Top College Prospects - Dynasty League Scouting (Week 12 Edition)

November 16, 2018

Matt Wispe looks at the top fantasy devy prospects for Week 12 of the college football season. Monitor these NCAA players for dynasty fantasy football leagues.

Week 11 didn't have much drama among the playoff contending teams. Oklahoma had a scare in their rivalry game, but ultimately left with a win. And with all of the top teams winning, there was no change into top 10 of the College Football Playoff rankings.

Week 12 is an ugly slate of games for the top teams in the country outside of Notre Dame, but that just gives us a chance to see top prospects in games where they should dominate.

We'll continue with last week's format with the mix and match prospect review. First, we'll take a look at three RB prospects in next year's draft and then we'll look at an under-the-radar WR.

Scouting The Running Backs

Rodney Anderson, RB Oklahoma

It's been a while since we've seen Rodney Anderson, but he recently announced that he was declaring for the NFL Draft. And while his final season is difficult to evaluate, the small sample size paired with his 2017 season gives a decent amount of insight into Anderson's skill set.

The difficulty with evaluating Anderson is mostly in his usage rate. He showed signs that he could be a workhorse back during his 2017 season, but still came up short of 200 carries. And in his two game 2018 season, he'd only tallied 11 carries and no receptions, but the two opponents were also over-matched and the team didn't need Anderson to be heavily utilized.

Anderson's evaluation will lean on whether he's able to workout during the combine. If he's unable to complete any of the drills, then his prospect evaluation can only really be seen as incomplete. CBSSports currently lists Anderson as the fifth best RB in the class. If he isn't able to workout, it's unlikely that his stock will rise which will likely leave him as a late Day 2 prospect. As a round 3 prospect, Anderson probably is a late first round rookie pick with a range that ends in the early second round.

Damien Harris, RB Alabama

Week 12 -  vs The Citadel (11/17)

There's a case to be made that Harris is the most talented RB in the class, but he's failed to standout in a highly talented crowd as a part of Alabama. Harris is a former five-star high school prospect and in most situations, he's the clear-cut most talented player in the RB room. But in Alabama, he spent four seasons splitting the work with other top prospects.

The biggest concern with Harris is his history of limited usage and even this season as the lead back, he's only on pace for 150 carries. But his final season expanded usage in the passing game with decent efficiency helps demonstrate some of the upside of him as a prospect.  It's somewhat unfortunate that Harris went to Alabama rather than choosing a slightly lower profile school that would have allowed him to dominate usage because his production leaves more questions than answers. But two seasons over 7 yards per carry make it clear that he's not lacking talent.

Finishing without a season of 200 carries points to a prospect destined for a future in a committee, but Harris has the talent to become a highly efficient player. In the right situation, Harris could become a star. But his floor could be very low. CBSSports ranks Harris as the fourth best RB in the class and his athletic pedigree points to a player that will benefit from the pre-draft process. If he's a round-two selection, then he won't be around in the back half of rookie draft first rounds.

Mike Weber, RB Ohio State

Week 12 -  at Maryland (11/17)

After accumulating 182 carries for over 1000 yards as a freshman, Weber had a ton of buzz entering 2017. But an early-season injury opened the door for teammate, J.K. Dobbins, to earn a meaningful role in the offense. As the secondary back, even in a great backfield, Weber's hype slowly faded and now he's turned into a potential sleeper.

Weber's two seasons of at least 6 yards per carry showed that he's efficient between the tackles runner. The overall offensive issues of Ohio State have hindered his efficiency and with another season likely to finish below 200 carries, there's some concern about whether he's truly capable of more. The positive notes from Weber are a career average near 6 yards per carry and more than one reception per game.

Weber seemed to fall behind Dobbins on the depth chart in 2017, but the split has been more even in 2018. CBSSports doesn't rank Weber among the top 10 RB prospects. Of these three RB prospects, Weber is the most likely to return for his final season, but if he builds any buzz over the final weeks of the season, he could be a strong Day 3 prospect. For fantasy purposes, he's very situation-dependent since his draft stock is unlikely to guarantee a workload. In a good situation, he could be a late second round rookie pick. In a bad spot, he's a third or fourth round flier.

Scouting The Wide Receivers

Lil'Jordan Humphrey, WR Texas

Week 12 -  vs Iowa State (11/17)

Not only does Lil'Jordan Humphrey have the best name in all of college football, but he's turned into a legitimate NFL prospect, this year.

Prior to 2017, Humphrey was a relative unknown. Even as a big target, he only managed 1 touchdown through his first two seasons. But with Texas's reemergence, Humphrey has become a big part of the offense and he's on his way to a true breakout season. Already at 7 touchdowns, he's demonstrated that he's capable of the role scouts will hope for him. And with 35 percent of his team's passing yards, he's shown that he's an option anywhere on the field.

#TeamBigWR is going to fall in love with Humphrey as a future red zone option. Standing at 6-foot-4, Humphrey will have NFL scouts salivating if his combine results match his athleticism displayed on the field. And at only 20 years old, Humphrey's age will not be any concern. CBSSports ranks him as the outside of the top 15 WRs. As a dynasty prospect, Humphrey will likely be a back-half of the rookie draft type prospect. However, if he manages to elevate his draft stock into the first three rounds, then he should be seriously considered in back end of round 2 of rookie drafts.

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