Dynasty Deep Dive: 3 Players you Should Buy Now

The term “sleeper” gets tossed around a lot in Redraft leagues, but let’s face it, if you’re reading this article in June, then you’re playing dynasty, and you are a bit more hardcore than a typical redraft player. We don’t have “sleepers” in dynasty. We know these guys all the way down to the practice squads in some cases. In dynasty, we have deep dive players. Players that may be rostered, but likely will never see your starting lineup unless a lot of things happen. But — every once in a while — that perfect storm of events happens and that player becomes a fantasy league winner — and it is glorious when it happens and you already own the player.

The following three players fall into this category. All of them are outside the top 250 players on FantasyPros, but all of them have that shot in the dark chance to be a fantasy contributor. Maybe you can get these guys on the wire, or maybe you can get them as a “throw-in” on a bigger deal, but either way, here are three guys you should be trying to buy…

Elijah Mitchell RB74

I really wanted to avoid using a rookie on this list of players, but I wanted to go on record with my love for Mitchell. Chances are, if you already drafted your rookie draft, then Mitchell was probably either drafted or added as a free agent afterward. He has been slowly rising in rookie ADP, however, if he isn’t owned, stop reading this, go add him, then come back and I’ll tell you why.

First, let’s look at his college career. In 2018 and 2019 he had 33 total touchdowns and in 2020 had eight in only 10 games. I know it’s the Sun Belt Conference and the competition wasn’t the same, but those numbers look good on paper nonetheless. He averaged 6.2 yards per carry, a respectable but not spectacular number. I would have liked to see more work in the passing game for Mitchell. However, what little work we did see from him, it didn’t appear that his lack of receiving work was because he couldn’t catch, but more a product of the offense he was in.

Moving to his athletic profile, he is 5-foot-10 200 pounds and runs a 4.4 40. That ranks him in the 96th percentile in the 40-yard dash, and his speed score was in the 86th percentile — which adjusts based on his size (per Playerprofiler.com). His running style fits well with the zone blocking scheme that head coach Kyle Shanahan uses heavily in his offenses, and if he shows any ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, his patient running style would set up the screens wonderfully.

Will he ever be a bell cow? Doubtful. Will he ever catch 50 passes? Not likely. But, he was drafted by Kyle Shanahan and going all the way back to his father Mike Shanahan, being drafted by a Shanahan means something. If you’re lucky enough to not have drafted yet, you should be able to get him in the 3rd round of your draft. If he is owned by someone else, you might be able to get him as a “throw-in” on a package trade. Either way, he is worth an add, and I’ve gone on record saying I wouldn’t be surprised if he were the leading running back in fantasy points for the 49ers in 2021. Is it likely? No. But, I wouldn’t be surprised either.

Olamide Zaccheaus WR142

With Julio moving on to Tennessee, Calvin Ridley steps in the No. 1 role, Russell Gage the No. 2 role, and OZ will likely be No. 3. Matt Ryan has had three straight years with at least 600 pass attempts. His 626 in 2020 was the 5th most in the league. In other words, there are plenty of targets to be had. Kyle Pitts probably sucks up some targets as well, but OZ can still carve out a decent role in this offense and be a serviceable bye-week filler in a deep 16-team league.

His overall athletic profile isn’t much to look at with a 53rd percentile 40 time (4.54) and a 16th percentile speed score (82.4). However, per Player Profiler, he had a 36.5 percent dominator rating (73rd percentile), 34.1 percent college target share (96th percentile) and a breakout age of 19.1 (87th percentile). Those are good success indicators for a wide receiver.

At a mere 5-foot-8 188 pounds, he won’t be a huge red zone threat, but he could suck up some highly efficient low-risk volume from the slot position, and that could put him in a WR3 conversation during bye weeks.

Kendrick Bourne WR105

Kendrick Bourne, in his four years in San Francisco, was never more than the WR3 or WR4 at any time in his career, yet when called upon — be it for injury or Covid protocols — he was a solid option in the passing game. He also had a nose for the end zone, catching 11 TDs in his last three seasons on 121 receptions. He now joins a wide receiving corps that is wide open with the likes of Nelson Agholor, Jakobi Meyers and N’Keal Harry his main competition.

Meyers, Agholor and Bourne all spent time in the slot in 2020, with Meyers playing in the slot 45 percent of the time, Borne 33 percent and Agholor 25 percent. Agholor’s 4.4 speed almost assuredly puts him on the outside, leaving Bourne and Meyers to rotate in the slot — and slot is where Bourne is best suited. His 4.68 speed isn’t fast enough to play on the outside consistently, but what he lacks in speed he makes up for in short-area quickness. His 10.94 agility score per playerprofiler.com ranks in the 82nd percentile and it’s that ability that made him a favorite red-zone target of Jimmy Garoppolo.

The Patriots have won championships with wide receivers with short-area quickness. In fact, recently retired Julian Edelman’s 10.54 agility score, a player that made a career out of short-area quickness, isn’t even as good as Bourne’s 10.94. I’m not saying Bourne is the next Julian Edelman, far from it, but Bourne’s ability to get open in the short underneath routes will be a vital part of this offense — especially if Mac Jones takes over as the starter. There is a very good chance Bourne is sitting on your waiver wire. If you have the bench spot for him, scoop him up and hold him for a few games to see how this receiving corps pans out.

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