Devy Fantasy Football Rankings & Analysis: Week 8

Travis May discusses devy fantasy football leagues in his weekly series for FantasyPros.

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Welcome back to Week 8 of Devy Weekly!

If you missed the seventh installment check it out here so you can get up to speed! Essentially, I’ll be taking a close look at the top (future NFL) playmakers in college football every week to help you stay one step ahead of your leaguemates. Whether you play in “devy” dynasty leagues or you simply love to learn about the next generation of NFL studs, this article series is for you! So without further ado, let’s dive into my updated positional rankings as we head into Week Nine of the college football season!

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Quarterback

Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama
Justin Herbert, Oregon
Will Grier, West Virginia
Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State
Drew Lock, Missouri

Running Backs

D’Andre Swift, Georgia
Travis Etienne, Clemson
Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin
David Montgomery, Iowa State
Cam Akers, Florida State
Bryce Love, Stanford
A.J. Dillon, Boston College
Darrell Henderson, Memphis
Rodney Anderson, Oklahoma
Miles Sanders, Penn State

Wide Receivers

A.J. Brown, Ole Miss
Bryan Edwards, South Carolina
N’Keal Harry, Arizona State
Kelvin Harmon, North Carolina State
Dekaylin Metcalf, Ole Miss
Jerry Jeudy, Alabama
Laviska Shenault, Colorado
CeeDee Lamb, Oklahoma
Tee Higgins, Clemson
Collin Johnson, Texas

Tight Ends

Noah Fant, Iowa
Albert Okwuegbunam, Missouri
Kaden Smith, Stanford
Caleb Wilson, UCLA
Jared Pinkney, Vanderbilt

What Changed?

If you’re comparing to last week, you may notice a couple new faces that joined or rejoined the lists. Rodney Anderson (yes, I know he’s been out…I’ll explain), Miles Sanders (RB, Penn State), and Tee Higgins (WR, Clemson) hopped into the top tier of their positional rankings. J.K. Dobbins (RB, Ohio State), Damien Harris (RB, Alabama), and Jalen Reagor (WR, TCU) dropped out. Let’s talk about how and why.

Rodney Anderson tore his knee up in the second game of this season and will miss all of 2018. Yes, when injuries happen, a player’s stock typically sees a drop, and he did. The thing is he was an elite top-five back in devy and dynasty leagues before going down. Since then many of the other top options at the position have largely disappointed. In a way, the injury is preserving his perceived value because what we saw of him when he was healthy in 2017 was amazing.

He will likely still choose to enter the NFL Draft next year since he’s already an older draft prospect. If that is the case, he could very easily still be the best back of the class. Until some of these other top college backs want to start showing some consistency, Anderson will keep his place in the top tier looking towards a potentially bright future.

It’s time we start taking Miles Sanders seriously. He may not be quite as tantalizing as his former teammate Saquon Barkley, but he sure has a fun skill set. Through seven games, Sanders is averaging over 100 rushing yards per game with eight touchdowns and 15 receptions. If you compare Sanders’ rushing numbers to Barkley in 2017, he holds a slight edge.

He’s nowhere near the receiver that Barkley is, but Sanders still brings a lot to the table. Sanders is a former five-star recruit with a near elite athletic profile. He’s an incredibly strong runner that makes decisive cuts and jukes that leave defenders on the ground. If he shows out at his NFL Combine Sanders should end up being an early day two pick.

Now that Tee Higgins has future NFL stud Trevor Lawrence throwing him the ball, his supreme talent is beginning to emerge. When Higgins joined Wide Receiver University (Clemson) last year, he was considered quite possibly the best freshman wide receiver in the country. At 6’4, 200 pounds, and with speed to kill, Higgins is the real deal. This past weekend, he torched N.C. State for eight receptions, 119 yards, and a touchdown.

He’s still just scratching the surface of what he could become. He needs to improve and diversify his route running, but Higgins’ time is here. Expect consistent explosive production from here on out, and high NFL Draft capital eventually invested.

I’m done with J.K. Dobbins for now. I’m not saying he isn’t a good running back. He’s just no longer in the elite college running back conversation right now.

He had a good 2017 season, especially for a true freshman. He offers a balanced skill set as a receiver and runner, but lacks elite power. This season, he just hasn’t been able to get things going at all. He’s failed to eclipse 3.5 yards per carry four weeks in a row now and simply isn’t creating after contact like a year ago.

Teammate Mike Weber has been stealing some of his work as well, which doesn’t help. But against Purdue this last weekend, he was absolutely useless, compiling just 24 yards on his 11 carries. That’s not what earns you top devy consideration.

Damien Harris hasn’t had a bad season at all for Alabama this year. He’s actually been nearly as efficient as the previous two seasons, and he’s on pace to crush his record reception total. But Harris has never been asked to carry a significant workload thanks to Alabama’s stable of running backs, and seems to lack elite physical traits. Harris will likely sneak into the back end of Day Two of the NFL Draft, but that doesn’t currently warrant elite status. He’s the first man out of the top-10 running backs for now.

Jalen Reagor is still most definitely a solid wide receiver, but someone had to give up their top-10 spot to Tee Higgins. Reagor could find his way back into the top 10 here soon too. Teammate KaVontae Turpin was just dismissed from the team on an assault charge, so Reagor’s target share opportunity just got a major increase. Sadly, TCU lost their budding star quarterback Shawn Robinson for the season.

However, Reagor can win in the short game or vertically. He creates his own separation anywhere on the field and posted solid production as a true freshman. Don’t forget about this guy, even if he isn’t a “top-10 devy WR” on some list you read online.

Other Notable Happenings from Week 7

Albert Okwuegbunam (TE, Missouri) dropped 159 yards and three touchdowns on Memphis last week. He may end up solidifying his TE2 overall status here soon.

JaTarvious “JT” Whitlow (RB, Auburn) just ran for 170 yards and added 38 yards through the air for a touchdown against Ole Miss last weekend. This freshman has taken over the Auburn backfield (when healthy) and looks to become a top devy option next spring.

Kennedy Brooks wants to be more than a backup for Oklahoma at running back. He rushed 18 times for 168 yards against TCU this past weekend. He could end up taking the primary job there from Trey Sermon if he keeps that up.

This is your weekly reminder that Rondale Moore is breaking college football as a true freshman wide receiver for Purdue. He caught 12 balls for 170 yards and two touchdowns to just about single-handedly defeat Ohio State this past weekend. He should be considered a top wide receiver in the country.

I hope you enjoyed this installment of Devy Weekly! Again, feel free to reach out to me @FF_TravisM on Twitter to chat more about college or the NFL! Good luck in all of your leagues and expect to hear from me again here soon!

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