The 2019 NFL Combine is approaching (Feb 27th) and for Dynasty Fantasy Football enthusiasts its the time of year to get any advantage possible to get the edge on your league mates. Sure, anyone can watch the highlights of the Combine and see who ran the fastest 40 yard dash time and who had the highest vertical jump but there are a few specific things I look for in my rookies coming out for the upcoming season when I’m considering one player over another that may go unnoticed by others.
One of the first things I like to look at is a players hand size. Yes you read that correctly, if a wide receiver, quarterback or running back has undersized hands its never a good thing. Think about your first round rookie pick wide receiver…you just watched him run a 4.41 40 yard dash time and you’re all excited, then his measurables come back and his hands are 8 1/4 inches, YIKES! How can you trust him to make those one handed catches? How do you think he’ll fair going up and catching a 50/50 ball in traffic? The answer is, he probably wont. Anything less than 8 1/2” for a receiver is alarming to me. For Quarterbacks anything less than 9” is also not the best case scenario. Cold weather in the late weeks of the season, in the winter time with small hands is never a good thing.
Another key factor I always look for in grading my rookies is an obvious one and thats height and weight. There is a reason why players at their respective position are referred to as the “prototypical size”. They aren’t saying an undersized or overweight player cant be the exception but majority of the time, you want to get a guy that has potential to be the “every down player”. The more playing time a player gets generally means the more production or chance of production is greater. Specialty players like goal line backs or deep threat dependent wide receivers just don’t do it for me when I need to win a championship. However, there still is value in the PPR running back and the big red zone wide receiver for depth on your Fantasy Football rosters. For those particular players, the late second, third and even fourth round is where these rookies should be drafted.
Regardless of what you look for in your rookies coming out for the draft, stick to it with confidence. Fully commit to your strategy for that season and trust your eyes, trust your gut and it wont steer you wrong!
Ready to draft him
Measurables coming in
Oh know, tiny hands
