Pre-Draft
Fantasy Prospect Grade* (out of 50): 40.0
* - How well does his skill set carry over to the fantasy
game? For receivers, a player needs to be a realistic threat for
70 catches and 1,000 receiving yards at some point early in their
career to be a candidate for a perfect grade. Positional scarcity
at the pro level is also a part of the equation.
Positives
The speed that Bateman showed on his pro day reflected what most
observers saw in 2018 and 2019 and helped erase the vision of the
sluggish player that he appeared to be for most of 2020. Minnesota
did him no favors by listing him at 6-2 and 210 pounds throughout
his college career, but his freshman and sophomore tape shows a
player who plays more like a receiver that size as opposed to a
typical 6-0, 190-pound wideout. What does that mean? Most of his
best work came in 2019 in contested catch situations (see above)
and after the catch. Regarding how dynamic he is the ball in his
hands, Pro Football Focus credited Bateman with 36 broken tackles
on 147 career catches. However, at his best, Bateman is a refined
route-runner who varies his release off the line of scrimmage as
well as the tempo of his routes to keep the cornerback guessing.
The 2019 Big Ten Receiver of the Year has no issue working over
the middle, displays a great field presence (knowing where he is
on the field at all times) and possesses plenty of experience at
all three receiver spots (X, Y and Z).
Negatives
In addition to the surprise Bateman provided with his pro day
height and weight, his athletic testing scores were equally surprising
for a much different reason: receivers with high-4.3 or low-4.4
speed typically don't need to rely on exquisite route-running so
often to get open in college. When he got behind his defender on
vertical routes, it was often a product of footwork and his ability
to sell a shorter route. In short, he timed much faster than he
plays and has "buildup speed" as opposed to being naturally
explosive. He's competitive enough to win more than his fair share
of contested catches, but he doesn't exhibit nearly as much of a
"my ball" mentality as evaluators would like. That level
of competitiveness seems to carry over to his blocking. He wasn't
asked to do it much or overly effective when he tried to do it.
His 8.7 percent career drop rate on catchable targets (19 of 166,
per PFF) is not ideal for a player who may serve as a possession
receiver in the NFL. Teams also must decide how they view Bateman's
decision to opt-out with four games left on the schedule after he
jumped through some
notable hoops to restore his eligibility.
Bottom Line
The first question evaluators must ask is whether they will be
getting the pre-2020 version of Bateman or the one they saw in five
games before opting out late last season. It's a reasonable assumption
he looked slow in 2020 because he battled COVID-19 for almost two
weeks over the summer - an issue that was particularly troubling
for him considering he deals with asthma as well. Assuming his recovery
from COVID-19 was the root of his problems and 2019 was a better
indication of what he is as a player, he should be able to meet
the Davis comp and enjoy similar success to another player he compares
favorably to in Jerricho Cotchery. For now, the expectation for
Bateman needs to be set around the Davis and Cotchery career arc.
Bateman is a savvy enough route-runner to make good on the Allen
comparison down the road, but Allen is a bit of a pie-in-the-sky
- albeit attainable with the right quarterback - comp. After all,
several of the same "weaknesses" Bateman has in his game
were considered some of the same shortcomings that knocked Allen
into the third round of the 2013 draft. Doug Orth has written for FF Today since 2006 and been featured
in USA TODAY's Fantasy Football Preview magazine since 2010. He
is also a high-stakes player who often appears as a guest analyst
on a number of national sports radio shows, such as Sirius XM’s
“Fantasy Drive." Doug is also a member of the Fantasy
Sports Writers Association.
