers, the 6’1” and 185 lbs. receiver, is making a splash this season at Florida International. The sophomore had to go the JUCO route in 2019 at Fort Scott Community College. He then spent months in the transfer portal before finally ending up at FIU. Chambers has caught 20 passes for 672 yards and six touchdowns. That is an amazing 33.6 yards per reception, well above the arbitrary 18-yard average that indicates a field stretcher at the NFL level.

Chambers is smashing in the advanced metrics as well, he has an adjusted dominator rating of 36%, which at this pace would make him eligible as a second-year breakout age. He is currently making up 26% of the Panther’s total offensive production. He is averaging 3.5 yards per team pass attempt and 2.1 adjusted yards per team play. These are all numbers above the thresholds of having an elite production profile. He is not a player I would be rostering in devy leagues due to the lack of prospects that make it to NFL rosters from Group of Five conferences, but he is a name to remember if and when he enters the NFL Draft as a late-round rookie flier.

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. 

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