Good morning. Hope you enjoyed the Masters, which they call a tradition unlike any other. Meanwhile, I spent the weekend doing an egregious amount of fantasy football mock drafts… a tradition unlike any other.

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The best tradition of all? Reading The Beast by The Athletic’s Dane Brugler. My Draft Bible, it has everything you need to sound like an expert at the water cooler:

• Over 400 scouting reports

• NFL-verified testing for almost 2,000 prospects

• Anecdotes you can’t get anywhere else — like J.J. McCarthy telling fellow recruits if they “wanted to party and chase girls, go somewhere else” (nerd!!)

And it’s all available at The Athletic.

PROSPECT PREVIEW

That’s my quarterback

Pros: Maye has prototypical size (6’4” 223 lbs), a big arm (the most “big time throws” in college football, per @JoshTaylorFB), and is a great athlete (1,147 rushing yards and 16 TDs over the last two seasons).

He might also be the safest QB in the draft… Per PFF’s Draft Guide, Drake Maye’s “stable metrics” (grades on the most stable facets of QB play — which tend to be more predictive of future success) are elite:

• No pressure grade: 99th percentile

• Early-down grade: 96th

• No play-action grade: 100th

• Negative play % grade: 91st

• Passes past the sticks grade: 100th

Cons: Similar to Caleb Williams, Maye will try to do too much — taking unnecessary sacks and forcing throws downfield. His accuracy is also inconsistent at times, as his 75.1% adjusted completion percentage ranked only 25th best in college football, per PFF.

Pros: The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner could make an immediate fantasy impact thanks to his rushing ability (over 3,000 career rushing yards and 30+ TDs).

But he’s more than just a runner — in his last season at LSU, Daniels led college football with a 99.2 passing grade and a 69.1% adjusted completion percentage on 20+ yard throws, per PFF.

Cons: Daniels takes too many sacks — per PFF, his pressure-to-sack rate was 30.8% in 2022 and then 20.2% in 2023 (NFL starters are usually 10-15%).

And due to his thin frame and unwillingness to slide, like his comp RGIII, durability is a concern (dynasty drafters be warned):

Pros: As the starting QB for the National Champion Michigan Wolverines, McCarthy is a true leader. But he’s not a modern-day Tim Tebow… McCarthy can sling it. His 80.0% adjusted completion percentage and 71.2% completion rate when under pressure are both second-highest in his class (per FantasyLife’s Ian Hartitz).

And he’s “sneaky-athletic” (especially given his comp to Kirk Cousins)… frequently extending plays with his legs and clocking a sub-4.5 40 yard dash at Michigan’s Pro Day.

Cons: At just 21 years old and averaging just 321 pass attempts in his last two seasons, McCarthy’s a mystery box. He also did most of his damage on short to intermediate throws over the middle of field (per @RaptorsHarris), only showing his big arm in flashes.

Pros: A downfield pocket passer, Penix is known for his impressive accuracy and big arm. He also takes care of the ball, totalling just 20 turnover-worthy plays on 1,114 pass attempts, per PFF.

While he doesn’t run much, Penix showed out at his Pro Day, running a 4.53 40-yard-dash and jumping 36 1/2" high. If he taps into that athleticism, he could add another dimension to his game.

Cons: The biggest knocks on Penix have been his injury history, inconsistency in both mechanics and performance, and his age: he’ll be a 24 year old rookie (that’s not quite Brandon Weeden old, but still…).

Pros: During the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Nix and his Oregon Ducks led all Power 5 schools in offensive TDs (146), yards per play (7.4), and EPA per play (+0.3), per FantasyLife’s Ian Hartitz. Nix is a well-rounded and productive player, scoring more total TDs (94) than any other Power 5 QB.

Cons: Nix is also an older prospect (24) and his success is largely attributed to Oregon’s QB-friendly scheme:

His 6.8 average depth of target in 2023 ranked 122nd out of 125 passers with 200+ dropbacks, and he threw deep on just 10.9 percent of his throws last year (122nd out of 135 passers), per The Ringer’s Danny Kelly.

Best of the Rest

• Spencer Rattler (South Carolina) has all the talent in the world, but never reached his full potential in college. I hope he’s matured since high school.

• Joe Milton III (Tennessee) was built in a lab… he’s 6’5” 246 lbs with a bazooka arm (tied Josh Allen’s record of a 62 MPH throw) and isn’t afraid to show it.

• Sam Hartman (Notre Dame) isn’t a very exciting prospect, but he’s my wife’s favorite player…

  

Running Back

Pros: After sitting for two years behind Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson, Brooks was putting together an All-American level season before tearing his ACL in November.

He’s an elusive runner (63 missed tackles forced in 2023, per PFF, tied for 11th among all RBs) and has excellent contact balance (732 of his 1,135 rushing yards in 2023 came after contact, per @NFL_DougFarrar). He also profiles as an every down back with his sticky hands and pass blocking chops.

Cons: Due to the torn ACL, there isn’t a ton of tape on Brooks. And although reports suggest he may be ready for Week 1, it’s still unknown whether he’ll fully return to his former self.

Pros: Benson’s a compact runner who finished his college career atop all Power 5 RBs over the past decade in career missed tackles forced per carry (0.391), per PFF.

But elusiveness isn’t his only skill — Benson was clocked running 22 MPH in-game (would’ve been the 4th fastest speed in the NFL last season) and was the only player in college football with an 80+ yard reception and an 80+ yard run in 2023, per The Beast.

Cons: Benson runs a little too upright at times, making it difficult for him to drive through contact and hold his own in pass protection. He also tore his ACL, MCL and lateral and medial meniscus in his right knee in December of 2020.

Pros: Corum is a tough and productive back. He’s capable of carrying a heavy load, producing three straight seasons of 1,000+ scrimmage yards and scoring 59 touchdowns in that stretch, losing just two fumbles on 700 touches.

Cons: Despite a statistically productive 2023 season, his advanced metrics were down — per The Ringer’s Danny Kelly, Corum forced just 30 missed tackles on 258 attempts in 2023 (tallying 25 rushes of 10+ yards) after forcing 73 missed tackles on 248 rush attempts in 2022 (with 36 rushes of 10+ yards). Many are attributing this to him still recovering from the torn meniscus he suffered in 2022.

Pros: Cue Ricky Bobby…

Speed is the name of the game for Wright, who was a high school state title holder in the 55-meter dash (per The Beast) and clocked a 4.38 40-yard-dash. His 7.4 yards per attempt led RBs with at least 120 carries, and 20% of his rushes went for 10+ yards, per Shane Hallam of Draft Sharks.

Cons: Like most speed backs, Wright struggles in short yardage situations and rarely falls forward after contact. He only scored four TDs last season.

Pros: Lloyd is elusive, with 47 missed tackles forced on just 115 carries in 2023 and adding another 10 missed tackles forced on 13 receptions, per PFF. He also averaged over four yards after contact across two seasons as a starter, had the highest career yards per-reception (13.2) of any RB in this class, and is one of two RBs in this class to run a sub-4.50 40 (4.46) at 220+ pounds, per @GuruFantasyWrld.

Cons: Lloyd is inconsistent as a pass-blocker and has never carried a big workload, averaging 12.3 carries per game in 2022 for South Carolina and just 10.5 carries per game for USC last year.

Best of the Rest

• Braelon Allen (Wisconsin) is a beast (6’1” 235 lbs), but doesn’t run as tough as he should.

• Audric Estime (Notre Dame) has an RB1 skillset, but his stock has fallen after a rough combine (including a 4.71 40-yard-dash).

• Bucky Irving (Oregon) is probably too small to be a feature back (5’9” 192 lbs), but he has the explosiveness to do damage in the right scheme.

• Tyrone Tracy, Jr. (Purdue) is a converted WR who led all Power 5 RBs in this class in yards after contact per attempt and ranked 2nd in missed tackles forced per attempt, per Scott Barrett of Fantasy Points.

QUICK SLANTS

📖 Read Jake Ceily’s Top 80 Rookies Ranked for Fantasy Football over at The Athletic ($). These are must-have rankings for your upcoming dynasty rookie drafts.

📖 Read Anthony Amico’s 5 Intriguing Day 3 Prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft ($) to get your deep dive fix.

One name to remember: New Hampshire RB Dylan Laube, whose athleticism and pass-catching ability has earned him Danny Woodhead and James White comps.

🎙️Listen to Measuring the Impact of the 2024 Draft Class from the FantasyPros Dynasty podcast with guest Matt Waldman. The guys discuss the biggest names in this class and some of the best RB landing spots as well.

📺️ Watch the Best & Worst Trade Ups in Draft History.

Tweet of the Day

Only 10 days till the NFL Draft! Talk to you next week when we preview the WRs and TEs to try to find the next Puka Nacua and Sam LaPorta.👀

Thanks for joining me!

- Marcus