Sleepers To Target In 2022 Dynasty Rookie Drafts
Keaontay Ingram, RB, USC
When it comes to a sleeper, you really need to evaluate the prospect much differently. More often than not there will be a litany of reasons why he won’t make it, but focusing on how or why he will is the difference. Keaontay Ingram was the Devy darling his freshman year at Texas, putting up two seasons of encouraging production. Ingram broke out his sophomore season, only to become relegated by Bijan Robinson, which is not a knock on Ingram. Ingram was never as skilled or talented as Robinson, instead Ingram transfers his senior year to USC and put up over 1,100 scrimmage yards and 22 receptions.
So Ingram has shown to be productive when given the opportunity, but the sales pitch is Ingrams athleticism. Ingram posted a 105th percentile speed score, a 57th percentile burst score while adding a frame of 220 pounds and 6’0” tall. Ingrams path to relevancy is the fact that he has shown productive seasons, has the size to be a workhorse and had the requisite speed. Their are plenty of running backs you can throw darts on, but Ingram is the right blend for me to prioritize as one of my main sleepers.
Jashaun Corbin, RB, Florida State
A player who is not getting enough attention in this class is Jashaun Corbin of Florida State. At this year’s NFL Combine he measured in at 5’11”, 202 lbs. He is a former top 20 recruit who earned All-SEC honors at Texas A&M in his freshman year for his special team’s work. This past season he led the ACC in yards per carry with an average of 6.20 yards. Also, he tied a single season school record for two 75-yard touchdown runs in a single season. His career total of 60 receptions for over 300 yards, also his 25 receptions in 2021 lead the Seminoles. Helping show us that he can also be a weapon in the passing game. I do expect Corbin to fall to a later round in draft, however I do think with his versatility he will work himself into a solid role.
Pierre Strong, RB, South Dakota State
The NFL is a copy cat league and life is a matter of timing. Luckily for Pierre Strong Jr his timing couldn’t be better for his entrance into the NFL. Teams will watch how the 49ers landed Elijah Mitchell in the 6th round and tell themselves that Strong can be the next Mitchell.
When Elijah Mitchell was drafted in the 6th round there were many folks that believed he was a better fit for the Shanahan offense than their 3rd round selection, Trey Sermon. Sermon battled injuries and before you knew it Elijah Mitchell was tearing up NFL defenses with his quick zone jumps and elite speed.
→Pierre Strong Player Page
Pierre Strong is almost the perfect comp to Mitchell. Strong is a little bit bigger at 5’11 and 205lbs where Mitchell was listed at 5’10 and 200lbs and both can fly. Both backs ran a sub 4.4 forty at the combine. Both Strong and Mitchell also played at smaller NCAA schools in South Dakota State for Pierre and Louisiana University for Elijah.
I am looking to take Strong in early round 3 of rookie dynasty drafts, after his forty time he may start climbing up rookie boards. If your league mates are not wise to the talents of Pierre Strong, you may be able to land a stud RB for the low cost of a 2022 3rd round pick.
Teams who watched Mitchell last year will see similar qualities in Strong and he may beat Elijah Mitchell’s draft capital of the 6th round by a round or two so Strong may not be a sleeper for long. Just remember the name Pierre Strong for your rookie dynasty drafts, keep him in your back pocket. Strong could be the next day 3 NFL drafted running back stud for your dynasty squad.
Jalen Tolbert, WR, South Alabama
Jalen Tolbert enters the NFL Draft coming off back-to-back 1,000 yards and eight-touchdown seasons at South Alabama. Tolbert is the first receiver in South Alabama history to top 1,000 receiving yards for a season, and he did it twice. He topped 100 receiving yards in seven games in 2021, including seven receptions for 143 yards and a touchdown against Tennessee. Tolbert tested well at the combine and has good size at over six-feet tall. He has big-play capability and should come off the board in Day 2 or early Day 3. Keep an eye on where Tolbert lands this April.
→Jalen Tolbert Player Page
Wan’Dale Robinson, WR, Kentucky
Wan’Dale Robinson fits the mold of many before him, like De’Anthony Thomas, or Tarik Cohen, or Tavon Austin. All these players were absolutely electric in college, but concerns about the size clouded their projections as pros.
| Name | Height | Weight | 40 yd dash | Vertical | Broadjump |
| Robinson | 5’8” | 178 | 4.44 | 34” | 9’10” |
| Thomas | 5’9” | 174 | 4.50 | 32” | 10’4” |
| Cohen | 5’6” | 179 | 4.42 | 31.5” | 9’10” |
| Austin | 5’8” | 174 | 4.34 | 32” | 10’0” |
If you’re passing on Wan’Dale because his height and weight combination, I get it. This type of experiment has been mostly uninspiring in the past. However, I believe this time it could be different.
- The NFL is evolving more into “get this dude the ball in space and let him go to work” more than ever. So his landing spot will be key. His 1 season at Kentucky showed that compared to his 2 years at Nebraska.
- 1494 total yards (914 rec. and 580 rush.) 7 TD’s at Nebraska. 1445 total yards (1334 rec. and 111 rush.) 7 TD’s at Kentucky.
- He switched to primarily WR at Kentucky and showed he can handle it. 100+ receptions in the SEC is no joke.
→Wan’Dale Robinson Player Page
Starting with how he wins and his role. He will be a slot WR with ideally some chances to be motioned around, jet sweeps, and potentially true RB carries. He really excels with short routes: quick outs, screens, curls when given a big cushion (see vs LOU). He is great with the ball in his hands and absolutely has make-you-miss to his game #YAC. He has plenty of tape showing he can win deep as well with deep crossers/over routes, and can stack coverage versus press at times for go routes/fades (see vs MIZZ and IOWA). Despite his size he’s tough. Took a couple hospital ball shots and stayed down, but he persevered through to finish those games.
Areas he struggles with relate back to his size. He’s not winning contested catches with his 5’7” wingspan (woof), and the rare times he was outside versus press, he was hit or miss with his bag of releases. His hands are not a strength. I only saw one drop in the games I watched, but he catches with the body most of the time. Also, he tended to go down on deep catches without contact to secure the catch when he should have kept his feet. While he is good with the ball in his hands, hands on him are going to slow him at best and likely take him down.
His ideal landing spot is a creative play caller that fought for him to be drafted later on day 2 (like Amari Rodgers). This team will have a vacant slot role, and a need for a low aDOT player. A potential fit could be the Saints. They need help at WR and with team speed. Additionally, with the legal issue Kamara is facing, Wan’Dale could be some insurance there with his RB experience during his time at Nebraska. I believe he’s absolutely someone to target as the 2nd round ends in dynasty rookie drafts in PPR scoring as he enters his age 21 season. But if you think you’re getting Diet Deebo or Tyreek Lite, you’re asking for disappointment.
Kevin Harris, RB, South Carolina
Kevin Harris had an extremely productive sophomore season before his offseason back surgery. He showed he can be a workhorse running back that dominates in between the tackles and in short-yardage situations. He averaged nearly two yards per team play and was responsible for 55.1-percent of his team’s offensive touchdowns. Harris has excellent size at 5-10, 221lbs with 89th-percentile burst (PlayerProfiler.com) and the vision to find the open lanes. While his passing downs game needs some work, Harris projects as a two-down bruiser at the next level. He’s big and powerful and has enough juice to break off chunk plays from time to time.
→2022 Rookie Draft Guide
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