Zay Flowers a Shifty WR from the ’23 Class Can Help Your Fantasy Team Immediately
Pros
The first thing that jumps out at me when I watch him is his shiftiest and short-area quickness. He continually made the first guy miss, and often the second and third guy. He is the type of player that teams will want to get out in space, and while I don’t think he has blazing deep speed, he is fast enough that teams will have to respect it.
Another thing that really popped was his ability to highpoint the ball and win 5050 contested catches. For a player his size it was amazing to see how he attacked the ball in the air, oftentimes before the DB could even react. This won’t be as easy to do at the next level, but it’s a nice trait to have for a player of his stature.
All-in-all, his biggest asset will be his run-after-catch ability. He won’t ever be an alpha, but in an offense that utilizes the slot position heavily, he can have PPR value in fantasy football.
Embed from Getty ImagesCons
His biggest con is obviously his size. Listed at 5-foot-10 172lbs he likely will be limited to the slot, however, in the modern NFL we have seen guys his size succeed before so I wouldn’t completely rule out the possibility of playing on the outside. He also has an issue with drops, he has a career 11 percent drop rate, which is something he will need to clean up at the next level. There’s no faster way to lose snaps if you’re one job is to catch the ball and you can’t do that.
With his small frame and playing style, his landing spot matters a lot, but at the time this is written we don’t have a landing spot for him yet. If he lands in a high-volume passing attack he will rise up rookie draft boards, however, if he lands somewhere he is only used in gadget roles and special teams, it will kill his fantasy value initially.
Ideal Role: Slot receiver on a high-volume passing attack in which he is not the primary target
2023 Dynasty Rookie Draft Projection: Mid-late 2nd round. Could rise if he has a good combine.
Player Comp: Tyler Lockett
Summary
Ultimately with Flowers, it will come down to the landing spot and how the team that drafts him plans to use him. I’ve seen some early mocks where he goes to the Giants as early as the 1st round. If that were to happen, with the draft capital and the lack of weapons for the Giants, he would shoot up draft boards. I don’t know how that would work with Wan’Dale Robinson, a similar player, but the Giants seem to gravitate toward players like him, having drafted Kadarius Toney two seasons ago as well.
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