It’s that time of year when I turn my focus to the college bowl games to gain insight. I will do my best to find some draft eligible players that could improve your dynasty teams. This article intends to
start conversations and encourage continued thought throughout the entire draft process. These are my observations based on the bowl games, unless otherwise indicated. There will be much more in-depth, thought-provoking discussions later in the offseason. I am listing these players alphabetically.
DE/LB-Vic Beasley, Clemson- The defender is light on his feet, explodes on the snap, getting great initial pressure, uses spin moves, and can blow right past offensive tackles on the way to the quarterback. He uses his hands well to keep blockers off his body, using a strong punch to knock them back. The hybrid defender has the balance to dip his shoulder underneath blocks on the way to make the tackle.
Beasely finds the ball quickly and has good instincts understanding where the ball will be. This is sometimes a deterrent as he varies his level of intensity from play to play if the defender believes the ball carrier will get tackled before he arrives. He lined up using variations of two, three, and four point stances, typically ling up on either the outside or inside shoulder of the offensive tackle. When Beasley cannot get enough pressure on the quarterback, he likes to time his jumps to knock passes up in the air for someone on the defense to intercept. There were a few times he dropped back into pass coverage and he looked like a natural outside linebacker.
TE-Blake Bell, Oklahoma- There is not a lot of talented college players in this position that are eligible for the 2015 NFL Draft. Bell is a versatile player who lines up in the slot, beside the quarterback in shotgun formation, and as a natural tight end. He has soft hands and could be a serviceable player at the next level as an h-back. The tight end is a good blocker who fires off the line, drives back the defender, and can seal the edge on sweeps.
DT-Malcolm Brown, Texas- This is a well-built, hard to move defensive lineman. He gets good initial penetration of the snap of the ball, and then uses his upper body to keep blockers away his body. Brown played mostly at defensive tackle, but occasionally kicked out to defensive end. For a bigger defender, he shows good balance while also keeps his motor running from sideline to sideline. I love the way Brown flows up and down the line of scrimmage, sometimes using a spin move to get free. There were times he would reach out while engaged with an offensive lineman and bring down the ball carrier with his big mitts. That shows great vision and amazing balance to do that. Teams were routinely forced to double team him because of that orneriness.
TE-Ben Koyak, Notre Dame- This versatile offensive chess piece lined up at fullback, wingback, traditional tight end, and split out wide. He was best used as a blocker both in the run and passing games. Koyak gets low, drives defenders on their heels, and does a good job sealing the edge on running plays to the outside. The tight end has a powerful punch that he uses while pass blocking. When he did run pass routes, there was a lot of stiffness to his strides. His first catch of the game came with less than two minutes left, which he showed off his soft hands. His only problem is he looks and plays more like an offensive tackle than a wide receiver, which will limit any fantasy upside he could have.
LB-Martrell Spaight, Arkansas- This young defender has a lot of energy, signaling his teammates constantly prior to the snap of the ball, while lining up as an inside and outside linebacker. He was more effective coming off the edge making tackles behind the line of scrimmage and getting pressure on the quarterback, than from the middle of the field. Spaight drops back into pass coverage quickly and gets a bit aggressive with the potential pass catchers.
The linebacker flies around from sideline to sideline with good speed/agility and is a good wrap-up tackler. Spaight’s problem is that he does not disengage from blockers well, so either he gets caught up with them or takes extra time running around them. This makes him suited more for 3-4 defenses playing as the weak inside backer, so he has the freedom to flow to the ball.
WR-Kevin White, West Virginia- The young wide reminds me a bit of Larry Fitzgerald with his hair, stature, and smoothness gliding down the field. He uses his hands and quick feet to get of the jam at the line of scrimmage. Despite having very skinny legs, White explodes out of his stance running tight, crisp routes and shields the ball from his coverage. The receiver starts and stops quickly, getting in and out of his breaks. He gets good separation down the field, tracks the ball well in the air, and ran underneath a 49 yard bomb to score a touchdown. White has some grit using a stiff-arm and refuses to go down easy.
There were a few things that I did not like about his play. White hung out in the flat a few times waiting for the ball. If it didn’t get targeted his way, the receiver half hardly jogged to where the play ended up. He did, though, block downfield for his quarterback when the signal caller broke the line of scrimmage. On most running plays, White appeared disinterested in blocking. Also while fighting for extra yards, the wide out fumbled the pigskin as he did not secure the ball properly.
Do you like what you are reading? Do you want extra insight at the Senior Bowl? Please donate using my PayPal button to make sure I attend this year’s Senior Bowl Game and the week of practice before the game. You can follow me on Twitter @AndrewMiley or the site @Dynasty_Blitz.
