Texans Draft Nathaniel Dell: Dynasty Rookie Outlook (2023 Fantasy Football)

The 2023 NFL Draft is here! After months of waiting, we finally know where the 2023 NFL Draft class will land. This information shapes the outlook for rookies in 2023 and beyond. We’re going to have you covered throughout and following the 2023 NFL Draft to help you prepare for your fantasy football leagues. Next up for many will be dynasty rookie drafts. To help you prepare to make your dynasty rookie draft picks, let’s dive into Thor Nystrom’s 2023 NFL Draft profile as well as Pat Fitzmaurice’s dynasty rookie draft outlook for Nathaniel Dell.

Dynasty Rookie Picks & Predictions: Texans Draft Nathaniel Dell

Let’s first see what NFL Draft expert Thor Nystrom says about Nathaniel Dell.

Thor Nystrom’s 2023 NFL Draft Outlook & Player Comp

Player comparison: John Brown

Pint-sized slot with lightning-in-a-bottle movement skills. Dell’s separation skills made him an unfair assignment in Senior Bowl practices. NFL teams will try to bully Dell off the line. If they can’t, they’re in a world of trouble.

Dell comes to the NFL as a proven killer at every sector of the collegiate field. Similar in size to Tutu Atwell, Dell is not the same player. At Louisville, Atwell was a two-trick pony. Atwell either caught a screen and tried to create, or he was running a fly route. Defenses weren’t scared of Atwell in the intermediate sector.

Dell’s game has much more nuance. He is not as straight-line fast, but he is more skilled, and the objectively superior route runner. In 2021, Dell posted a PFF receiving grade of 90+ at all four receiving depths.

Last season, the only one he failed to do so was behind the line of scrimmage. In two of Atwell’s three seasons on campus, he posted a 90+ grade at only one of four depths. The other season, his best, he did it in three of four.

Dell lit up the AAC for 228 receptions over the past three years. His jumbo production at Houston was no fluke. In two games against P5 teams this past season as a marked man on Houston’s offense, Dell posted a combined 13-196-1 receiving line.

In 2020, in two games against P5 teams and a third against Cincinnati’s CFP team that featured Sauce Gardner, Coby Bryant, and Bryan Cook in the secondary, Dell posted a cumulative 26-382-2 receiving line.

In summary, across those five games, Dell had 39 catches for 582 yards and three TDs. All five went to a bowl. All came in with one goal: Stop Tank Dell. They couldn’t.

NFL defensive backs will try to bully Dell. On reps they don’t have success, good luck.

2023 Dynasty Rookie Draft Outlook: Nathaniel Dell

Nathaniel “Tank” Dell played at the University of Houston and won’t have to move very far as he begins his professional career since the Houston Texans selected him in the third round. Dell is tiny (5-8, 165), but he’s an explosive playmaker who topped the 1,300-yard mark in each of his final two college seasons, and had 17 TD catches as a senior.

Dell is human mercury, using lethal quickness and razor-sharp cuts to leave defenders in his wake. Dell’s 4.49 speed isn;t exceptional for a 165-pound receiver, but his game is more about quickness than straight-line speed. The question is how Dell will be used. As small as he is, he isn’t likely to be an every-down player, but he could be dangerous in sub-packages.

In dynasty rookie drafts, expect Dell to go in the latter part of the second round or perhaps the early third round in 1QB leagues. In superflex drafts, he’ll likely go in the late third round or early fourth.