Athletes in the Rough

One area that continues to be overlooked in fantasy football scouting are players listed as “athlete” on recruiting sites. Due to ambiguity about their final position, most people won’t put too much time and effort into gathering information for guys who may not ever help a fantasy roster. However, this is a mistake because some hidden gems can be found among this population and their draft cost will almost always be extremely cheap.

Going back to 2018, some “athletes” that turned into college stars are wide receivers Dyami Brown and Tutu Atwell. Both are now heading to the NFL, declaring early after only 3 years. Additionally, Khalil Shakir broke out as a sophomore and just recorded a 40% market share of receptions and yards for Boise State in his 3^rd season.

In 2019, Ainias Smith was listed as a 3 star athlete heading to Texas A&M. He has dabbled as both receiver and running back, but is now one of the most explosive players for the Aggies, finishing 2020 second on the team in total yards from scrimmage.  Finally, just this past recruiting cycle both Jordan Addison and Jaden Walley were listed as “athletes” but finished their freshman seasons leading Pittsburgh and Mississippi State in receiving, respectively. True freshman break outs are extremely predictive of future college success as well as NFL upside, so landing these players on your C2C rosters in the late rounds is invaluable.

The difficulty identifying these players of course, lies in the time it takes to scour the internet for news clips or quotes with clues as to their eventual position. This has become slightly easier with so many players enrolling early and getting a position designation on the team website, but it’s still a bit arduous. Well, that’s why this website exists! I’ve done the hard work for you and listed below are the players listed as “athlete” on 247sports.com but who are likely to play on the offensive side of the ball in college.

The order of the list is not my personal preference, but is simply how they are ranked on 247. Under source I have linked to an article or otherwise listed where the position has been documented. Personally, I’d rank “team website” as the strongest indicator a player will play offense and “Rivals listing” the weakest.

Now, with this list in hand, get to the film grinding!