There is a growing movement in the Dynasty community toward “devy” players. The term “devy” refers to developmental players carried on the dynasty league rosters. These devy players are usually college players but can even be high school athletes. Each week of the offseason and season, we looked at a different set of devy rankings.
As we survey devy prospects, we examine traits, abilities, and skill sets that will translate to the NFL. This week, our final edition of the season, we will look at the top 10 devy wide receivers eligible for the 2019 NFL Draft. We value the players who will contribute at the professional level higher than the younger players.
10. Parris Campbell (Ohio State) – The 6-foot-1, 208-pound Redshirt Senior is a player who should be a better NFL player than collegiate. For most of his Buckeye career, the offense was a ground-oriented attack. It has just been this season with Haskins under center that the offense has opened up. Campbell is very fast, anchoring his high school relay track teams and set a personal best of 10.77 in the 100-yard dash. He only had 53 receptions for 705 yards and 3 touchdowns coming into the season. But, Campbell has enjoyed a solid 2018 campaign with 359 yards and 5 touchdowns, including an outstanding performance against Tulane a couple of weeks ago. In that contest, Campbell caught 8 passes for 147 yards and 2 touchdowns. He had scored at least one touchdown in every game this year prior to the battle against Penn State last Saturday.
9. Kelvin Harmon (North Carolina State) – The Junior is a physical specimen (6-foot-3, 214 pounds) who wins in the air and with solid route running. Harmon was born in Liberia and came to the U.S. when he was four years of age. In his first two years at North Carolina State, Harmon had 96 receptions for 1,479 yards and 9 touchdowns. Just a few games into his third college season, Harmon has 7 games with at least 100 yards receiving. While he remains the focal point of the offense, Harmon still finds ways to get open. Additionally, he is very good at high-pointing the ball and win the air. So far this year, he has 24 receptions for 406 yards and 1 touchdown in just 4 games. We expect Harmon to seriously consider coming out after the season. He has a chance to be a day-two pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
8. J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (Stanford) – Born in Zaragoza, Spain, Arcega-Whiteside moved to South Carolina when he was 6 years old. English was his third language. In South Carolina, Arcega-Whiteside was the state’s player of the year in 2014 and was a multiple-sport star. The 6-foot-3, 225 Senior is making plays this season after being a relative unknown during the first few years of his Stanford career with just 72 receptions coming into 2018. Through five games, Arcega-Whiteside has reeled in 22 passes for 438 yards and 8 touchdowns, including 3 games with at least 2 touchdowns in each contest. The season opener against San Diego State was Arcega-Whiteside’s best game of his college career. In that contest, he caught 6 passes for 226 yards and 3 touchdowns. He is a player to watch as the season progresses.
7. D.K. Metcalf (Mississippi) – The son of former NFL offensive lineman, Terrance Metcalf, Metcalf was a four-star recruit out of Oxford, MS. He is a huge receiver (6-foot-4, 230 pounds) but is nimble for a player of his size. The one concern will be pure, straight-away speed as measured by the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. As a True Freshman, Metcalf scored two touchdowns in his first two games before breaking his foot and missing the remainder of the season. In 2017, Metcalf caught 39 passes for 646 yards and 7 touchdowns. Now a Redshirt Sophomore, he has a chance to top those numbers even while splitting targets with A.J. Brown (see below). Also, Metcalf has scored a touchdown in every game this season except for last Saturday against LSU. After the LSU game, Metcalf has 21 catches for 405 yards and 4 touchdowns.
6. Marquise Brown (Oklahoma) – Brown plays up to his nickname of “Hollywood.” Undersized at 5-10, 168 pounds, Brown makes plays and the NFL teams are figuring out how to get the ball in playmakers hands, ala Tyreek Hill. He came to Oklahoma from junior college (College of the Canyons) but was highly recruited. Last year, while catching passes from Baker Mayfield, Brown reeled in 57 catches for 1,095 yards and 7 touchdowns. He lit up Iowa State earlier in the year for 191 yards and 1 touchdown on 9 receptions. After the blowout victory over Baylor on Saturday, Brown now has 24 receptions for 544 yards and 5 touchdowns.
5. Bryan Edwards (South Carolina) – Edwards enrolled early as a True Freshman in 2016, starting all 12 games and earning Athlon's Freshman All-America second-team honors. He is still very young for a pro prospect, not turning 20 years of age until November 13. Edwards had 108 receptions for 1,383 yards and 9 touchdowns through his first two years at South Carolina. He has started year-three strong, too. In the loss to Georgia earlier in the season, Edwards caught 7 passes for 111 yards and a pair of touchdowns. After the Gamecocks tough loss to Kentucky on Saturday, Edwards now has 236 yards and 3 touchdowns on 17 receptions.
4. Anthony Johnson (Buffalo) – The redshirt Senior is playing for his third college since leaving high school. As a Freshman, Johnson played at Butler Community College in 2014, catching 21 passes for 559 yards and five touchdowns. He transferred to Buffalo after playing at Iowa Western Community College where he had 19 receptions for 434 yards and two touchdowns in 2015. Johnson has a solid build (6-foot-2, 207 pounds) and is fast. He has three cousins in the NFL, including Jadeveon Clowney, so he possesses the genetics for success. Many will discount Johnson due to playing at Buffalo and bouncing around colleges, but there is no denying his talent. In 2017, Johnson caught 76 passes for 1,356 yards and 14 touchdowns. He started the 2018 season strong with a solid performance in the blowout victory over Delaware State. In that contest, Johnson caught 4 passes for 57 yards and a touchdown as Buffalo rarely needed to throw the ball. The receiver caught-and-ran-in the game-winning touchdown on Saturday. He has a chance to be the top wide receiver drafted in 2019.
3. Ammon Richards (Miami) – Richards suffered through an injury for most of 2017 after an impressive 2016 campaign. He is a quality player and has the look of an NFL WR1 at times. The quarterback play has not been strong during his Miami career. Richards injured his knee in the season opener against LSU and his 2018 status is uncertain after missing the last four games. He will be in the running for the top receiver selected in next year’s draft even without much recent college production.
2. A.J. Brown (Mississippi) – The stocky (6-foot-1, 225 pounds) Junior from Starkville, MS, made a lot of big plays last year. In 2017, Brown caught 75 passes for 1,252 yards and 11 touchdowns. This put him up to 104 catches for 1,664, and 13 touchdowns through his first two seasons. He started off the 2018 season in big fashion against Texas Tech. In the opener against the Red Raiders, Brown caught 7 passes for 93 yards and a score. The Texas Tech defense is known for being a sieve, but the performance is a great sign for Brown’s progress. The next Saturday, against Southern Illinois, Brown hauled in 8 passes for 158 yards and 2 touchdowns. After the game against LSU on Saturday, Brown has 35 receptions for 453 yards and 3 touchdowns on the season. His big-play ability will be needed if Mississippi is to make noise in the SEC.
1. N'Keal Harry (Arizona State) – Harry is a big receiver (6-foot-3, 210 pounds) who made a big impact early in his college career. Still a true Junior, Harry could be special by the time he turns pro, possibly in 2019. Harry should have 200 career catches by the end of the season. He put on a show against Texas-San Antonio in the opener with 6 receptions for 140 yards plus a pair of scores. One of those scoring receptions was on every highlight reel for the week where Harry broke several tackles for a 58-yard touchdown. He had another solid game against Michigan State the next Saturday. In that contest, Harry caught 6 passes for 89 and a touchdown. The big performance against Oregon State on Saturday gave Harry 171 catches for 2,220 yards and 18 touchdowns in his collegiate career. This is in less than 2.5 seasons. This is great production considering Harry is a relative unknown to many casual football fans.
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