Rotoworld has released their list of the Top 300 fantasy ranked players and three UCLA football players have made the cut. Additionally, there was a surprise in their QB and RB rankings.
If you have been paying close attention to UCLA football, you would know that the cupboard is not bare despite what certain experts have been saying. Sure, their 6-7 2017 record does not help the argument, but it is not a true indicator of what this team possesses individually.
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On Wednesday, NBC-Rotoworld released their list of players in the Top 300 fantasy rankings and three Bruins made an appearance. Additionally, the sports site released positional rankings, which saw the appearance of two more Bruins.
Here are the UCLA football players listed in the Top 300 (with their positional rankings in parentheses).
UCLA Bruins in Rotoworld’s Top 300 Fantasy Rankings
- #120 Caleb Wilson (#6 TE)
- #227 Theo Howard (#81 WR)
- #288 Bolu Olorunfunmi (#92 RB)
- N/A Soso Jamabo (#101 RB)
- N/A Devon Modster (#72 QB)
Caleb Wilson is an automatic selection for this list. Though he only played in five games last season, he made enough of an impact that Pro Football Focus named him the top tight end in 2017.
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Though he made the most of his time on the field, Rotoworld author Thor Nystrom does has some cause for concern. The main factor is that he might not be fully recovered from his foot injury suffered in Game 5 vs Colorado last year. Still, he called Wilson a “premier receiving tight end”.
Theo Howard had to play behind such talented receivers as Wilson, Darren Andrews, and Jordan Lasley last season, but many experts can see the potential he has.
This season, Howard should be the go-to guy in Chip Kelly’s offense when he does decide to pass the ball around. Howard is fast, elusive and has sure hands which should make him a threat in Kelly’s offense. A And who knows, after a year with the new coach, Howard could get a lot more acclaim by season’s end.
Seeing how UCLA has not had a strong running game the last few seasons, it is a bit of a surprise that a Bruin made the Top 300 list. It is even slightly more surprising that two made the list of Top 200 running backs… or is it?
Though the run game has been lacking some spark, one could actually point to coaching and a faulty offensive line for the rushing woes. Both Bolu Olorunfunmi and Soso Jamabo are very talented and bring a lot to the Bruins. Hopefully, we get to see what they are really made of under Kelly in 2018.
Lastly, Devon Modster, though cut out of the Top 300, made Nystrom’s list of the Top 100 quarterbacks. Despite his claim that UCLA will be a “train wreck” this fall, he obviously has a little bit of faith in both Modster and Kelly, seeing as the QB only played in five games last season as he backed up Josh Rosen.
Kelly is known for developing his players to their potential and though UCLA currently has a five-man QB battle, Modster seems to be one of the favorites to land the starting spot.