Fantasy Sports

The Bills played the long game in the first round of the draft, trading down once from 28 to 32 and then again from 32 to 33. A receiver was drafted with the pick they gave up both times. The Bills, in need of a wideout themselves, reportedly have multiple players they “really like” at No. 33. If that’s the case, they could move down once again and still have a shot at landing one of their guys.

The 49ers were allegedly on the phone with a few teams before their first-round pick but were unable to complete a deal. Instead, the team took Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall with the 31st overall pick and appear to still be working the phones to find a taker for one of their veteran wide receivers. According to Silver, it seems more likely they will now be flipping Deebo than Aiyuk. Of course, this is all speculation at this point, and we have almost 20 hours to go until the draft kicks up for Day Two and we get some answers.

After entering the day without a first-round pick, the Panthers traded the No. 33 pick and No. 141 pick to the Bills in exchange for picks 32 and 200. With that move up, they selected Legette (6’1/221), who has ideal size for an outside receiver, which is where he took 73.6 percent of his snaps from during his five seasons at South Carolina. The former four-star recruit didn’t see much playing time early in his career, totaling just 423 years through his first four seasons. In 2023, Legette broke out for 71-1,255-7 while averaging an impressive 17.7 YPR and 3.15 YPRR – ranking in the top 10 amongst Power Five WRs (min. 60 targets) in both categories. Legette blazed a 4.39 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine and had the sixth-best vertical jump at 40 inches. He’s a late-career breakout who also struggled against press coverage in limited action, but some polishing at the professional level could be all that’s standing between Legette turning into a legitimate threat on the outside. The Panthers will hope Legette is more than just a one-year wonder and can provide help to second-year quarterback Bryce Young.

Pearsall (6’1/189) began his career at Arizona State but didn’t see the field much until his third and final season as a Sun Devil. He went for 580 yards and four scores that year. He then transferred to Florida ahead of the 2022 season. Pearsall’s target share dipped in his first season in Gainesville, but he more than made up for that with absurd gains in his efficiency numbers. He averaged 2.41 yards per route run in 2022 and held steady at 2.23 in the following season. Pearsall peaked at 65 catches for 963 yards in his second and final season at Florida. A sudden player off the line of scrimmage, Pearsall does most of his damage before the catch point. He doesn’t bring much to the table after the catch but gets open quickly with crisp routes and neat footwork. Pearsall will be a plug-and-play slot receiver for San Francisco as a rookie. His addition will also fuel the flames of a potential Brandon Aiyuk or Deebo Samuel trade. Both players have reportedly come up in talks, though the fact that neither was moved on the first night of the draft suggests they will both be on the roster for the 2024 season.

Wiggins (6’013/173) was a highly sought after recruit who enrolled early and earned 128 reps as a freshman while showing a glimpse of things to come by holding opponents to just one reception on seven targets. Sophomore year he assumed a starting role and proceeded to lead Clemson with 14 PBU to go with a 98-yard pick-six and 79th percentile PFF cover grade. Wiggins was ready to assume CB1 shutdown corner this year, and did so in impressive fashion. His 44% completion rate with a 44.4 NFL passer rating in 2023 was a noticeable improvement over his 51% comp rate and 74.8 NFLPR from his 2022 campaign. He also slashed his yards per catch allowed from 12.4-to-9.8 while drawing just one coverage penalty and allowing one reception of 20+ yards all season. Wiggins dazzled at the Combine by running a sensational 4.28s 40-yard dash that ranked in the 99.8th percentile and was the second-fastest 40-time from the 2024 class. He posted a 36” vertical (67th%) and 10’07” broad jump (88th%), but didn’t perform any agility drills or bench for a somewhat incomplete 9.44 relative athletic score. Wiggins will join a Baltimore secondary graded by PFF as last year’s second best coverage unit.

In exchange for the No. 28 overall pick, the Chiefs gave up picks No. 32, 95, and 221. They also received back the No. 133 and No. 248 overall pick in this year’s draft. A true freshman breakout for the Tom Herman-coached Longhorns in 2021, Worthy (5’11/165) ripped the Big 12 for 62/981/12 as an 18-year-old. Transitioned to more of a pure deep role under new coach Steve Sarkisian in 2022, Worthy took a major statistical step backward as he converted just 9-of-44 deep targets for grabs. “Sark” adjusted for 2023 by returning Worthy to more all-around usage, including on manufactured short-area targets. It succeeded in sneaking Worthy just past 1,000 yards in a crowded skill corps. It also allowed Worthy to show off his YAC ability, leading this year’s receiver class with an average of 7.5 yards after the catch. Worthy cleaned up some previous drop issues with last season’s lower aDOT. A genuine burner with 4.21 timed speed, Worthy is also a genuine 165. He flat-out needs to get stronger. Even if he doesn’t, Worthy’s ability to both destroy defenses over the top and tack on yards in the middle of the field gives him a high career ceiling headed into his age-21 campaign. The draft’s fastest man now gets to show off his skills in an Andy Reid/Patrick Mahomes-led offense that could be ripe for fantasy production.

Robinson (6’5/285) arrived on campus as a mid three-star recruit from the 2019 class, gradually working his way up the depth chart while honing his craft while rotating between NT and three tech. He finally earned a starting DT role in 2022 and showed promise by recording 35 tackles with 19 pressures and 5.5 TFL for a solid 77.6 PFF defensive grade. Last year is when Robinson emerged as an NFL-caliber player, moving to edge full-time where he spent 499 of his 515 First Team All-SEC reps. He exploded for 42 pressures, 27 stops, 14.0 TFL and 8.5 sacks for a stout Missouri defense that only allowed 20.5 PPG (25th in FBS) in the ultra-competitive SEC. His testing revealed an elite vertical of 35” (98th%) and strong broad jump of 9’03 (85th%) to go with a 90th percentile 4.95s 40-yard dash. However, an uninspiring shuttle run and 21 bench press reps dragged down his overall RAS to a still commendable 7.78. His push/pull is vicious thanks to his vice grip like hands. Once he latches onto an opponent and applies leverage, the rep is over, it’s just a matter of how Robinson intends to control and discard them. The two-year captain has a filled-out frame with massive power and unusual agility running the loop despite his huge frame. He could eventually develop into an every-down contributor if he can hone his pass-rushing technique, but as a fifth-year breakout, his ceiling could be limited. Robinson will begin his career as a pass-rush specialist for an Arizona defense that ranked 30th in sacks per game last year.

Barton (6’5/313) was considered the 14th-best high school guard in the nation when he enrolled at Duke in August 2020. A former lacrosse player, Barton was awarded Duke’s Falcone Award for his commitment to strength and conditioning as a freshman when he played 430 snaps at C when their starter went down. He slid over to his permanent LT role in 2021, but struggled in pass protection allowing six sacks, 20 pressures and a 3.5% blown block rate in 747 snaps. 2022 is when it all came together for Barton, improving to 98.7% block efficiency with just two sacks and eight hurries to go with a sensational 88.2 PFF overall grade that ranked fourth among all FBS tackles that year. In fact, he was one of only two tackles nationally that earned 85th percentile grades in both run blocking and pass protection that season, which codified his excellence in both phases of the game. Last year a nagging lower body injury cost Barton four games and compromised him in multiple others, especially against UNC when he allowed four of his 11 total pressures on the year. The first-team All-ACC LT still managed to blow just 1.2% of his blocks and graded out at a 79th percentile level despite being hobbled. He didn’t test at the Combine, but Barton’s 32.875” length arms are amongst the shortest in the class and will likely relegate him to a guard/center role in the NFL, but since he played tackle for the last three years in college he’s grouped with the OTs in the ranks. Tampa in 2023 had the league’s 10th-best pass blocking unit, per PFF grades, and the third worst run blocking unit.

In a pick swap with the Cowboys, the Lions traded the No. 29 overall pick and the No. 73 overall pick to move up to pick 24. Arnold (5’116/189) was considered a four-star safety prospect out of high school. He transitioned to cornerback shortly after arriving on campus in 2021 and didn’t play a snap his true freshman season as he acclimated to the pace of play at the SEC level. He started the 2022 season opener opposite Kool-Aid McKinstry and was targeted often downfield until he proved worthy of his CB2 role, leading the Tide with a 16.7 ADOT. While Arnold was overshadowed by McKinstry in 2022, he took a backseat to nobody this year by leading the SEC with 16 PBU and five interceptions with the third-highest PFF defensive grade in the Power Five. At the combine, his 1.52s 10-yard split was a strong 90th% time, but his 4.50s 40-yard dash is a less impressive 70th% mark. Arnold ran a magnificent 6.69s 3-Cone (96th%) at his pro day to go with a 10’09” broad jump (93rd%) for a rock solid 9.27 RAS that verifies the dynamism he displays on the field. His safety background is evident when it’s time to converge on a ball carrier and also in his savvy coverage instincts. Arnold is savvy enough in zone coverage to pick up his responsibility in phase but still keeps his eyes in the backfield reading before peeling off his man and making the play on the ball before the quarterback has released the ball. His oily hips and refined technique help him make up for his modest recovery speed. Arnold is one of the most projectable, scheme-versatile players from a strong 2024 cornerback group.

A truly special deep threat for the Tigers, Thomas (6’3/209) averaged 17.3 yards per reception in 2023 and scored on 17 of his 68 catches. Yes, Thomas quite literally scored one out of every four grabs. Bonkers stuff borne out by the advanced stats, which include Thomas catching 14-of-18 deep looks and earning a 99.9 “deep grade” from PFF. Thomas also corralled 7-of-12 contested targets. The problems set in elsewhere, where Thomas understandably was not featured on manufactured looks. Capable of being bumped off his routes, Thomas enters the league with less “play strength” than the big three of Marvin Harrison, Malik Nabers, and Rome Odunze despite his 6-foot-3 frame. Thomas doesn’t so much “play big” as he does burn deep. And burn he does, with a truly absurd-for-his-size 4.33 40 time. On the whole, Thomas needs to add (a lot) more polish to his route-running and underneath game, but his athleticism and deep prowess are both NFL-ready. Just 21 years old, Thomas has ample ceiling to grow into. Thomas could take over Calvin Ridley’s role in the offense now that Ridley is in Tennessee. Ridley made his money by earning targets while pinned to the sideline. Thomas has the speed to blow by defenders, turning those 50/50 balls into easy grabs for Trevor Lawrence.