Jelani Woods

There's an argument to be made that no tight end boosted their draft stock more than Jelani Woods at the NFL Scouting Combine. The 6-foot-7 Virginia product boasts massive size, speed and explosiveness, running a 4.61 40-yard dash (88th percentile) at 253 pounds.

His RAS score - relative athletic score - ranked No.1 among nearly 1,000 tight ends since 1987.

https://twitter.com/MathBomb/status/1511675092702572545

That in itself is enough to catch the eyes of NFL scouts, but Woods had the college production to back it up his final year.

After transferring from Oklahoma State, Woods finished third in the nation in touchdowns (8), 12th in receiving yards and 9th in PFF receiving grade.

His initial recruitment as a quarterback is eerily similar to that of Logan Thomas, who took time in the league to develop into a top-end tight end.

His athleticism alone is a reason to gravitate towards him in dynasty rookie drafts because that's been a great predictor of fantasy success at the next level. Woods just has to flash once or twice in Year 1 to accrue immediate value, which is exactly what dynasty managers should be looking for in the later rounds of rookie drafts.

Guys like Mo-Alie Cox, David Njoku, Albert Okwuegbunam, Brevin Jordan, Irv Smith Jr., Jonnu Smith and Donald Parham Jr. have all hung around the back-ends of dynasty rosters because they are tight ends that possess above-average athleticism.

Jelani Woods selected No. 73 by Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts have selected TE Jelani Woods with the No. 73 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Fantasy Impact

Woods, who was originally recruited as a quarterback, has only been playing the tight end position for 4 years, yet he was still able to produce 44 catches and 8 touchdowns for Virginia in 2021. Woods has a massive frame, standing at 6’7” and 253 pounds and he ran a surprisingly fast 4.61 40-yard dash time for a player of his size. Woods has shown the ability to consistently wall off defenders, break tackles in the open field and he may have the highest receiving upside of all the TEs in the 2022 draft class. Rookie tight ends don’t usually have much fantasy relevance, so in redraft leagues Woods shouldn’t be a priority, but he can be viewed as a nice stash in dynasty leagues.