Players To Watch In The Shrine Bowl

Dynasty / By

This is one of my favorite times of the year for football season. Seeing which prospects will make the jump from college to the pros is always exciting. There are a few all-star games that highlight these events. The biggest of them all is the Senior Bowl. The second biggest is the East-West Shrine Bowl. While this game doesn’t feature a lot of players who become major contributors for our dynasty teams, there have been a few. John Brown, Robby Anderson, and Emmanuel Sanders all appeared in this game. There are a few prospects I will be keeping my eye on this weekend.

Tyler Huntley, QB, Utah

Fueled by Utah being a trendy pre-season national championship pick, Huntley received some hype coming into the year. With a good run game and defense, Huntley did what he needed for them to make a Pac-12 Championship Game appearance. A loss killed their College Football Playoff chances and Huntley’s chance to impress on the biggest stage.

Huntley has a few things going for him. First, he started multiple years at Utah, including games in his sophomore year. Having the experience of a multi-year starter is always a plus in a prospect. Huntley is fantastic as a rusher. He’s quick and agile, often making men miss in situations where other quarterbacks would get tackled.

While he does have some impressive throws on tape, his accuracy leaves a lot to be desired. His processing, both before the snap and as the play develops, is inconsistent as well. On one play, he’ll work through his progressions and make a nice read. In the next play, he doesn’t see the linebacker drop back in coverage, leading to an easy interception. He has a long way to go mentally before he can become an NFL quarterback. I’m not optimistic in the slightest about Huntley’s chances at becoming an NFL starter, but he has some tools that could make him a back-up with the proper development.

Tavien Feaster, RB, South Carolina

Feaster, the former first-ranked all-purpose back, originally started his collegiate career at Clemson. After playing behind Travis Etienne, he decided to transfer for a chance at claiming his own backfield. Not wanting to leave the own state, he transferred to the University of South Carolina. While he led the backfield in carries, he didn’t dominate carries.

If Feaster carves out a role on an NFL roster, it will likely be in a two-down role in a committee. He has good straight-line speed, power, and vision, allowing him to run inside, but he lacks the agility or lateral quickness necessary in outside runners. Feaster lacks the dynamic playmaking that teams look for in the NFL, evident by his deficiency running routes. I’m not expecting him to get drafted before late Day 3 if he gets drafted at all. However, if he falls into the right situation, and injuries hit, he could have a two-down role which makes him fantasy relevant.

LeVante Bellamy, RB, Western Michigan

Bellamy is the most talented RB prospect at this event. Unlike many other prospects in this class, Bellamy has the statistical production that we seek in prospects. Here is a quick look at his stats:

 

A few things stand out from this table. He played at wide receiver his first two seasons before transitioning to running back his third season. In his first full season, he eclipsed 1200 rushing yards and 30 receptions. This dual-threat production is encouraging to see regardless of who they played against. In his final season, he exploded for 1472 rushing yards and 23 rushing TDs.

LeVante Bellamy is another running back best suited in a committee, but this time in the complementary role. Bellamy is a quick, explosive runner who lacks the power to be an every-down back. He is a little bit undersized at 5’9’’, 190 lbs. as well. His size results in him being tackled on first contact too much for my liking, but there are instances of him displaying good contact balance. Despite his skills as a receiver, his inability to protect the quarterback may prevent him from appearing in passing situations. I will be watching his performance this weekend and at the combine very closely. Likely undrafted in our rookie drafts, he is one of my favorite deep prospects right now.

Binjimen Victor, WR, Ohio State

Victor played four seasons in a crowded Ohio State receiving corps. Because of that, his statistical production is far from what we look for. His senior season was his best season, posting a 35-573-6 receiving line.

Victor is a big wide receiver, measuring in at 6’4’’, 199 lbs. With 18 touchdowns on 83 career catches, it’s clear that Victor uses his size to his advantage. Possessing good body control, Victor is proficient at high-pointing the football. He often uses the body to box-out the defender, knowing when to jump for the ball and showing good catching technique. He grabs the ball from the air rather than letting the ball come to him.

While he shows good ball skills, he has some developing to do as a wide receiver. He’s not a polished route runner, frequently using unnecessary footwork or displaying an inability to change directions smoothly. He also needs to improve with his releases, which provide more examples of unnecessary/sloppy footwork. I don’t want to write him off completely, as there are a few Ohio State receivers who are productive NFL receivers despite a lack of polish or production, but I’m not expecting him to develop into anything more than a situational red-zone target—if he makes a team at all.

Juwan Johnson, WR, Oregon

Because of his game-winning catch against Iowa, I believed Juwan Johnson would always have a special place in my heart—that was until he caught a bad case of the dropsies. After four seasons at Penn State, Johnson transferred to Oregon. In 8 games, Johnson posted a 30-467-4 receiving line.

Just like Victor, Johnson is a big-bodied wide receiver (6’4’’, 230 lbs.). He knows how to use his frame to shield the ball from defenders when he needs too. Unlike Victor, Johnson shows some abilities in route running and getting off the line of scrimmage. He has good enough hip flexibility to sink his hips while to create separation from his defender when breaking his routes. While he’s progressed from last year, he still has some nuances of the game to work on. Johnson is likely either a late Day 3 pick or won’t be drafted at all.

Conclusion

If I had to predict which players in this game will have an impact on our dynasty teams, I wouldn’t pick any. The odds of someone appearing in the game then having productive fantasy football seasons are very low. If I had to predict the most likely to do so, I would pick LeVante Bellamy. Regardless of the unlikelihood of someone in this game hitting for dynasty owners, I’m excited to have the pre-draft process kick-off.

Who are you looking forward to watching in Saturday’s game? Which players do you think can be assets to our dynasty teams? Let me know on Twitter at @DFF_Steven.

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