Dynasty Rookie Draft Advice: Dylan Laube, Cody Schrader, Ray Davis (2024 Fantasy Football)

NFL Draft SZN is here, baby!

The flagship event that signals the kickoff for prospect season is back. The Reese’s Senior Bowl cranks up with practice sessions starting on January 30th. We’ll be bringing you a TON of content all week at FantasyPros with daily practice recap live streams on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, plus written content.

NEXT WEEK!!!!

YOU WANT @seniorbowl COVERAGE!!!

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Tuesday: Instagram Live at 6pm ET

Wednesday: TikTok Live at 7:30pm ET

Thursday: YouTube Livestream at 6pm ET pic.twitter.com/ARIr2GrOZg

— Derek Brown (@DBro_FFB) January 25, 2024

Welcome to the RB Primer, which covers every running back prospect that will be at this year’s Senior Bowl. Dynasty rookie draft season is here. Let’s dive into these prospects.

2024 NFL Draft Senior Bowl Primer: Running Backs

Ray Davis (Kentucky)

Stats:

2023 (minimum 100 carries, 20 targets)
- Yards after contact per attempt: 27th
- Breakaway percentage: 34th
- PFF elusive rating: 54th
- Yards per route run: 39th

2022 (minimum 100 carries, 20 targets)
- Yards after contact per attempt: 76th
- Breakaway percentage: 83rd
- PFF elusive rating: 73rd
- Yards per route run: 89th
Career
- 5th year Sr. Temple from 2019-2020, Vanderbilt 2021-2022, Kentucky 2023

Scouting report:

Downhill but an upright runner. He is at his best when he gets a head of steam. Can get tripped up by shoestring tackles. His running style is more shifty than powerful.
Get him in a gap/power run game. He has the necessary agility to operate within the inside zone as well. Davis will follow his blocks patiently but he lacks the necessary burst to gain the edge in the stretch zone. Davis did flash an improved burst in 2023 compared to his 2019 film. This difference is even palatable as his breakaway percentage by 10.7% from 2022 to 2023.
Davis is a proven volume rusher with at least 22 carries in 25% of his collegiate games. He likely slots in as an early down committee option in the NFL.
He’s nothing more than a check-down option in the passing game. Davis will leak out of the backfield and secure the occasional dump-off. His pass protection is suspect. Davis usually just attempts to chip at oncoming rushers. Unless his technique improves he won’t be a trusted passing-down option.

Player Comp: Thomas Rawls

Cody Schrader (Missouri)

Stats:

2023 (minimum 100 carries, 20 targets)
- Yards after contact per attempt: 95th
- Breakaway percentage: 86th
- PFF elusive rating: 106th
- Yards per route run: 95th

2022 (minimum 100 carries, 20 targets)
- Yards after contact per attempt: 103rd
- Breakaway percentage: 114th
- PFF elusive rating: 125th
- Yards per route run: 106th

Scouting report:

Schrader’s vision allows him to be scheme versatile. He quickly diagnoses lanes with inside zone runs and is adept at operating on stretch zone plays. Schrader’s lateral agility is underrated, which also plays into his prowess for outside zone. His burst is only adequate at best, though, which could limit his ability in the pros. To operate in the outside zone in the NFL he’ll need a very good offensive line, but he could have success with inside zone thanks to his vision and his tendency to get downhill immediately on those plays. Schrader compensates for lacking special burst by maximizing each run, thanks to his vision.
He has average burst and speed at the collegiate level — will have issues in the NFL. Schrader has a mild second gear but he lacks “shot-out-of-a-cannon” or “run-away-from-you” speed, which leads to plenty of runs where he’s caught from behind. This will only be more exacerbated against NFL talent. He’s very dependent upon his offensive line. He’ll get what’s blocked but not a ton after that. He cannot create a ton of yards for himself.
While not an imposing tackle breaker, Schrader can shed arm tackles or defenders that come at him high. He does so with an adequate-to-good leg drive. Schrader will flash the occasional spin move when a defender hits him high or a stiff arm — neither are go-to weapons in his tackle-breaking arsenal. There are plenty of reps where defenders square him up, though, and blow him out of his cleats.
Schrader has soft hands and displays some skills as a receiver. This is the untapped area of his game that could be expanded upon in the NFL. He wasn’t utilized creatively in college, with only check-downs and the occasional wheel route, but he has the foot skills to believe he could develop into a receiving weapon in the NFL. His pass protection abilities or struggles in this area could limit his usage on passing downs, though. Schrader has plenty of reps on tape where he squares up defenders and gets blown back. He is also not a max-effort guy with some reps where he merely attempts to chip a defender, which does nothing to impede the rusher’s path to the quarterback.
Schrader should find a home on an NFL roster/practice squad as a dependable player who will get every blade of grass blocked for him. His vision and solid overall game make him a dependable guy coaches will love.

Player Comp: Jalen Richard

Dylan Laube (New Hampshire)

Stats:

2023 (all FBS/FCS RBs minimum 100 carries, 20 targets)
- Yards after contact per attempt: 237th
- Breakaway percentage: 150th
- PFF elusive rating: 188th
- Yards per route run: 11th

2022 (all FBS/FCS RBs minimum 100 carries, 20 targets)
- Yards after contact per attempt: 205th
- Breakaway percentage: 87th
- PFF elusive rating: 108th
- Yards per route run: 53rd
Career
- 197 collegiate targets
- 1,654 receiving yards with 1.81 YPRR

Scouting report:

Laube has average burst. He’s more quick than fast but he gets up to top speed in a hurry. His quick feet and short-area agility are his strong suits as he is a one-speed runner. Solid jump cut and change of direction in the open field without losing much steam, but he gets caught from behind far too often.
His pass game usage will be his calling card in the NFL. In two of the last three seasons, he has had 14.1% and 16.8% snap rates in the slot/out wide. He ran a variety of routes in college to the occasional wheel to check downs and lined up outside and was even asked to run go routes.
Laube is a solid pass protector and should be able to carve out the passing-down role in a committee. He squares up defenders nicely and anchors well in pass protection. His leg strength shows up more here than it does when he is utilized as a rusher.

Player Comp: Duke Johnson