Welcome back for Week 6 of our Devy Players of the Week series. In this series, I cover the top college performers from each offensive fantasy position (QB, RB, WR, TE) every week. Because this is Devy, I will focus on spotlighting players I believe could play a role on our Dynasty rosters down the line. Let’s jump in and see who made some noise this past weekend in CFB!
Quarterback
Eli Holstein – Pittsburgh
25-42, 381 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
10 carries, 76 yards, 1 TD
This is RS freshman Eli Holstein’s second appearance on the POTW series, leading Pittsburgh to a 34-24 victory over North Carolina. Holstein threw for 381 yards and three touchdowns in this game, breaking the Pittsburgh freshman single-game record for passing yards. He also added 76 rush yards and a score on the ground. He did have one crucial mistake, throwing a pick-six in the first half, but bounced back nicely.
Eli is the first Pitt QB since Dan Marino to win his first five starts. This guy is breaking records left and right as a freshman and has already established himself as one of the top QBs in the country. He should be considered a Top 10 Devy QB as of today; I’m confident this is a future NFL starter we’re watching. Add his dual-threat ability, and Holstein should be a fantasy-friendly asset for us in a couple of years. Assuming he’s not been drafted in your Devy leagues yet, I’d consider him EARLY in your supplemental drafts this offseason.
Will Howard – Ohio State
21-25, 209 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT
10 carries, 28 yards, 1 TD
Will Howard and the Buckeyes continued their dominance this weekend, taking down the Iowa Hawkeyes by a score of 35-7. This 28-point differential was the closest game of the season for Ohio State, believe it or not. Outside of the one interception in this game, Howard was nearly perfect, throwing four touchdowns and running for one more. He’s quietly put up an impressive stat line through five games, with over 1,200 pass yards and 16 total TDs. While Howard has put up some quality numbers, much of this can be attributed to the plethora of NFL talent he’s surrounded by on offense. I expect Howard to be a Day 3 pick in the NFL draft and be nothing more than a backup at the next level, but I’ll continue to keep tabs on him as the season progresses. The Buckeyes will travel to Eugene to face the undefeated Oregon Ducks this weekend, his biggest test of the year.
Running Back
Ashton Jeanty – Boise State
13 carries, 186 yards, 3 TDs
The Boise State Broncos throttled a weak Utah State team this weekend, and Jeanty put on another show for us. Jeanty ran for nearly 200 yards and three touchdowns in just one half of play. The game was out of reach by halftime, so Jeanty didn’t see the field in the second half. Jeanty took it 63 yards to the house on his first touch of the game, adding to his endless list of highlight plays this year. He’s now sitting with over 1,000 rush yards and 16 TDs in FIVE GAMES, averaging 10.9 YPA and 7.95 YCO/A. These are better than video game numbers.
I’m sorry, but if Jeanty isn’t your RB1 in this 2025 class by now, you’re overthinking it. Boise State has had the 44th-toughest SOS in the country thus far, and Jeanty has done just fine. I’m not sure what else we need to see at this point. I can’t find a single red flag on film, and analytically, his rushing numbers almost don’t seem real. The one knock this year is his lack of receiving production, but he was an excellent receiving back last year, and the Broncos haven’t needed him in that role this year, so that’s not a real concern of mine.
Trevor Etienne – Georgia
16 carries, 88 yards, 2 TDs
6 receptions, 36 yards
It was nice to see junior RB Trevor Etienne get things going for the Bulldogs this weekend, as they took down Auburn 31-13. This was Etienne’s first multi-score game of the season, putting up nearly 25 fantasy points in C2C leagues. With Nate Frazier and Branson Robinson seeing some work in this backfield, Etienne hasn’t put up gaudy counting stats this season, but he’s been efficient. This 2025 draft class is loaded with RB talent, and I’m not sure Etienne is one of the top 5 RBs. He feels like more of a Day 3 pick to me, but that may change with some more performances like this. He has the size and receiving ability to make an impact on our Dynasty rosters if an NFL team gives him a shot.
Wide Receiver
Emeka Egbuka – Ohio State
11 targets, 9 receptions, 71 yards, 3 TDs
Emeka Egbuka was the primary target for Will Howard this past weekend, hauling nine receptions and finding the endzone on three separate occasions. Egbuka boasted an impressive 44% target rate against Iowa and is now up to 36.3% TPRR this year. In addition, he’s currently at 3.83 YPRR, a truly elite mark. Some were surprised by Egbuka’s decision to stay in Columbus for his senior year, but it may have proven to be the right move for the savvy slot receiver. Emeka is firmly locked in as the WR3 in this draft class for me, and I believe he has a good shot at going Round 1 in the NFL draft. I don’t know if he can be a WR1 on an NFL team, but he certainly has the ceiling to be an excellent WR2.
Tory Horton – Colorado State
13 targets, 8 receptions, 148 yards, 1 TD
If you were wondering what happened to Tory Horton this year, I can assure you he didn’t fall off. Horton has been dealing with a groin injury to start the season, which led to him missing the UTEP game and kept him sidelined for much of the Colorado and Northern Colorado games. Excluding the season opener versus Texas, which was a complete blowout, this was the first time this year we’ve really gotten to see Tory in action. He was the same target hog we’ve grown accustomed to watching, earning 13 targets on 27 routes run (48.1% TPRR). I think Horton has the potential to be a Day 2 pick if he remains healthy and continues to produce at this level the rest of the year. However, there are still a bunch of question marks to his game that concern me. Horton has an incredibly thin frame, at just 6’3” and 185 lbs, so physicality is a concern. And I’m not sure he is someone who has the ability to create separation from elite DBs consistently. He’s undoubtedly an interesting prospect and could be a late-round target in Superflex rookie drafts next year.
Tight End
Oronde Gadsden II – Syracuse
11 targets, 10 receptions, 142 yards
Gadsden continues to make my POTW lists as he has proven himself to be one of Kyle McCord’s top targets. Gadsden added another 10 receptions and 142 yards to his season totals following an overtime win against #25 UNLV. Over a 13-game season, Gadsden is pacing for 68 receptions, 933 yards, and eight touchdowns. That kind of production should put him in the conversation as being a Day 2 NFL draft pick. We knew this kid was special following his breakout sophomore season in 2022, but many had written him off after missing nearly all of 2023 due to injury. Well, Gadsden is back and arguably better than ever. Don’t sleep on Oronde; this guy can ball!
Harold Fannin Jr. – Bowling Green
9 targets, 9 receptions, 135 yards
It feels like Harold Fannin has made my POTW list every single week. The numbers he is putting up on a per-route basis are not ones we’re used to seeing from a tight end. After posting nine receptions on nine targets this weekend, Fannin is now at 35.1% TPRR on the season and 4.38 YPRR. The consistency and overall level of production have me very confident that Fannin will turn into a legitimate producer on our Dynasty rosters. Faders can use the “lack of competition” argument if they’d like, but Fannin has faced Penn State and Texas A&M already this year. What were his numbers in those games, you ask? Well, he combined for 27 targets, 19 receptions, 282 yards, and two touchdowns. That’s some unbelievable production against top schools. Fannin, Gadsden, and Loveland should be your top 3 TEs in this draft class, in whatever order you prefer.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article, and I hope you got some valuable information you can use for your fantasy team! If you’d like additional insight into Dynasty Football news and analysis, please follow me on Twitter at @jim_DFF. Until next time, keep grinding out there, DFF family! #DFFArmy #AlwaysBeBuilding
