FantasyPros Staff | Sat, Mar 9th 2024, 3:55am EST

Dynasty Rookie Draft Targets: Keon Coleman, Ricky Pearsall, J.J. McCarthy, Ben Sinnott (Fantasy Football)

The Underwear Olympics did not disappoint from an entertainment perspective but it helped some prospects more than others regarding their draft stock. I’ll hit on my biggest eye-openers from Indianapolis, highlighting some major risers and fallers inside the rookie and dynasty draft rankings. Note, I am limiting this to just 10 across the four positions for fantasy. Players like MarShawn Lloyd (RB – USC), Dillon Johnson (RB – Washington), Brian Thomas Jr. (WR – LSU) and Roman Wilson (WR – Michigan) won’t get their sections as they more or less confirmed their pre-draft rankings. Lloyd, Thomas Jr. (cemented WR4 status) and Wilson all delivered while Johnson underwhelmed and is buried in my rookie RB rankings.

2024 NFL Combine Takeaways & Surprises

Keon Coleman (WR – Florida State)

Florida State wide receiver Keon Coleman stands out not just for his impressive stats but for his remarkable journey in college football as a human highlight reel. Coleman’s physicality is undeniable at 6-foot-3 and 213 pounds, making him a prototypical outside X receiver. His junior year performance in his first year at Florida State was noteworthy — 50 receptions, 658 receiving yards, 13. 2 yards per reception and 11 touchdowns. Good for a 31% dominator rating.

Coleman’s football career took off in his freshman year at Michigan State in 2021, where he played in seven games, securing seven receptions for 50 yards and one touchdown. But he broke out officially in his sophomore season, which saw him take a significant leap in performance with 58 catches, 798 yards and seven touchdowns over 12 games. He hung a 29% dominator rating at just 19 years old.

And this was while he was competing for targets with an older, future NFL star in the making (Jayden Reed). Coleman had more catches, targets, yards and TDs than the future second-round pick despite being three years younger than Reed.

The transfer to Florida State for the 2023 season marked a new chapter for Coleman, where he continued to excel. Coleman’s proactive alpha mentality and skill at contested catches are particularly distinguished. But as we know, they don’t always translate to the next level when it comes to contested catch savants.

Ergo, Coleman’s game is not without areas for improvement. His route sharpness and run-blocking intensity could see enhancements and acceleration concerns might affect his long-speed capabilities. Separation from defensive backs at the next level will be a challenge for him to overcome.

Case in point, Coleman ran a 4.61 40-yard dash (17th percentile) at the NFL Combine, further raising question marks about his ability to separate at the next level. His vertical jump was 38″ (80th percentile) and his broad jump was 127 inches (86th percentile). He’s explosive when he can get the ball in his hands but it’s a matter of him getting the rock first…

Because he has a speed, as he was timed at 20 miles per hour in NFL Next Gen Stats running the gauntlet drill. Probably a better indicator of his true “game speed.”

If rookie dynasty drafts penalize Coleman too drastically for his slow 40 — note it’s the same time as Amon-Ra St. Brown — the other aspects of his profile are worth buying at a discount. If the only narrative surrounding Coleman is the bad 40-time and not the fact he out-produced Reed at Michigan State… I’ll take the latter to the bank.

Ricky Pearsall (WR – Florida)

Ricky Pearsall turned heads at the NFL Scouting Combine with string metrics across the board — 4.41 40-yard dash, 42″ vertical jump (97th percentile), 129″ broad jump, 4.05 20-yard shuttle (89th percentile) and 6.64 3-cone drill (93rd percentile).

Pearsall broke out at Arizona State in his third season with a 28% dominator rating in 2021, tallying 580 yards and four TDs. After transferring to the SEC, the 6-foot-1 and 189-pound WR continued to succeed over the next two years at Florida, with dominator ratings of 25% from 2022-2023, finishing with 963 receiving yards and four TDs in his final season as a Gator.

J.J. McCarthy (QB – Michigan)

J.J. McCarthy ran an insane 3-cone drill in 6.82 seconds (91st percentile) and he came in much heavier than his listed weight at Michigan at 6-foot-3 and 202 pounds. He was measured at 6-foot-2 and 1/2 at a whopping 219 pounds. Thick. McCarthy has asserted himself to be at least the QB4 overall in the class, with some talks that his draft stock has perhaps leaped into top-three consideration.

Ben Sinnott (TE – Kansas State)

Ben Sinnott has been — by far — the most productive tight end in the class, aside from Brock Bowers. Produced dominator ratings of 17% and 21% the last two seasons at Kansas State, capped off by finishing third in the nation in receiving yards per game among tight ends (56 yards per game).

Sinnott cemented himself in the running for TE2 in the class with elite athleticism to match his strong production.

4.68 40-yard dash (71st percentile)
40″ vertical jump (1st in the class, 92nd percentile)
126″ broad jump (1st in the class, 94th percentile)
6.82 3-cone (1st in the class, 96th percentile)
4.23 short shuttle (81st percentile)

At 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, Sinnott looks like a solid sleeper tight end in this draft with no “true” standouts behind Brock Bowers. There were other solid tight end NFL combine performances between Florida State’s Jaheim Bell, Penn State’s Theo Johnson and TCU’s Jared Wiley but Sinnott gained the most after his performance.

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