DEVIN LEARY, QB NORTH CAROLINA STATE, 2022 ELIGIBLE
With major ACC Championship implications on the line, third-year QB Devin Leary had a big game, throwing for 408 yards and four touchdowns. However, that was not enough to push the NC State Wolfpack past the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, as NC State lost 42 – 45. This has not been Leary’s only big game, as he is 13th in the country in passing yards with 2,883, and seventh in passing touchdowns with 29. North Carolina State has a strong track record for QB success. Since 2004 the Wolfpack has had five QBs drafted, in Phillip Rivers, Russell Wilson, Mike Glennon, Jacoby Brissett, and Ryan Finley, and I believe Devin Leary is next in line. I do not expect Leary to have a Rivers or Wilson career arc, but I do think he can be a starting QB in the NFL.
Standing at 6’1” 212 lbs., Leary is not overly tall but is tall enough that he shouldn’t be dinged for his height come the NFL Draft process. The third-year sophomore has a strong arm and possesses the arm talent NFL teams are looking for. He throws a very good deep ball, but he needs to be more consistent there. This could come with time, as he has only played in 22 games through his first three seasons. Leary played in eight games as a true freshman and then started four games last year before breaking his leg. In 2020 Leary completed 60% of his passes for 890 yards, eight touchdowns, and two interceptions. As I mentioned previously, in 2021 he is top-15 in the country in both passing yards and touchdowns in 2021. He has thrown five interceptions this year and a few of those are due to deep balls that he has simply not thrown well. Leary has the physical tools and football IQ to be a good QB, he just needs to find some more consistency, which should come with time.
Devin Leary is draft-eligible this year, but I expect him to come back for another season at NC State. 2021 is the only full season he will have under his belt, and I believe it will do him well to play another season in college before making the jump to the NFL. In the Devy leagues, I am in, he is not owned anywhere, so he does not carry much value at the moment. I see Leary as a late-round Devy pick in Superflex formats. He is not someone worth taking in the early rounds as he still has a lot to prove, but his upside is worth a late-round dart throw.
BRAELON ALLEN, RB WISCONSIN, 2024 ELIGIBLE
If I had to use one word to describe Braelon Allen, it would be “FREAK”. At just 17 years old, Allen is already 6’2” 238 lbs. It is incredible, to be that young, that big, and since October, he has been incredibly productive too. Since 10/09 the freshman RB has not had less than 104 yards rushing in a game. In his last six games, Allen has 785 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. He had his best game of the season this past Saturday rushing for 173 yards and three touchdowns and adding one catch for 16 yards. Allen looks like the bell-cow-back coaches dream of, and it is easy to compare him to former Alabama RB and NFL stand-out Derrick Henry. As a freshman at Alabama, Henry was listed at 6’3” 238 pounds and showed up at the combine in 2016 at 6’3” 247 lbs. Derrick Henry ran a 4.54-second 40-yard dash in Indianapolis, and if Allen can run anything close to that it will be very impressive.
Braelon is nearly 240 lbs. and he uses all of his weight as a ball carrier:
He is a downhill runner which favors his size and strength. He is like a freight train, once he gets going he is very difficult to stop. The only weakness I can see in Allen’s game at the moment is his usage in the passing game. Braelon only has two catches on the year, but I do not see it as a big deal. Former Wisconsin RB Jonathan Taylor only had eight catches as a freshman and then another eight as a sophomore before having 26 as a junior. When you are built like Derrick Henry you don’t have to be a great pass catcher. Henry was dominant in college and continues to be dominant in the NFL, and he had only 17 total receptions in college.
Allen is set up to be a hot commodity in Devy leagues. Going into the season TreVeyon Henderson and Will Shipley were the two most highly rated RBs in the 2024 class, but come to the end of this season, Allen will be right up there with them, if not above them. I believe it will be nearly impossible to trade for Allen in leagues where he is already rostered, so your best option is to draft him in start-ups or leagues where he fell through the cracks this offseason. He is truly a very special athlete and should be worth the early-round selection price tag.
JAMESON WILLIAMS, WR ALABAMA, 2022 ELIGIBLE
After receiving limited playing time at Ohio State in 2019, and 2020, Jameson Williams transferred to Alabama. The decision to transfer looks to be the right decision, as Williams is leading the SEC in receiving yards with 1,028 and receiving touchdowns with ten. This past weekend against New Mexico State, Williams had a career-high three-touchdown game, catching six passes for 158 yards. Through ten games this season, Williams has a dominator rating of 30.6%, which should qualify this year as a “breakout” for him. Listed at 6’2” 189 pounds, Jameson will be tagged as skinny for the BMI truthers in the fantasy football community. His production in the SEC cannot be ignored, even if it is junior season. Alabama’s track record for producing first-round draft picks could continue with Jameson Williams.
In high school, Williams was clocked running a 4.4 40-yard dash, and it is easy to see that speed translate on the field. Jameson can stretch the field deep, and also uses his speed and quickness to create yardage after the catch. In addition to his athleticism, shows strong hands, and creates separation in short to intermediate routes thanks to his quick breaks out of routes. The speedy Junior looks like the real deal on film, checking nearly all the boxes for desired traits in a WR.
Since Williams barely played at OSU, he was off almost everyone’s radar, so I would be surprised if he is rostered in any shallow Devy leagues. After the 2022 NFL Draft, we could see Jameson selected in the first round of rookie drafts if he is to secure 1st round draft capital come April. Analytics folks may fade Williams due to the later breakout and slight build, but I could see Williams end up in many analysts’ top-5 2022 WRs due to his productive 2021 season, good film, and blazing speed. If Williams is to end up in my top-5 it will be in the fifth spot, as I prefer Treylon Burks, David Bell, Garrett Wilson, and Drake London to Jameson Williams. The 2022 NFL Draft will have a big say in my ranking of Williams, assuming he does decide to go pro after his big Junior season.
I hope you enjoyed another edition of “Devy Players of the Week” and I hope to have you back next week! You can follow me on Twitter @RookieWhisper for more content.
