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Despite Albert Okwuegbunam not knocking it out of the park in 2019, his profile is fantastic. He has an ideal 6-6, 258-pound frame that translates to an ideal 29.8 Body Mass Index. He’s the fourth-fastest tight end in the entire PlayerProfiler database. Okwuegbunam was also productive in college with an early 19.4 (91st-percentile among qualified tight ends) Breakout Age. His 31.2-percent (90th-percentile) College Dominator Rating is among the best in the PlayerProfiler database.

Although Okwuegbunam has an incomplete athletic profile, everything on it indicates that this size-speed specimen deserves more recognition. Many have pegged him as a Day 2 pick at best, although his measurables and production indicate otherwise. Many will throw out the “injury concerns” narrative, but there’s no denying that he is a first-round talent. Therefore, Albert O will slip in many rookie dynasty drafts, and there isn’t a better feeling than getting a supreme talent at a discount.

K.J. Hamler enters the NFL draft as a black-box prospect. He tweaked his hamstring before the Combine and failed to partake in all but one of the drills. His plan to test at his Pro Day was also shelved because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the only athletic testing number we have for him is 15: the amount of times he lifted 225 pounds on the bench press. Much of his success at the NFL level is dependent upon elite-level speed.

The only thing clear about Hamler’s profile is his elite 19.2 (87th-percentile among qualified wide receivers) Breakout Age and big play ability, including his special teams prowess. His 16.1 (71st-percentile) college yards per reception gives credence to his perceived elite speed. Though he’s a risky rookie pick, his age-adjusted college production makes him a worthy gamble towards the back half of the second round in rookie drafts in the event he has elite speed.

From an efficiency perspective, Jalen Hurts also ranks among the elite prospects in this class. He not only posted an 18.1 Breakout Age, 100th-percentile among qualified quarterbacks, he also managed an 89.7 (95th-percentile) College QBR. Improving matters further, his 11.3 (98th-percentile) College YPA ranks near the top of the class. Already productive, he subsequently ran a 4.59 (95th-percentile) 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.

Looking to the Draft, multiple sources point to Hurts coming off the board early on Day 2. Lamar Jackson easily posted the top fantasy season among quarterbacks with 1,206 rushing yards and six touchdowns. While Hurts isn’t Lamar Jackson, other run-first signal callers such as Tyrod Taylor have shown fantasy relevance in the past. Ultimately, Hurts needs draft capital and the proper landing spot, but a fantasy viable future remains firmly in his range of outcomes.

Lamical Perine has the body of a potential three-down back at 5-11 and 216-pounds. Perine never explodes by or jukes defenders in his game tape. He operates like a bulldozer, moving the pile of linemen and rarely avoiding it. His advanced workout metrics bear that out given his 11.44 (46th-percentile among qualified running backs) Agility Score and 118.5 (48th-percentile) Burst Score. His 94.8 (44th-percentile) Speed Score isn’t a death knell for his career hopes, but there is truly little in his profile to be excited about.

Most notable on Perine’s profile are his 40 receptions recorded last season. Much like Pierre Thomas and T.J. Yeldon, two of his Best Comparable Players, He sports a satellite back skill set but is trapped in a lumbering grinder’s body. He fails to crack the Top 15 running backs in PlayerProfiler’s rookie rankings. Because he will garner Day 3 NFL draft capital at best, he is nothing more than a fourth-round flyer in rookie drafts.

It’s hard to find a team that was more hyped than the 2019 Cleveland Browns. They had Baker Mayfield coming off of a historic rookie season, a shiny new alpha receiver in Odell Beckham and, most importantly, they didn’t have Hue Jackson. This offense was primed to put up video game numbers and win fantasy championships, but everything came crashing down. While John Dorsey was sure to stock Mayfield’s cupboard with dynamic weapons, he did so at the expense of the offensive line.

Mayfield was one of the best quarterback prospects of all time, finishing in the 97th-percentile or better in College QBR, YPA, and Breakout Age. We saw what he is capable of during his prolific rookie season. Everyone loves to put the Browns down, and his sophomore slump drove down the price of everyone on this team. For sharps, this creates an ideal buying opportunity. Given the improvements they have made in the offseason, Mayfield and the Browns will bounce back.

Countless hours of research, number crunching and film grinding go into optimizing our fantasy teams and lineups. Yet players such as Darius Slayton continue to rise from relative obscurity to post fantasy-relevant rookie seasons. Though these players should be celebrated, the focus immediately shifts finding the “next” of these preexisting archetypes that now exist. While Quez Watkins is a candidate to be this year’s Day 3, Slayton-level dark horse, John Hightower belongs in the conversation.

It goes without question that Hightower has a long, uphill climb towards Day 3 draft pick status and subsequent fantasy football relevancy. Though he never recorded the aesthetically-pleasing 1,000-yard receiving season, he acquitted himself admirably given his circumstances. Still, the elite-level speed and special teams skills he’s shown us to this point are translatable at the next level. He’s a locked-in Top 25 receiver prospect, and a potential late-round rookie draft steal.

If there is one position in the NFL for which a lack of production at the college level does not immediately send out danger signs, it would be the tight end spot. There have been many instances over the years of players who played hardly a down of college football, or not a single one in some cases, that have gone on to be dominant performers at the NFL level. The fact that Stephen Sullivan did not put up gaudy numbers at LSU should not immediately mark him as one set to fail at the next level. Especially when one considers his stellar athletic profile.

It is more likely than not that Sullivan will have to wait to be drafted in the NFL Draft. He is certainly more athletic than some of the other leading members of this draft class, but he has played tight end for one year and was hardly a full-time player in that year. There is much he still has to learn about the position. As such, he’s not a player that I would advise aggressively targeting in rookie drafts.

After weighing in at 6-4, 223-pounds at the NFL Combine, Antonio Gandy-Golden ran a 4.60 (30th-percentile among qualified wide receivers) 40-yard dash, translating to a 103.7 (80th-percentile) Speed Score. He recorded a 124.7 (70th-percentile) Burst Score with jumps of 36-inches and 127-inches in the Vertical and Broad jumps, respectively. His less impressive performance in the agility drills resulted in a poor 11.88 (4th-percentile) Agility Score.

From a route running and nuances of the position perspective, Gandy-Golden is still a work in progress. His production profile, including a 40.5-percent (82nd-percentile) College Dominator Rating, is promising, but we have to account for the fact that he did it playing at Liberty. AGG will be a complimentary player with limited upside as a red zone/contested catch specialist at the next level. With likely Day 3 draft capital, he is a low ceiling-low floor third-round pick in dynasty rookie drafts.

Cole Kmet is among the more highly-rated tight end prospects, exhibiting plus athleticism and having produced in a relevant college program at Notre Dame. His size brings up NFL comparisons such as Vance McDonald and Rob Gronkowski. At 6-4, 262-pounds, he has a clear path to a role as a blocking and receiving hybrid. Earning snaps at every juncture of the game is how tight ends break out. While his run-blocking isn’t pristine yet, the tight end learning curve is well-documented. That’s not something to knock him for too harshly.

While Kmet is not yet a complete blocker, his pass-catching ability should catch the eyes of NFL teams early. He has body control and a 10.08 (66th-percentile among qualified tight ends) Catch Radius. Kmet’s contested catch ability and potential as an every down player are his top marks, and he’s currently the odds-on favorite to be the first tight end drafted. We love draft capital. He makes perfect sense as a third round pick in dynasty rookie drafts.

Joshua Kelley had a strong showing at the Senior Bowl and did not disappoint at the 2020 NFL Combine. He ran a 4.49 40-Yard Dash which is in the 80th-percentile among qualified running backs. At 5-11 and 212-pounds, he has the ideal running back frame for today’s game. He’s agile and strong. The only metric in which he scored below average was his 113.2 (23rd-percentile) Burst Score. This is a slight concern because there are only a handful of running backs who are not bursty and have found success in the NFL.

Kelley’s production yields a 33.2-percent (77th-percentile) College Dominator Rating, In addition, he has a 9.2-percent (69th-percentile) College Target Share. His most comparable player is Sony Michel. This may seem disappointing, but remember that Michel was a second-round talent drafted in the late first-round. Kelley needs to find a team that treats him like an every-down back because, like Michel, he has the size, production and versatility to be used in all phases.