Laquon Treadwell is one of several underclassmen expected to have immediate fantasy impact
The deadline for underclassmen to declare early for the NFL Draft was this past Monday, and there are quite a few names that should be on your fantasy radar. To recap, in order to be eligible for the draft, a player must be out of high school for three years. So, as far as the NFL is concerned, juniors and redshirt sophomores are underclassmen.
From a college player’s perspective (or really, the agent’s perspective), the goal these days is basically to maximize the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement and start the clock toward negotiating that all-important second contract, which is typically the most lucrative one a player will sign in his pro career – assuming he hangs around long enough, or even gets drafted in the first place. With more than 100 college football underclassmen having declared for the 2016 NFL Draft, it already represents a record number of early entries, surpassing the previous record of 98 set in 2014. Many of those players won’t get drafted.
Of course, there are fantasy implications for this growing trend. And with more and more college players declaring early for the NFL Draft, we’ll tackle this column in two parts.
Part One: Wide Receivers
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This year’s crop of receivers is not nearly as loaded as the historic 2014 class, and it’s not quite as top-heavy as last year’s group. Still, there are some potential future difference-makers, and the majority of them are juniors. Below are the five early-entry wide receivers to keep an eye on as the offseason ramps up toward the NFL Draft and beyond.
Laquon Treadwell (Ole Miss)
Treadwell was widely considered the top receiver of his recruiting class coming out of high school, and he then went on to earn 2013 SEC Freshman of the Year honors as a dependable possession receiver for the Rebels (72 catches, 8.4 YPC). Treadwell’s 2014 season was cut short due to a gruesome injury to his tibia and ankle, but he came back stronger than ever in 2015, catching 82 passes for 1,153 yards and 11 TDs. There was a stretch of five straight games in which he went over 100 receiving yards with at least one touchdown, and he caught three touchdowns in a blowout win over Oklahoma State in the Sugar Bowl. Listed at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds with questionable long speed, Treadwell projects as an impact possession or slot receiver and should go off the board in the first round. He may not have the widespread appeal of the first-round receivers from the last couple of drafts, but don’t sleep on a guy who makes catches like this look effortless.
Michael Thomas (Ohio State)
Thomas’ numbers don’t jump off the page – he averaged 55 catches, 790 yards and nine touchdowns over the last two seasons – but numbers don’t tell the whole story, as the Buckeyes were content to lean on their productive ground game. Still, there is not much that Thomas can’t do, which is why scouts and draft pundits have him pegged as a first-round pick. He made a name for himself in 2014 as OSU’s possession receiver, complementing deep threat Devin Smith. As a junior this past season, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Thomas demonstrated some serious run-after-catch ability, as well as showed he can take the lid off a defense. For what it’s worth, he is the nephew of former NFL star wideout Keyshawn Johnson.
Tyler Boyd (Pittsburgh)
Boyd has the chance to be the NFL’s next great receiver out of Pitt since Larry Fitzgerald, but make no mistake, his game nor physical makeup are carbon copies of the ageless wonder. Boyd, listed at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, is akin to a Swiss Army knife in that he can impact a game as a receiver, a runner, and a returner. He also played with three different quarterbacks in three seasons. One off-the-field concern, stemming from a June DUI arrest, led to Boyd being suspended for the 2015 season opener. Had he suited up against Youngstown State, you can bet he would have posted his third 1,000-yard receiving season despite frequent double teams. Instead, he finished with 926 yards and six touchdowns on 91 catches, adding another 349 yards on the ground (8.7 YPC). Boyd burst onto the scene in 2013 as the nation’s most productive freshman receiver (85-1,174-7) – even breaking Fitzgerald’s school records along with Sammy Watkins’ ACC freshman receptions record. He then followed that up with an even better sophomore campaign (78-1,261-8). Boyd is considered a fringe Day 1 prospect.
Will Fuller (Notre Dame)
Fuller is not very big in terms of NFL size (6 feet, 184 pounds), but there’s no doubt he’s got NFL speed. Not only can Fuller flat out fly, he also gets in and out of his routes quickly, which helped him earn second-team AP All-American honors this past season. Fuller emerged as a go-to weapon for the Fighting Irish as a sophomore in 2014, catching 76 passes for 1,094 yards and 15 TDs. He followed that up with 14 scores and 1,258 yards on 62 catches (20.3 YPC) as a junior despite playing with a redshirt freshman quarterback. Whereas someone like Devin Smith is a one-trick pony with straight-line speed, Fuller runs the full route tree and simply has a knack for creating separation. He’ll need to bulk up in order to beat press coverage at the next level, but look for Fuller to be off the board by the third round, if not earlier. At the moment, he’s more of a name to watch in dynasty formats than in re-draft leagues.
Corey Coleman (Baylor)
Like Fuller, Coleman is a potent deep threat. And also like Fuller, he lacks ideal size (5-foot-11, 190 pounds). Coleman’s numbers were insane in 2015, but then again, each year there are star receivers drafted from the Big 12 who dominated weak competition only to wind up as an afterthought in the pros. Of course, there are also quite a few notable Big 12 pass-catchers who went on to fantasy relevance – Dez Bryant, Michael Crabtree, Jeremy Maclin, Tavon Austin (and if you want to count Josh Gordon), to name a few. Coleman could join that group if he continues his progression. As a sophomore in 2014, he caught 64 passes for 1,119 yards and 11 TDs. He then improved across the board in 2015 with 74 catches, 1,363 yards and 20 scores. However, he did fail to score or post a 100-yard receiving game in any of Baylor’s final four contests, and he also had 10 drops on the season. Coleman is likely a Day 2 pick, and he’ll need to be drafted into the right offensive situation in order to maximize his strengths. But he certainly has the looks of a playmaker at the next level and is a name to file away for your fantasy draft.
Mike Castiglione is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, you can view his archive or follow him @RickDancin.
