Rookie Analysis
In this seven-part article series, I have looked at the rookies from the 2019 class at each position. In this article, we will examine the best and worst of rookie tight ends.
These are the few teams that don’t utilize the tight end position very well or have trouble developing young talent.
The Steelers selected Johnson with the 66th overall pick in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Coming into the season, Johnson was the fourth receiver on the Steelers’ depth chart. He sat behind Juju Smith-Schuster, Donte Moncrief, and James Washington. However, after Week 1, the Steelers had seen enough of Moncrief. From then on, Johnson and Washington shared the WR2 and WR3 roles behind Smith-Schuster. In that role, Johnson received 92 targets, converting those into 59 receptions for 680 yards and five touchdowns. He led the Steelers in targets, receptions, and receiving touchdowns, and he finished just behind Washington in receiving yards.
In Week 1, Samuel led the 49ers’ receivers with an 88% snap share, although he had just three receptions for 17 yards. The 49ers benched Pettis, giving him only two offensive snaps. After Week 1, the 49ers rotated Pettis, Samuel, Goodwin, and Bourne, a rotation that continued through Week 7. In Week 8, the 49ers traded for Emmanuel Sanders. They benched Pettis and Goodwin and used Sanders and Samuel as their two starting receivers, with Bourne as the primary WR3.
Now, we’re on to part four of this seven-part series about the 2019 rookies. Previously, I’ve talked about QBs, RBs part 1, and RBs part 2. Now, it’s time to get into the wide receivers, which I will split into three parts. There are simply so many receivers that either had high rookie draft capital or achieved fantasy relevance in 2019. For part one, I’ll take a look at four receivers that were all first-round picks in a majority of rookie drafts. These are my rankings from late May 2019:
The 2020 running back class appears to be deep and filled with talent. David Montgomery may not even make a top-five list among players like D’andre Swift, J.K. Dobbins, Jonathan Taylor, Cam Akers, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and the list could go on. We love watching these guys in the combine and get excited about the NFL Draft. What we don’t want is for any of them to end up of the following teams.
Ingram led the way with 202 carries, with Edwards in second with 133 carries. Hill lagged with just 58 carries. Hill also only had eight receptions in all of 2019, a major disappointment for a player with highly touted passing-game skills. Edwards, who has almost no pass-catching ability, finished with seven receptions, just one less than Hill. Hill played in all 16 games, so his poor stats were not due to injury. He also played on only 17% of offensive snaps.
There were four top-drafted running backs in last year’s rookie drafts. How did they fair in their rookie campaigns? What is their outlook going forward? Become a member, hop in, and find out!
This series will look back on the 2019 class and explore the biggest hits and misses. Now, since this will be a long series, let’s start with the premise here in part one. For each position, I will examine all the rookies that were selected in a significant number of rookie drafts, or achieved significant production at that position. A hit will generally be a player that produced fantasy points in year one and gained or at least maintained their dynasty value. A miss will be players who didn’t produce or at least who underperformed. I will also have a third category; incomplete. In this category, I’ll discuss those players who did not receive significant playing time and where they can go in 2020 and beyond.
Listed at 6’4 220 pounds, Cole McDonald looks like an NFL talent. McDonald has a rocket of an arm and moves very well for his size. As a two year starter at Hawaii, the gunslinger threw for 8,010 yards and 69 touchdowns. Although putting up video game numbers, McDonald is considered a day 3 prospect by most. This is likely due to a funky throwing motion and less than desirable completion percentage of 61.4. However, with a strong performance in Indianapolis, I believe Cole McDonald can make his way into the Day 2 decision. To do this, he will need to run a good 40 time and show off his arm talent.
Here, we’re going to look at landing spots. Specifically, what are the best landing spots for a running back in the 2020 NFL Draft, or perhaps for a free agent running back? I’ll be focusing on each team’s current running backs, cap space, and NFL Draft capital.
The Bears were the epitome of average in 2019, finishing the season a mediocre 8-8. They had a lot of issues but wide receivers weren’t one of them., As a matter of fact, their issues were more so on the quarterback. Mitch Trubisky is not very good, but his receivers are. Chicago already has plenty of talented young pass-catchers in Allen Robinson and Anthony Miller, and adequate receivers in Taylor Gabriel and Javon Wims.
Heading into the 2020 National Championship game, many of the players we wanted to declare did so already. We were just waiting on Chuba Hubbard, Najee Harris, and the guys who were playing in the title game. The 2020 class took major blows when Chuba announced his return to school and reports came out about Najee returning. It recovered in a big way when Clemson wide receiver Tee Higgins announced his declaration for the 2020 NFL Draft.
Name: Michael Warren II Position: RB College: Cincinnati Classification: Junior Height: 5 ft 11 in Weight: 222 lbs Michael Warren, an underrated prospect out of Cincinnati, has declared to enter this running back heavy draft. While the class is talented, I don’t think that will make him fall by any means. We will take a […]
The strengths of the 2020 class lie at the running back and wide receiver positions. The quarterback and tight end classes are not nearly discussed as much. When Tua injured his hip, any excitement about this class immediately ceased. With questions surrounding Tua’s health, dynasty owners had to wait for weeks to learn about his next step. Luckily for dynasty owners, he decided to forgo his senior season by entering the 2020 NFL Draft. Tua is the talent that this quarterback class desperately needed.
I begin my Rookie Watch series on Wisconsin Junior, Jonathan Taylor. You’ll find his collegiate stats here. No doubt, the badger was a dominant college running back–scoring 50 touchdowns in three years. The Badgers are a successful running team year in and year out. They are known for their inside and outside-zone running schemes. Recent alumni Melvin Gordon and James White were also very successful at Wisconsin. They are typically well-coached and tough to stop on the ground.
Is D’Andre Swift the RB1 of the 2020 NFL Draft Class? What makes Swift a unique talent that could be the 1.01 in your upcoming rookie drafts?@DFF_Steven breaks down Swift’s attributes and what type of player he will be in the NFL.
My excitement around the 2020 class hype derives from the talent that lies at the top of this class. Following a close loss to Clemson, Ohio State running back J’Kaylin Dobbins took no time considering his next step. On December 30th, 2019, JK Dobbins officially declared for the 2020 NFL Draft. Dobbins enters the pre-draft process as one of the most talented offensive players in the draft and my personal RB3.
Meet Hamler This speedy receiver has had all heads turning this season as he has proven to the fans and scouts that his big-play ability is worthy of a roster spot in the NFL. Hamler only has a two-year sample size for teams to look at for scouting. But in that small sample size is […]
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