The Watch List: 2018 Week 2 Preview
Welcome to The Watch List, a resource to help RSO owners identify the players and matchups from the college game that deserve your attention. To view my weekly picks and observations, follow me on Twitter @robertfcowper. Check back throughout the season as The Watch List will continue to update you on who is fantasy relevant and worth your draft capital next year.
Games to Watch
- Arizona at Houston, 12:00pm on ABC/ESPN2: DT Ed Oliver started the season strong with 13 tackles against Rice in Week 1. Unless he completely implodes this season he’ll remain atop most positional rankings for the 2019 NFL Draft. It will be interesting to see him chasing Arizona QB Khalil Tate. Tate rushed for a short yardage score against BYU in the opener but otherwise had just 7 attempts for 12 yards.
- UCLA at #6 Oklahoma, 1:00pm on FOX: New UCLA coach Chip Kelly got off to a rough start with a loss last week against Cincinnati and it doesn’t look like he’ll be able to rebound in Norman. OU got off to a solid start on offense with QB Kyler Murray tossing 2 TDs and 209 yards on just 11 attempts. Similarly, RB Rodney Anderson dominated, rushing for 100 yards and 2 TDs on just five carries. It’s premature to say definitively, but Anderson is growing on me and will contend for my RB1 spot come the Spring.
- #3 Georgia at #24 South Carolina, 3:30pm on CBS: This game is one of the reasons I picked South Carolina as a team to watch in the SEC. It’s rare to play your biggest divisional game so early in the season before teams are in their groove. The fact that the Gamecocks get the game at home is even more encouraging. Both teams dominated FCS foes last week so we didn’t really learn anything. I’m still picking Georgia to get the road victory but this game is a must-watch for the chance that it totally upends the CFP.
- Iowa State at Iowa, 5:00pm on FOX: Iowa State’s opener was cancelled so this will be our first chance to see RB David Montgomery, one of my favorites from last season. The fact that this one also includes Iowa draft hopefuls QB Nate Stanley and TE Noah Fant make it a good midday watch if the 3:30pm games are blowouts.
- Kentucky at #25 Florida, 7:30pm on SEC Network: Kentucky hasn’t beaten Florida since 1986 but this may be the year. I am not a Florida fan and I will likely find myself picking against them all year. This one is easy for me to pick against the Gators though because I’m becoming a Benny Snell fan. He started the season well with 125 yards and 2 TDs on 20 carries against Central Michigan to start the season. He’s likely to be a 2019 fantasy asset so you might as well start paying attention now.
- #17 USC at #12 Stanford, 8:30pm on FOX: I literally put my money where my mouth is when it comes to USC this season. Now that sports betting is legal in New Jersey, I placed a few season long futures and one of which was the over on 8.5 wins for the Trojans. USC let UNLV hang around last week but they ended up winning convincingly in the 4th quarter. USC’s true freshmen stole the show in that contest. QB JT Daniels threw for 282 yards and a TD while WR Amon-Ra St. Brown caught 7 balls for 98 yards and a score. Their 4th quarter touchdown connection was a beauty and is hopefully a sign of things to come. When Stanford has the ball, the two who should have your attention are RB Bryce Love and WR JJ Arcega-Whiteside. Love disappointed with just 29 yards on 18 carries so he’ll need a big bounce back game to stay in Heisman consideration; I’ll cover Arcega-Whiteside more below. USC may be too inexperienced for this early-season conference matchup but it’ll be a fun one to watch regardless.
Players to Watch
Honorable Mentions
- Daniel Jones, QB, Duke: Jones started well against Army last week. He completed 13 of 17 passes for 197 yards and a TD while adding 43 yards and a touch on the ground. I still believe Jones has the raw tools to be the top quarterback in this class but he has to prove that he can play with the same efficiency for an entire season.
- Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama: Tua isn’t draft eligible so don’t get too excited yet but my god did he look explosive against Louisville. I don’t know if he has the mechanics of the position down yet but there’s an ease and fluidity to his movement that you don’t see in other players. It’s like he’s playing at a higher frame rate than the other 21 guys on the field.
- Patrick Laird, RB, Cal: Laird had an impressive 33 touches against UNC in the opener, gaining 109 total yards and 2 TDs. Laird posseses good size (6000/205) and pass catching ability (45 receptions last season; switched from receiver). Laird is a former walk-on who impressed me in interviews at PAC-12 Media Day while talking about his children’s summer reading campaign. He may not be a top prospect but I’ll bet his combination of size, hands and character lands him on an NFL roster.
- TJ Vasher, WR, Texas Tech: Vasher made the highlight catch of the weekend with a ridiculous Odell-esque one-hander. He is a lean redshirt sophomore who is listed at 6060/190. He should blow away last year’s 29-545-6 line by midseason on the high powered Texas Tech offense.
JJ Arcega-Whiteside, WR, Stanford
- Listed at 6030/225 per sports-reference.com
- Film watched: USC 2017, SDSU 2018
- 2017: 11 games, 48 receptions, 781 yards, 16.3 yards per reception, 9 TDs
- 2018: 1 game, 6 receptions, 226 yards, 37.7 yards per reception, 3 TDs
If JJ Arcega-Whiteside is going to be a big name this year (pun intended), we need to agree on a nickname for him. I submit: J-JAW. Sure it’s an obvious one and misplaces the hyphen but it sounds pretty awesome. Do you know what else is pretty awesome? Arcega-Whiteside’s performance in Week 1 against San Diego State. I wasn’t home during the game so I didn’t get to see it live but every time I fired up Twitter it seemed like he had just made another highlight catch. I was able to watch some extended highlights after the game and was definitely impressed. So much so that I decided he would be the first player I would spotlight this season. Arcega-Whiteside’s biggest strength is his ability to play above the rim and dominate in the air. He is strong and can easily box out the defender. Here’s a good example of his ability to use his body to keep the defender out of the passing lane:
JJ Arcega-Whiteside – Boxing out https://t.co/K96qOxrEGt
— Robert F. Cowper | RSO (@RobertFCowper) September 4, 2018
His ball tracking appears to be good to elite. His hands are good and he often hand-catches the ball rather than letting it get into his body. In the limited sample I watched he also showed good sideline awareness to make plays near the boundary. Below is an example of him using all three skills on a single play. The defender’s hand flashes in front of his eyes just as he’s about to catch the ball but he manages to still make the grab while spotting the landing.
JJ Arcega-Whiteside – Hands & Sideline Awareness https://t.co/xLoEfOkv2q
— Robert F. Cowper | RSO (@RobertFCowper) September 4, 2018
Arcega-Whiteside isn’t a burner but does have enough speed to create separation on downfield routes. Because of his jump-ball play style, he does not often find himself in RAC situations (save for a long score against SDSU when the defender fell down). DraftScout.com predicts his speed to be 4.59 but I think he looked a shade quicker. I need to see more to give him an accurate comparison but as far as size and speed go, you can equate him to somebody like Allen Robinson. I saw comps on Twitter to Mike Evans which I can see when it comes to him winning in the air but Evans is at another level physically. My viewing did not expose me to much of Arcega-Whiteside as a blocker or as a route runner. I’ll need more time, and more film, to give him a proper grade in these areas.
J-JAW’s fantastic first game put him squarely on my radar for the 2019 NFL Draft. We should monitor him closely over the next few games, especially this week against a superior USC defense. If he continues to produce he’ll deserve a deep dive in the offseason.
Notes: In an effort to standardize the description of key positional traits, I frequently use the following adjectives: elite, good, above average, average, below average, poor. My experimental grading system uses a Madden-like approach by weighting position relevant traits on a 100-point scale; bonus or negative points are awarded based on production, size, injury history and character. Heights listed are using a notation common among scouts where the first digit corresponds to the feet, the next two digits correspond to the inches and the fourth digit corresponds to the fraction, in eighths. So, somebody measuring 5’11” and 3/8 would be 5113. This is helpful when trying to sort players by height. When watching film for a player, I typically pick two games. When time permits, I may add a third game. If game film is not available I will search for highlight reels, but keep in mind these are the best plays that player had so they really need to jump off the screen. I do not necessarily want to watch games where they did very well or very poorly as that may not be a great illustration of their true ability. If possible, when comparing players at the same position I also like to watch film against common opponents. Full disclosure, I am not watching film of every single game any player plays, instead I am looking for a representative sample. There are a lot of analysts out there who have a deeper depth of knowledge about certain players but I pride myself in a wide breadth of knowledge about many players. When researching college players I use a number of resources, I would recommend bookmarking the below sites…
- Stats: espn.com, sports-reference.com, cfbstats.com, herosports.com, fcs.football, foxsports.com, mcubed.net
- Recruiting: 247Sports.com, espn.com, sbnation.com, rivals.com
- Film: 2019 NFL Draft Database by Mark Jarvis, youtube.com (but be wary of highlight only reels)
- Draft info and mocks: draftcountdown.com, draftscout.com, walterfootball.com, mattwaldmanrsp.com, draftek.com, ndtscouting.com
- Draft history: drafthistory.com
- Combine info: pro-football-reference.com, espn.com, nflcombineresults.com
- Season preview magazines: Phil Steele, Lindy’s, Street and Smith’s, Athlon Sports
- Podcasts: ESPN’s First Draft, Strong as Steele with Phil Steele, The Audible by Football Guys (specifically episodes w/ Matt Waldman), UTH Dynasty, Draft Dudes, 247Sports College Football, College Fantasy Football: On Campus, Underdog Pawdcast, Saturday 2 Sunday, Locked on NFL Draft
- Logos & Player Media Photos: collegepressbox.com, the media home for FWAA members
Robert F. Cowper is a freelance writer who lives in New Jersey. He is a proud member of the Football Writers Association of America and the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. Robert works as a recreation professional, specializing in youth sports, when he isn’t acting as commissioner for his many fantasy sports leagues.
