3.01 – Brandon Aiyuk (Arizona St. – WR11)
5-11 5/8″ – 205 | Brandon Aiyuk is a dynamic athlete with impressive movement and plenty of skills after the catch. His technique as a route-runner could be improved, but the explosiveness he brings to an offense should make him high in demand as a secondary option at the next level with WR2 upside in fantasy.
3.02 – Tyler Johnson (Minnesota – WR12)
6-1 3/8″ – 206 | Tyler Johnson is one of the most dominant wide receivers in this draft. In his senior year, he put up a ridiculous stat line of 86 catches for 1,318 yards and 13 touchdowns in his senior year. However, he also played against Big 10 defenses, which weren’t the best if I am being honest. His career 36.10% market-share is the highest in the entire class. Johnson’s tape is excellent. He’s got quick feet, toughness, a diverse set of releases at the line, clean breaks, and enough speed to get it done at the next level. At this point in the draft, he is a steal.
3.03 – Anthony McFarland (Maryland – RB9)
5-8 1/8″ – 208 | Elusive is the word that comes to mind when watching Anthony McFarland. He is quick (4.44 40-yard) and can string together moves to make defenders slide off while showing high levels of contact balance. McFarland is not an inside the tackles runner and has deficiencies at pass blocking. With only 139 carries in his career at Maryland, he needs reps and time to develop and show who he is as a player. If you take McFarland, a wait and see approach is needed.
3.04 – Brycen Hopkins (Purdue – TE1)
6-3 7/8″ – 245 | While a far cry from the T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant of the 2019 class, Brycen Hopkins is the TE1 for 2020. He’s a work in progress as a blocker, but his speed, body control, and route-running abilities should see him as the first tight end off the board.
3.05 – Eno Benjamin (Arizona State – RB11)
5-8 7/8″ – 207 | Eno Benjamin is a guy who came into the 2019 season with high expectations but at times seemed to disappear and his tape shows it. He plays with a high motor and is surprisingly a good runner in-between the tackles for his size. He can catch the ball, make people miss, and break tackles. The question with him will be his size. He can wow you on one play and then frustrate you the next. His value is all about how a team will choose to use him, but it’s hard to see more than a passing game back out of him moving forward.
3.06 – Jake Fromm (Georgia – QB7)
6-1 7/8″ – 219 | Jake Fromm is someone in the class with an uncertain future. The football smarts are there without question, and some have called him the smarted signal-caller in the class. The talent was there, and when he got the starting job as a freshman at Georgia, both Justin Fields and Jacob Eason transferred away because he never gave it up. But when you watch the film in his final year at Georgia, you see inaccuracy (career 63.3% completion percentage) and questionable decision making.
ESPN’s NFL Draft Analyst Todd McShay was blunt when asked about Fromm in a teleconference call after the quarterbacks worked out. “Watch him at the combine — his balls are floating. He’s a brutal evaluation.” He is right. The other quarterbacks Fromm is being drafted around just look more natural. Once again, format dictates the need to draft a potential starting quarterback, which Fromm is. However, it won’t be day one, as he needs time to develop before seeing any significant reps.
3.07 – KJ Hamler (Penn State – WR13)
5-8 5/8″ – 178 | KJ Hamler played both outside and in the slot during his time at Penn State. Regardless of where he lined up, he is a constant threat to take any pass the distance as he possesses elite-level speed. The issue is he will short-arm the catch and let the ball travel to him versus attacking it at the apex. Also, drops were an issue as he was credited with 12 dropped passes on 92 targets last season. Hamler is an interesting study but could find himself confined to a more niche role in an offense due to his skillset and suspect run blocking ability due to his size.
3.08 – Donovan Peoples-Jones (Michigan – WR14)
6-1 5/8″ – 212 | I’m going to pull back the curtain a bit on this pick. As a Michigan fan, watching Donovan Peoples-Jones at the NFL Combine just made me mad. Not because he didn’t perform well. Quite the opposite. He ran a 4.48 40-yard sprint, broad jumped 139″, and was a half-inch off the combine record in the vertical jump at 44.5″. It’s the fact he did it that annoys me.
Way too often in his career, Peoples-Jones was on the wrong end of suspect, at best, quarterback play and horrid play-calling that left a bad taste in the mouth of anyone who watched film. Far too often, he would be outshined by Nico Collins or Tarik Black on the field and then make some absurd play that made you realize how special he was but went criminally underutilized. Heck, Tyler Johnson put up more yards at Minnesota last year than Peoples-Jones has in his career.
Sorry, I am venting at this point and need to get off the soapbox. Donovan Peoples-Jones is a special athlete, and if he went to a better program or if Michigan had gotten rid of Pep Hamilton sooner, we would be looking at an early-second round pick. Aside from being a “homer” or looking at it through rose-tinted glasses, I want Donovan Peoples-Jones on every roster I can at this value. He is going to land somewhere and be a difference-maker. If not, well, I guess I am used to that after all of these years.
3.09 – Albert Okwuegbunam (Missouri – TE2)
6-5 1/2″ – 252 | Guys at 6’5″, 252 pounds shouldn’t be able to run a 4.49 40-yard sprint. Albert Okwuegbunam did just that and wowed people at the NFL Combine and moved up his draft stock rather quickly. However, when you watch his film, you can see it. He is a mismatch for linebackers who are too slow to cover him and too big for a nickel to guard. As a receiver, Okwuegbunam is dynamic. As a blocker, he is underwhelming. You need a tight end to be able to seal an edge in protection to stay on the field. If he can work on that, in a few years, Okwuegbunam could be a low-end TE1 in fantasy.
3.10 – Chase Claypool (Notre Dame – WR15)
6-4 1/4″ – 238 | Talk about changing the narrative. Before the NFL Combine, NFL scouts and executives were talking about wanting Chase Claypool to move to tight end due to his size. All he does is come in and lay down a 4.42 40-yard sprint and silence everyone. While he does not have the wiggle you like to see after the catch, he is a difference-maker in the red zone due to his large frame and wingspan (80 inches). Claypool became a household name in 13 starts during the 2019 campaign, as he was the team’s leading receiver, grabbing 66 passes for 1,037 yards (15.7 per) and 13 touchdowns. While it might take a year or two, Claypool will end up being a starter in the NFL.
3.11 – Antonio Gibson (Memphis – RB12)
6-0 3/8″ – 228 | Gibson is one of the late-round fliers you draft based on athleticism and see if he sticks with a team. We aren’t even entirely sure where he will play as he worked out with the wide receivers at the NFL Combine but looks like he could play running back. As a receiver, he is dynamic, and his 4.43 40-yard run showed it. While limited on his carries to only 33 in his career, he showed rather advanced power and contact balance and could make the right read once in the second-level of the defense. Can he read block? I have no clue. Can he pass block? No idea, as he never did it a single time in Memphis. He is fast, has great size attributes, and can catch the ball. As far as late-round dart throws go, I’ll take a shot in a league or two.
3.12 – Antonio Gandy-Golden (Liberty – WR16)
6-4″ – 223 | The Senior Bowl darling. He stood out against some of the best competition by being more physical and getting on his routes. He can sometimes struggle in press-coverage, but once released, he has the traits to make the play. One of his standout features you see on film is his catch radius, which is off the charts. His ball skills, length, and high point ability are big winners and do well in the red zone — he was a monster in tight spaces at the college level. We will see where he lands, but I will be keeping my eye on him later in drafts.
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Tommy Garrett is a writer for PFN covering Fantasy Football. You can follow him at @TommygarrettPFN on Twitter.