Athletes, however, will often take an additional year after their return before they begin to exhibit production close to their previous level of performance. Saquon Barkley is a recent example of this drastic improvement in the second season post-surgery.
The former Penn State transfer arrived in Lexington (KY) in 2021, after never retaining a starting role with the Nittany Lions. It was a strange situation, as most would agree that Levis should’ve been the starter there, but it just never happened. The move to Kentucky though was also strange at first glance. Known to be a college basketball powerhouse, Kentucky is usually not the first or even second school that college prospects consider as an option. Will Levis, since enrolling, has started to change the narrative.
Jameson Williams was a four-star prospect out of St. Louis, MO who broke Ezekiel Elliott’s 300-meter hurdle state record in high school. He starred both on the football field and the track and after a difficult decision between Alabama, Oregon, and Ohio State, eventually committed to the Buckeyes. Williams played sparingly as a reserve and special-teamer during his true freshman season. Williams started six games in 2020 but caught just nine passes for 154 yards and two scores as the fourth option in a loaded wide receiver depth chart that included Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Chris Olave, and Garrett Wilson at the time.
A four-star high school recruit who was born in Taiwan, moved to Ghana, and later emigrated to Canada, John Metchie III played his high school ball in the state of Maryland. He logged some game time as a freshman at Alabama, but behind so many NFL talents at WR he didn’t log enough snaps to impress statistically. In 2020 he filled in for an injured Jaylen Waddle and recorded his breakout season. This past season, he earned second-team All-SEC honors with a team-high 96 receptions before suffering a torn ACL in the conference title game and missing the team’s playoff run.
As our fantasy football season has come to an end, the off-season begins. It is time to examine some of the most pristine college players in the ’23 and ’24 classes. I will be listing my top 10 Devy targets that I will be frantically trying to snatch up. Whether you are in Devy leagues or trying to stay up to date with the NFL prospects for your dynasty leagues, this article will be nosediving into these targets.
Xavier Worthy is a 6’1” and 160 lbs. burner who was the eighth-rated wide receiver in the 2021 class, and a top-75 player overall. Worthy was originally committed to Michigan, but when Steve Sarkisian accepted the Texas head coaching job he flipped Worthy, who he recruited hard during his time at Alabama. By flipping Worthy’s commitment, Sarkisian made it a point to get instant production from his first hand-picked prospect.
This series is coming to you on a bi-weekly basis in 2021. Week Zero and Week One of the college football season had a familiar feel with virtually every conference and every level of collegiate ball being played. There have already been several unprecedented upsets and perennial top-10 ranked teams taking losses. These games were highlighted by Clemson’s loss to Georgia in Week Zero, as well as Ohio State’s loss to Oregon and Iowa State’s loss to Iowa in Week One. We will now discuss some of the individual player performances and draft stock movement!
In devy leagues, we are all looking for not only the generational talents at the collegiate level that will be NFL stars when they go pro, but we are also looking for the hidden gems that go under the radar but will be league winners someday. While generational talents like D.J. Uiagalelei, Bijan Robinson, and Kayshon Boutte are all well known in the fantasy community this article will try to determine breakout players based on their on-field play and analytical profiles.
Each week of the College Football season, I will be highlighting “Devy” players that excelled that particular week. I will touch on a QB, RB, and Pass Catcher (WR or TE) that performed well and deserve your attention. Sometimes these players will be established devy prospects, and other times they will be more under the radar. With Week 1 of the College Football season behind us, let’s dive right into it!
Beware of the Ides of March, the date March 15th was viewed by the Ancient Romans as a deadline for settling debts. The year was 44 BC and the Soothsayers informed the Dictator that their readings indicated death. A soothsayer is a minor priest also known as a haruspex, otherwise known for practicing animal sacrifice and reading the remnants of the body for signs from their deities. The practice of animal sacrifice is very similar to us fantasy players praying to the fantasy gods for a player they roster to get put back in for the goal line work as they fret a close competition. Back in Ancient Rome, the dictators and government generals would often consult with the Soothsayers regarding future war campaigns.
In his true freshman season, Wilson caught 26 passes for 385 yards and five TDs. Within the context of the Ohio State offense, he accounted for 11.4% of their receiving yardage and 10.6% of their receiving scoring. This equates to an 11.0% dominator rating and an 11.3% adjusted dominator rating. Wilson also averaged 1.07 yards per team pass attempt. While these figures do not surpass the 25% dominator rating threshold for a true breakout.
Bryce Young should be the unquestioned starter in 2021. He plays behind an offensive line that proves to be one of the best in the country year after year. He will undoubtedly be surrounded by the next wave of Bama stars. Young’s top receiving option should be John Metchie who recorded 55 receptions for 914 yards and six touchdowns last season.
We composed a four-person mock draft at DFF to start collecting devy rank data. For some people, a devy-only draft will be coming up soon, while for others the only draft of the season will be a blended rookie and devy draft after the NFL Draft takes place. We will go over how to value devy players versus rookie players later in this offseason, but for now, let’s dive into the devy debates.
“Son, you gotta get bigger, you gotta get stronger, and you gotta get faster!” Every football player at every level has heard these words countless times.
Each year, Bruce Feldman of The Athletic procures a list of the freak athletes in college football. This list has proven to be incredibly useful for fantasy football, an actionable piece of information.
The science of drafting QBs by NFL teams is suspect at best, thus identifying successful QB prospects has even more difficulties. Even the art of selecting and developing quarterback prospects are questionable to the naked eye. Here we will try to identify quarterback prospects who have gigantic potential returns that are still readily available, across devy fantasy leagues.
