Week 8 of the college football season kicked off with a defensive struggle between No. 3 Ohio State and No. 7 Penn State and ended with closer-than-anticipated matchups across the country. No. 5 Washington, No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 8 Texas and No. 13 Ole Miss escaped with single-possession victories over unranked opponents this weekend. The biggest upset of the day came in Chapel Hill as the No. 10 North Carolina Tar Heels suffered their first defeat of the season to unranked Virginia.
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Devy Risers & Fallers
If you’re unfamiliar with the format, devy (developmental dynasty league) is a type of fantasy football league that goes deeper. In these leagues, you draft and stash potential NFL prospects years before they enter the league. Scott Fish, the creator of the massively popular Scott Fish Bowl tournament, is also credited with creating devy back in the 1990s, and the format has gained popularity ever since.
Regarding risers, we refer to players whose perceived value has increased based on their on-field performance. However, when we talk about fallers, we consider several factors, such as on-field performance, injuries, playing time, and even some extenuating circumstances, which can impact a player’s value.
Risers
Luther Burden (WR – Missouri)
While most dynasty players are focused on the 2024 NFL Draft, devy fantasy football allows us to look ahead to 2025 and beyond. Things change quickly in this business, but Missouri’s Luther Burden is currently projected to be the WR1 in the 2025 class.
Burden flashed last season, but he only managed 375 receiving yards during his freshman campaign. We’ve seen a more complete player this season. Burden has 90+ receiving yards in seven of eight games this season and looks like one of the best wide receivers in all of college football.
Jonathon Brooks (RB – Texas)
No running back has boosted their stock more this season than Texas RB Jonathon Brooks. While many people expected true freshman CJ Baxter to come in and take over RB1 duties, Brooks has been too good to get off the field.
Brooks is dominating the running back share in Texas and he’s making the most of his opportunities. The sophomore running back has 825 rushing yards, 172 receiving yards, and seven total touchdowns this season. For reference, Baxter has 217 rushing yards, 62 receiving yards, and two touchdowns.
Over the past five contests, Brooks has averaged 143.2 rushing yards on over 20 carries per game. Brooks showing he can handle and remain effective with a bigger workload certainly won’t hurt his stock. With the projected top 2024 running backs mostly struggling this season, someone like Brooks could see a massive uptick in value across devy leagues.
Fallers
Drew Allar (QB – Penn State)
Entering the season, Penn State’s Drew Allar was considered a top-five (at minimum) devy prospect at the quarterback position. There were some encouraging signs earlier this season, but I’m not sure the on-field production has lived up to that hype.
Don’t get me wrong, Allar hasn’t been bad. He just hasn’t been spectacular, either. He has a remarkable 15-0 TD-INT ratio, but Penn State is only averaging 218.7 passing yards per game. Allar has less than 200 passing yards in four straight contests and his 0nly 300+ yard game came all the way back in Week 1.
In one of the most anticipated CFB matchups of the season, Allar only managed 191 passing yards and looked overwhelmed in the Nittany Lions’ 20-12 defeat to the Ohio State Buckeyes. The sophomore signal-caller set season-lows in completion percentage (42.9%), passer rating (88.9), and QBR (29.2) in a game that looks closer on the scoreboard than reality.
Better days are surely coming for Allar in Happy Valley, but this season hasn’t produced the true breakout most of us expected. With a matchup against undefeated Michigan looming, Allar will have the opportunity to change the narrative in three weeks.
Jurrion Dickey (WR – Oregon)
As one of the highest-rated wide receivers in high school last season, many people expected Oregon’s Jurrion Dickey to make an instant impact in year one. Considering the true freshman has yet to record a single statistic this season, the opposite has been true.
Dickey’s no-show in year one is concerning, but it’s not a death blow to his devy stock. We don’t really know what’s keeping Dickey off the field, but veterans Troy Franklin, Tez Johnson, and Gary Bryant Jr. have earned the trust of the coaching staff. We hope to see some baby steps from Dickey this season, but it’s looking like a redshirt season for the second-highest wide receiver recruit in Oregon football history.
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