Top College Prospects - Dynasty League Scouting (Bowl Season - Week 1 Edition)

December 14, 2018

Matt Wispe looks at the top fantasy devy prospects for the first week of bowl games during the college football season. Monitor these NCAA players for dynasty fantasy football leagues.

Bowl season is finally here. We're still a few weeks away from deciding the national champion, but there are some intriguing NFL prospects in early games.

There's a misguided belief that top dynasty assets exclusively come from traditional powerhouse programs, but there's plenty of talent in these early games. And if you look close enough, you'll find a few late round gems.

Today, we'll take a look at three prospects, including  one top pick and two late round options, whose teams are playing in the opening week of bowl games.

Scouting The Wide Receivers

KeeSean Johnson, WR Fresno State

Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl - vs. Arizona State (12/15)

If you're struggling to find a matchup to care about in the early games, this would be my recommendation. Fresno State has been an undervalued team by the public, all season, and they're taking on an Arizona State team that has outperformed everyone's expectations. And for Fresno State, they're offense goes through senior WR, KeeSean Johnson.

The most noticeable trend for Johnson is three consecutive seasons with, at least, a 30 percent market share of receiving yards and three years over a 0.30 dominator rating. And from a raw numbers perspective, he's amassed over 1,000 receiving yards in each of his final two seasons.  If there's any concern about Johnson's production, it's that his career high 14.1 yards per reception falls short of the ideal 16 yards that would represent a field stretching receiver. But even with that concern, his consistent usage rate shows a level of trust from the coaching staff that will only be matched by a few other WRs in the class.

Johnson lacks the high school pedigree as a former two-star prospect and he's likely going to be a late-round NFL draft pick or potentially an undrafted free agent, but that shouldn't worry you as a dynasty player because he's also going to be a very inexpensive option in drafts. And with production like he has, Johnson should find his way onto an NFL roster. Don't count on Johnson to become an instant impact fantasy asset, but he's a great option to stash on a taxi squad or the last spot on a bench.

N'Keal Harry, WR Arizona State

Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl - vs. Fresno State (12/15) - Sitting Out

N'Keal Harry has declared for the NFL Draft and is choosing to sit out of his bowl game, but that's not going to stop us from taking a look at him as a prospect.

Harry has never had a season below 20 percent market share of his team's receiving yards and his dominator rating has never dipped below 0.25. His true breakout season came in 2017 when he compiled a dominator over 0.30 during his age 19 season.  He's not a likely field stretcher with a career average of 13.6 yards per reception. But as a relatively young WR prospect with three seasons of proven production, the former four-star prospect is trending towards being an early draft pick.

Currently, Harry is projected as one of the top two or three WR prospects by most outlets which explains his decision to sit out a low tier bowl game.  The biggest deciding factor in his rookie draft position will likely be his team situation as he's a projected first round pick. If he lands in a situation with a good QB and available targets, Harry could easily end up as the consensus 1.01 in drafts. With a slightly less than ideal team situation, he could fall as far a six. Regardless, the talent is clear so he's going to cost drafters a high price, but it will likely be worth it.

Scouting A Runningback

A.J. Ouellette, RB Ohio

Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl - vs. San Diego State (12/19)

As we get beyond the first weekend of games, the Boca Raton Bowl features two RB prospects who could hear their names called in this year's draft. The more well known is Juwan Washington due to San Diego State producing a first round RB, last year. But Ohio has an under-the-radar RB who has produced well at the college level.

An injury cut short Oullette's 2016 campaign short, but since the injury he's put together two productive seasons. Back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons help solidify Oullette draft profile and by raising his efficiency in his final season, he alleviated some of the concerns that could have been raised. One other positive note is his usage in the passing game. His two seasons with more than one reception per game demonstrate that he's, at least, capable out of the backfield.

Oullette proved over the course of his college career that he's a versatile back, but he likely lacks some of the explosion that would intrigue scouts in the first two days of the draft. But as a late-round selection, he may represent a somewhat boring, but effective leader in a RB committee.  If he earns an invite to the combine, that would be decent sign for him as a prospect. Whether he's drafted or not, Oullette should be on dynasty owner's radars as a last round pick if he ends up with a team in camp.

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