Instant Fantasy Analysis - Round 5

[The Football Guru 211]

WR Joe Reed, Chargers

Reed was likely drafted for his return prowess, but he joins a team in the Chargers who lack much in terms of depth at the receiver position. As one might expect for a 6-0 receiver who checks in at over 220 pounds, Reed turns into a running back after the catch. He spent most of his time in the slot with Virginia last season, so he's got a shot at playing time there if LA wants to change up from Keenan Allen on occasion. Unfortunately, Reed is a long way away from being a polished receiver, so perhaps he ends up being more of a jack of all trades who spends most of his time in the return game.

[The Football Guru 211]

WR Tyler Johnson, Bucs
Height/Weight: 6' 1"/206
College: Minnesota
NFL Comp: Mohamed Sanu

The Golden Gophers will never be accused of executing a highly diverse passing game, and they proved it with their usage of Johnson over the last two seasons. While running short and intermediate routes are his strength, Pro Football Focus charted him running a slant route 26.1 percent of the time since 2018 - an insanely disproportionate percentage of a single route being run by one player. Johnson curiously opted against running and jumping at the NFL Combine, so the questions about his straight-line speed and athleticism will remain unanswered for a while longer. PFF also credited him with 24 drops on 238 career catchable targets, but none of those "limitations" kept him from putting up some gaudy numbers in the Big Ten (78-1,169-12 in 2018, 86-1,318-13 in 2019) in what was very much a run-heavy attack.

Perhaps the best thing that can be said about him is that while he may not be the best at anything, he does enough of the important things consistently to beat his defender. His limited athletic profile makes him a scary bet to ever become a No. 1 receiver, but his resourcefulness figures to catch the eye of Tom Brady. Johnson has a real shot to beat out Justin Watson and Scotty Miller as the third receiver in Tampa Bay. While Chris Godwin figures to remain the primary slot option, the rookie could see early snaps there and warrants consideration as a late-round grab in redraft leagues if he ends up winning the No. 3 job.

[The Football Guru 211]

QB Jake Fromm, Bills
Height/Weight: 6' 2"/219
College: Georgia
NFL Comp: AJ McCarron

It's not hard to understand why the Bulldogs opted for Fromm over Jacob Eason when they were forced to make a decision, as Fromm is consistently accurate and far less prone to putting his team in compromising positions - a big deal for a team that prides itself on running the football and playing defense. It also helps the evaluation process when a prospect shows he can do more than hold his own against the Crimson Tide (2018 SEC Championship). In fact, he arguably outplayed Tua Tagovailoa before the latter was forced to leave with an injury in that contest. With that said, Fromm attempted 32 or more passes only six times in 43 career games. In those six outings, he completed 54 percent of his passes, threw for 10 touchdowns versus 10 interceptions and Georgia went 0-6.

The draft usually produces at least one or two quarterbacks like Fromm every year - players short on arm talent and athleticism whose upside is probably as a career backup that will get exposed if he's needed to run the offense for multiple games. He'll likely keep a job in the league for a while because he recognizes his limitations and compensates by making smart plays, but there's not a lot of film to suggest he'll be able to play with the same kind of anticipation that allowed Chad Pennington to carve out a decent living in the NFL before shoulder injuries ultimately ended his career. His arm strength limitations figure to hurt him in Buffalo, but he should have a great shot to be Josh Allen's backup.