While draft position will dictate what early-round rookie a dynasty owner ends up with in rookie drafts, the late rounds allow for owners to consistently get their target players in nearly every draft. These final roster spots are the personality of a dynasty team. Is the owner a fan of optimistic depth charts? What about athletic projects? Maybe overt size is the name of the game? Over the first few years of a dynasty owner’s history, a theme develops for these late-round rookies and final roster spots.
2015 Favorites
Wide Receivers
Darren Waller: An easy target outside the top-35 in rookie drafts, Waller has the size-speed profile on lock. Is he an NFL wide receiver? Tight end? Prospect without a position? Ladarius Green is a decent fit in terms of capabilities at the NFL level, except Green was an uber-producer in college and dwarfed Waller’s question mark in that area. The good news for Waller is the Ravens passing game is open season and Marc Trestman can maximize a player’s talent level.
Tre McBride: Occasionally McBride slips to Round 4 of rookie drafts, which was not an option when he was a projected Day 2 NFL Draft pick. After nearly falling out the draft, McBride lands in Tennessee, a historically dysfunctional franchise that has invested significant recent draft capital in wide receivers (Kendall Wright, Justin Hunter, Dorial Green-Beckham) with little to show for it to-date. McBride’s metric prowess is in rarified air with a balanced profile. In the last five years, the only other receiver prospects to have at least +20% size, +40% athleticism, and +40% production marks (McBride has 20, 51, 45) are Allen Robinson, Jeff Janis, and Charles Johnson – good company.
DeAndre Carter: Like Waller, Carter is an investment in a Baltimore offense with available targets. Carter is a hedge against Michael Campanaro in the slot. Campanaro is a Wes Welker-like waterbug from the 2014 class with injuries being he downfall for years now. Carter’s production score, +40% over baseline in college, is better than all but four drafted 2015 wide receivers. Carter is thick and has the lightning three-cone time (6.64) to optimize slot matchups in the NFL.
Deontay Greenberry: Beyond Dez Bryant in Dallas, Terrance Williams is a ho-hum option as an NFL No.2 receiver, Cole Beasley is glued to the slot, and Devin Street is a slightly poor man’s version of Williams. Greenberry was a surprising combine snub and fell out of the NFL Draft entirely. Working in his favor is a thick frame, decent athleticism, and dominant Age 19 season at Houston. Greenberry rarely works his way into the top-50 of the typical offense-only rookie draft.
Devante Davis: Prototypical size, decent athleticism, and three above-average college seasons weighted by age is enough to get a dirt cheap wide receiver on the radar. Add to the equation that Davis landed in Philadelphia and he gets a consideration boost outside the top-35 of rookie drafts. Davis has some Terrell Owens to his game, but is rough around the edges.
Cameron Meredith: Kevin White will get all the attention as the Brandon Marshall replacement – or better – in Chicago. Meredith is an under-the-radar investment in the deepest of leagues with a strong athletic profile (+41% athleticism score) highlighted by a 6.71 three-cone time, 39” vertical, and sub-4.50 40-time. Meredith had a quality touchdown ratio at Illinois State and 15.9 career yards-per-catch. Meredith is a watch list player for leagues of greater than 30 roster spots.
Tyrell Williams: I have yet to see Williams get drafted in a rookie draft in the top-60. Williams was signed by the Chargers – a decent landing spot with question marks beyond Keenan Allen at receiver – after emerging from Western Oregon. While thin for his size, Williams has the height-speed combination to remain on the fantasy radar for a year or two if he can stick on an NFL roster. At 6’4” Williams ran a 4.43 40-time, 39.5” vertical jump, and a 6.74 three-cone time. Williams’ +49% athleticism score was second to Damiere Byrd of the 2015 undrafted wide receiver crop.
Tight Ends
Jesse James: Heath Miller had a rough 2014 season and is on the downside of his career arc physically. James was the youngest tight end drafted this season at 21.3 years old for Week 1. While James is merely average in athleticism and production scores by the metrics, no tight end drafted ahead of him in 2015 had a high floor between the two categories – all of them had a glaring weakness in one of the two areas. At 6’7” and having one of the better Age 18 seasons of recent tight end prospects on record, James is an optimal stash in tight end premium leagues plus a watch list player for buzz in traditional dynasty leagues.
Ben Koyack: From Kyle Rudolph to Tyler Eifert to Troy Niklas, Notre Dame has a strong track record of quality tight end prospects hitting the NFL. All three were drafted in the top-60. Ben Koyack flashes similar solid play on tape despite being a ho-hum athlete and producer by comparison. After a promising Age 20 season, Koyack underwhelmed in 2014 and his NFL Draft stock plummeted. Huge hands and hedging against Julius Thomas staying healthy (or maintaining his edge during a post-Peyton hangover) is also not a bad bet in deep tight end premium leagues.
Mycole Pruitt: The combine star of the position in 2015 fell well outside the top-100 in the draft, but the landing spot was decent. Kyle Rudolph is nearly the end of his rookie deal in Minnesota and Pruitt has experience being the focal point of a passing game from his Southern Illinois days a la Ladarius Green. On the physical side, Pruitt is on the short side (6’2”), thick, and with quality burst. Pruitt is the only tight end in 2015 to have above-average scores in the size, athleticism, and production categories yet is commonly available outside the top-40 of rookie drafts.