Dynasty Analysis
Ian Book finished his four-year career with the second-most career passing yards in Notre Dame’s history (8,948). He also finished second in career passing touchdowns (72) and second in career QBR (147.0) amongst those who attempted 500 or more passes. Book also put up great rushing statistics in college as well. In 45 career games, he produced 1,517 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. The dual-threat quarterback can beat you both with his arm or with his legs, and in today’s game, being able to pass or run on any given down creates a major disadvantage for defenses.
Chuba Hubbard profiles as more of a committee back because he seems to lack pass-catching ability. With this deficiency, his upside is capped a bit. If given the opportunity, he could jump into a 1st and 2nd down role and could be a consistent producer in a zone scheme. He has great patience, uses his blockers well, and has enough finishing speed to score long TDs.
Bill Belichick must’ve really missed having someone in that LeGarrette Blount role because Rhamondre Stevenson is a bowling ball running back who can fill that need immediately. From a fantasy perspective, this is a terrible landing spot because trying to figure out who the Patriots are going to utilize each week is still a nightmare. However, it seems like Belichick is trying to build up his defense and establish players in key roles on his offense that have worked for him in the past. The Patriots’ backfield is now a mess filled with Damien Harris, Sony Michel, James White, Branden Bolden, JJ Taylor, and Stevenson. Stevenson will project to Harris has two years left, while Michel is entering his last year unless New England decides to pick up his option next year. Stevenson is an interesting late third or early fourth-round pick due to the fact that the Blount role has been relevant in the past. But it’s so crowded right now, that you’re hoping he can survive next year’s draft too before really adding much to your fantasy teams and that’s a bet I’m not hoping to take.
Michael Carter averaged eight yards per carry during his senior season at UNC, but the tape really looked underwhelming as a whole. When I watch Michael Carter, I see someone who is always looking at where the hole will be created for him, instead of someone who is running to make yards for himself. On the inside, he keeps a good low pad level, as if to hide from defenders, but doesn’t have the burst to break through early oncoming defenders. On the outside, Carter does well combining his speed and vision, however, his acceleration and deceleration in and out of his cuts are underwhelming which makes him feel slower. I have some big doubts about Carter’s ability as a rusher at the next level.
Nick Bolton played in all 13 games as a true freshman where he recorded 22 tackles, one sack, and one TFL. He developed from promising up-and-comer to SEC defensive star in 2019, earning first-team all-conference honors after leading the league with 8.9 tackles per game (107 total, 8.5 for loss), intercepting two passes, and breaking up eight others in 12 starts.
Micah Parsons was regarded as a top-ten prospect out of high school across the nation and was honored as the American Family Insurance National Defensive Player of the Year. Although he was not nominally a starter in his first year in Happy Valley, he earned Freshman All-American honors while leading the Nittany Lions in tackles. Parsons took a step forward as a sophomore, earning all-conference honors.
The former Florida State tight end found a home in Georgia after transferring this past season due to the turmoil that is the Florida State program right now. His knee injury in the pre-season limited his production this season to just six catches for 108 yards and a score. He was known for pass-catching in his high school days but has transitioned to being more dominant in the run blocking game. He still shows flashes of his catching ability by being able to take big hits and holding onto the ball. Look for him to be a target in the red zone due to his strong hands and large catch radius. He will be a boom or bust type fantasy player until he can solidify his role in the league.
Dyami Brown was drafted 82nd overall by the Washington Football Team, becoming the 12th wide receiver and 24th overall fantasy player in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Trey Sermon barely makes the cutoff for statistically projected relevancy in fantasy be being drafted at the backend of round three by the 49ers. This isn’t a smash spot for Sermon to land by any means due to the carousel of running backs that we’ve seen Shanahan use the past few years. However, if he can stay healthy, he will have the opportunity for big workloads as the only other running backs on the roster are the oft-injured Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson, JaMychal Hasty, and newly signed Wayne Gallman. How many of those players have contracts locked up past 2021 right now? None of them. How many of those players are making over one million dollars this year? Only Mostert. Mostert will be the main back until he gets hurt, unfortunately. Sermon has a “get up the field quickly” mentality and is very athletic. He’ll work his way up the depth chart quickly. He’s not the safest pick, but a running back with a path to legit carries in a good offense that wants to run the ball is very enticing. He’s the RB4 in this class unless something craZy happens as we end the third round. I’ll be aiming for Sermon in the middle of round two, but his hype might push him even higher. If he gets to the early second, it’ll be too rich for me.
Amari Rodgers played four full seasons with Clemson, and he didn’t produce high-level statistics until his Senior season. In his four-year college career, Rodgers produced a total of 181 receptions for 2,144 yards and 15 touchdowns. After his Freshman season, we caught glimpses of Rodgers starting to mold into a college star. He caught 55 passes for 575 yards and four touchdowns during his sophomore season. Unfortunately, he took a step back and caught 25 fewer passes and only produced 426 yards and four touchdowns his Junior year. Finally, he took over as one of the best pass-catchers in the nation in his final season at Clemson. He produced career-highs in receptions (77), receiving yards (1,020), and receiving touchdowns (7). His 1,020 receiving yards placed him 10th amongst all wide receivers in Division 1 last season. He has the talent and experience to become a reliable target and return specialist at the pro level.
At his Tennessee Pro Day, Josh Palmer measured in at 6’1” and 210 lbs. Which equates to a BMI of 27.7. He ran a 4.51-second 40-yard dash, equating to a 101.52-Speed Score, and at 6’1” that is a 102.02-Height Adjusted Speed Score. Both scores place him in the 67th percentile or higher. He doesn’t show elite athleticism as he recorded a 34” vertical jump, 124” broad jump, and he ran the short shuttle in 4.25 seconds and the three-cone in 6.98 seconds.
Davis Mills was ranked as the top overall quarterback in the class of 2017, ahead of Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, and Mac Jones. Mills took over as the starting quarterback for Stanford as a true freshman. Mills accumulated just 3,468 passing yards and 18 TDs versus eight INTs in his four-year collegiate career at Stanford. Mills is strictly a pocket-passer and does not offer any threat on the ground for defenders.
Kellen Mond took over as the starting quarterback for Texas A&M as a true freshman. Mond accumulated 9,661 passing yards and 71 TDs versus 27 INTs in his four-year collegiate career at Texas A&M. Mond is a capable rusher as he compiled 1,609 rushing yards and 22 TDs in his four seasons.
Kyle Trask took over as the starting quarterback for Florida as a sophomore when then Gators quarterback Felipe Franks went down to injury and never gave Franks a chance to get the job back. In his career, Trask completed 552 of 813 pass attempts, a 67.9% rate. He threw for 7,386 yards, 69 touchdowns, and just 15 interceptions which equates to a 168.5 passer rating. Trask leaves much to be desired as a rushing threat, he has a total of 54 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 132 attempts. He won’t be boosting his fantasy production with much work on the ground.
Despite being overshadowed by his college teammate Ja’Marr Chase, Terrace Marshall is an excellent prospect in his own right. He’s got prototypical size and impressive athleticism. He broke out at an early age and demonstrated his ability to dominate an offense. He did fall a little further than expected in the draft, but as a second round, he will be given every opportunity to succeed in the league. I believe Marshall is firmly entrenched as a top-five wide receiver in this class, perhaps even top three. He’s an excellent player to target at the backend of the first round or early second round in Superflex rookie drafts.
At his Louisville Pro Day, Tutu Atwell measured in at 5’9” and 155 lbs. Which equates to a BMI of 22.9. His 40-yard dash time was 4.44-seconds, his burst score was 114.6, and his agility score was 10.96. All of these metrics are pretty average for his size, but they are not awful which is all that matters for a WR. Tutu’s only red flag here would be his BMI, and his BMI being so low is a little scary. I do not feel BMI and size are too predictive for NFL success, but we just haven’t seen anyone this small before so it is hard to say for sure.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah | Notre Dame 6’1½ ” […]
D’Wayne Eskridge had 121 receptions for 2,244 yards in his five-year college career at Western Michigan. He is one of the older wide receivers in this class at 24 years old and played an extra season as a super senior after being converted to a defensive back in 2019 and suffering a clavicle injury that ended his year. Eskridge didn’t truly break out until his sophomore season and comes in with a BOA of 20.5 (52nd percentile). He finished the 2020 season with 33 receptions for 768 yards and eight touchdowns, accounting for an incredible 45% of his team’s offensive production and 5.95 adjusted yards per team pass attempt. The offense ran through him.
Pat Freiermuth | Penn State 6’5” 251 lbs. 10/25/1999 (Age […]