Geoff Lambert takes a look at a few undrafted rookies to keep an eye on this offseason.
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After the meteoric rise of Broncos RB Phillip Lindsey, from undrafted free agent rookie to Pro Bowler, everyone will be looking for this year’s version of the speedy back to add to their dynasty team. While extremely rare, it has happened a few times before, with another guy by the name of Adam Thielen recently getting a large contract extension after starting his career as a UDFA. The problem is in identifying which players have the shot to actually pull it off.
One of the biggest indicators when looking at undrafted players having success in the NFL is to look at their college production. Take a look at these two rookie receivers’ careers and tell me which one you would draft for your fantasy team;
Player A: 148 receptions, 2,230 total yards, and 23 total TDs
Player B: 202 receptions, 2,977 total yards, and 27 total TDs
Obviously, you would draft Player B, right? Well, what if I told you Player A was drafted in the second round in this past NFL draft, and, not only did Player B go undrafted, he isn’t a receiver at all, but a running back.
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James Williams (RB – KC)
Option B, in that scenario, is none other than RB James Williams. Option A is 49ers’ rookie WR Deebo Samuel. Okay, I cheated a little bit and used total yards and total TDs instead of receiving yards and receiving TDs, but the point was to show you how many receptions Williams had in his career at Washington State…as a running back. Immediately after the draft, Williams signed to one of the most potent offenses in the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs, meaning the Chiefs likely had him on their big board all along.
The Chiefs did draft another RB in the sixth round, Utah State’s Darwin Thompson, but he only has one year of college production and caught only 23 passes in that one season. Both RBs will go into camp competing with Carlos Hyde for a backup role behind both the incumbent starter and fantasy darling, Damian Williams. However, if Damian Williams turns back into a pumpkin after his surprising breakout season last year, James Williams may have a chance at a significant role and he won’t cost you anything in dynasty drafts.
Ashton Dulin (WR – IND)
Dulin is the victim of playing at a small school — in this case, Malone University — but he has the measurables of an elite level talent. He ran a 4.43 40 and had a ridiculous Dominator Rating of 60.9 percent. That means he accounted for over 60 percent of his team’s total receiving yards and receiving TDs. Mind you, anything over 45 is considered extraordinary according to PlayerProfiler.com.
He will have an uphill climb on the depth chart if he is to find his way on to the field in year one, as the Colts drafted WR Parris Campbell, signed FA Devin Funchess, and have last year’s draft pick Deon Cain returning from a season-ending injury. However, if you have space on your bench to stash a player that could eventually find his way into a significant role in an Andrew Luck-led offense, he is worth the shot.
Emanuel Hall (WR – CHI)
Hall made a name for himself at the combine courtesy of a viral slo-mo video of his record-tying 141-inch broad jump. He also showed good speed, posting a 4.39 40 time, but the biggest knock on Hall is his college production, or rather the lack thereof. In his four seasons at Missouri, he never surpassed 37 catches nor had over 850 yards receiving. However, he did have 16 TDs on just 97 catches in his career — and impressive rate of a TD every six catches. For comparison sake, first round draft pick N’Keal Harry caught a TD about every 10 catches.
Hall joins a plethora of WRs in Chicago, but outside of Allen Robinson, none of them stand out. It would be truly an accomplishment if Hall is able to find his way onto the Bears’ Week 1 roster, but it is possible that he shows enough in the preseason to land with another WR needy team.
Elijah Holyfield (RB – CAR)
Holyfield, son of heavyweight boxer Evander Holyfield, saw his stock drop with his terrible 40 times both at the combine and during his pro day, where he ran a 4.78 40. Landing with the Panthers may be the best landing spot for him as there is very little competition behind all-world RB Christian McCaffery. He needs to overcome incumbent backup RB Cameron Artis-Payne, fellow rookie Jordan Scarlett, and a couple of roster-filling special teams players.
Working in his favor is the fact that he is nothing like McCaffery in terms of running style. Holyfield is a power back with some wiggle, which could lend itself to a short-yardage or goal-line role early in his career — if he were to make the Panthers’ roster. It’s more likely that Holyfield is getting some preseason hype based solely on who his father is, but if you are swinging for the fences in a deep dynasty league, you could do worse than Holyfield.
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