Fantasy Football Today - fantasy football rankings, cheatsheets, and information
A Fantasy Football Community!




Create An Account  |  Advertise  |  Contact      




 

Doug Orth | Archive | Email |
Staff Writer


NFL Draft Fantasy Recap: Round 3
4/30/16


NFL Draft 20163.10 - RB Kenyan Drake, Dolphins

A vote of confidence for Jay Ajayi? It appears so. Drake was a near-perfect complement to Derrick Henry at Alabama in 2015, helping to erase the memories of a college career that was repeatedly undermined by injury. Although he is big enough to be a featured back (6-1, 210), his injury history suggested he will be used as a passing-down/breather-back role behind Ajayi. He's an interesting add for Miami in that he has a future as a satellite back and comparisons to Reggie Bush are appropriate, although he is not quite in that class in terms of pure elusiveness and explosion. Ajayi (and his fantasy owners) should not feel threatened on early downs, but Drake's presence likely means he'll be limited to first and second down. Drake is on the redraft radar as a RB4 and should be a second-round pick in the majority of rookie drafts.

3.18 - TE Austin Hooper, Falcons

Two seasons after losing Tony Gonzalez to retirement, Atlanta addresses the void Jacob Tamme and Levine Toilolo have largely been unsuccessful trying to fill since. The Stanford product is a receiving tight end right now with the potential to be an all-around one, but the Falcons are counting on him to give opposing defenses a player that can make defenses pay for giving too much attention to Julio Jones. OC Kyle Shanahan isn't afraid to use his tight end either, so owners have a right to feel confident about considering him as a high-end TE2 in redraft leagues. His dynasty outlook isn't quite as bright as Hunter Henry's, but it is close. Hooper is worth a second-round grab in rookie drafts.

3.22 - WR Braxton Miller, Texans

Houston finds its successor to Brock Osweiler. (Wait, what? Miller's not a quarterback anymore?) In all seriousness, I love the pick; Ohio State's former signal-caller is perhaps the highest-upside receiver in this draft and, if he develops as a receiver over the next few years after making the transition to the position last season, could give the Texans an incredibly hard-to-defend receiving corps with the above-the-rim ability of DeAndre Hopkins, the speed of Will Fuller and the jaw-dropping elusiveness of Miller. Initially, Miller should be used as a Swiss Army knife and figures to emerge as a dynamic option out of the slot in 2017 and beyond. There isn't a ton of redraft upside with him given how raw he is, but dynasty owners should strongly consider stashing him if they can land him with an early second-round pick in rookie drafts.

3.23 - WR Leonte Carroo, Dolphins

A very interesting pick by Miami, which brings the physical Carroo into the fold a year after landing DeVante Parker in the draft as well as trading for Kenny Stills, and two years after drafting Jarvis Landry. Despite being about the only weapon opponents had to account for during his time at Rutgers, Carroo averaged over 20 yards per catch over last two seasons and 31 of his 122 catches went for 25-plus yards. He needs to refine his route-running and enters the league with character and reliability concerns, so he'll begin his career as Miami's fourth receiver at best. He is unlikely to come into any redraft value this season, and offers only moderate value in dynasty leagues at the moment with so much talent in front of him.

3.27 - RB C.J. Prosise, Seahawks

Seattle proves its drafting prowess yet again with the selection of Prosise, who made a late transition from receiver to running back at Notre Dame. He proved to be a natural at his new position while giving the Fighting Irish a dynamic passing-game option of the backfield that one would expect from a former receiver. Prosise already does a number of things that many veteran backs struggle with, such as maintain good pad level and finishing his runs, although he obviously needs to improve as a blocker and show better ball security. He'll have some time to develop in Seattle, which will probably utilize him as a third-down back in 2016 and 2017 while Thomas Rawls and Christine Michael battle it out for early-down work. Prosise is an explosive player with feature-back size (6-0, 220), so his abilities in the passing game could eventually give him a leg up on Rawls and Michael should the Seahawks eventually decide they want a bell cow back. His redraft value will be based almost entirely on his abilities to catch passes out of the backfield, so his upside is probably as a low-end RB4 in those leagues (PPR). In rookie drafts, he's certainly worth an early-to-mid second-round selection.

3.31 - QB Cody Kessler, Browns

It's hardly a surprise Cleveland spent a Day 2 pick on a quarterback, although not many could have expected it to be Kessler. On the plus side, he is a capable move-the-chains kind of quarterback that can be trusted to make good decisions. On the negative side, he doesn't offer much upside and isn't the kind of player that appears overly willing to make the kind of "window throws" that NFL backs are often required to make. However, given the Browns' dire situation, he projects as the third-best quarterback on their current roster and isn't too far away from the top spot considering Robert Griffin III's injury history and the uncertain roster status of Josh McCown. In other words, Kessler could make multiple starts this year for Cleveland. Of course, that does not mean he's a good option in redraft leagues, and I'd argue he's probably worth no more than a late-third round pick in rookie drafts.



Doug Orth has written for FF Today since 2006 and been featured in USA Today’s Fantasy Football Preview magazine since 2010. He hosted USA Today’s hour-long, pre-kickoff fantasy football internet chat every Sunday in 2012-13 and appears as a guest analyst on a number of national sports radio shows, including Sirius XM’s “Fantasy Drive”. Doug is also a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association.