Week 6 Part II - WR Return on Investment FCS and DII

There's More than Just FBS?

A few days ago, the updated FBS Wide Receiver Return on Investment (ROI) rankings were released.  But, what about the other divisions in college football?  You might not know it, but these FCS and DII schools crank out their fair share of NFL players:

• Danny Woodhead, RB BAL - Chadron State (Nebraska) DII, ~3,000 students.
• Marquette King, K OAK - Fort Valley State (Georgia) DII, 2,227 students.
• Jerrell Freeman, LB CHI - Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) DIII, ~ 3,900 students.
• Brent Grimes, CB TB -Shippenburg (Pennsylvania) DII ~ 5,900 students

The list is extensive.  So, given the "lower divisions" have a history of providing players who have made a living in this league, no amateur scout (or professional one, for that matter) has not finished the job until they have scoured the non-FBS divisions for talent.


This article will review top ROI (if you need a refresher on this efficient measure, please click here) performers for FCS and DII.  We will cover DIII with next week's FBS ROI update and then rotate weekly between FCS, DII and DIII.

Football Championship Subdivision

FCS was a bit compact in the distribution along the top 17 (only 17 seniors qualified for the list by posting above average ROI.  Here are some notable names:

• Jerod Diggs is the top ROI performer through Week 6 of FCS play.  He is a JUCO transfer from Lackawanna, (PA, although now the school is a now a 4 year degree college) who was team MVP, helping lead the Falcons to a #4 national ranking and conference championship.  In high school he also helped the basketball team to a championship,  with 27 points in title game.
• Malik Earl has a lot of solid attributes.  He is a former All-State (OK) player out of Santa Fe High School.  You can tell from his video that he understands his role as a receiver.  He has good size and strength.  Recognized as an All-MVEC honorable mention in 2016, he also served as team co-captain.  In high school, he was on the basketball team, so he has the diverse sports background to help diversify his foundation.  Keep an eye on him.
• Jaelon Acklin is, on paper, one of my favorite receivers for this draft cycle.  Get this: All-State (MO) in football out of Liberty HS in THREE different positions in 3 different years.  All-State in basketball (scored over 1,000 pts in his career)and was All-State in Track 5 times.  Not sure what lab they grew this kid in, but they need to mass produce. A duel threat QB in HS, he scored 65 TDs his Senior year - 8 in one game vs. the #3 ranked team in the state.  Won at least district championships in each of his three sports.  Finally, he has the third component of the triumvirate, he has pedigree as his Dad played football at Carthage.  No idea if he makes it to the next level but he seems to have all the components to at least get a long look.

FCS Gravy Index

The average WR at the 2016 NFL Player Combine had an average body density measure (that is, weight in lbs divided by height in inches) of 2.79 lbs/inch.  We see only 4 current top FCS ROI WRs above that threshold with 2 more within 1% on the undersized side.  While the majority of the undersized guys are within 5% of the average body density, these guys could still stand to double up at the canteen.

Division II

The distribution for DII is wider, showing us the top of the list is separating itself from the pack.  In terms of All-State performers, we verified 10 in DII compared to just 3 in FCS.  Also, you will see players who score TDs with greater frequency than their FCS counterparts.


One thing FCS consistently beat DII in was Team Website content so the sparse comments below are reflective of lack of information for this piece.

• Jordan Thomas was the top man whose ROI efficiency was 254% better than the average player.  Jordan is an All State (TX) player out of John Paul Stevens HS in San Antonio.
• Nate Huot plays the position with a lot of tenacity, which you don't always see at the wideout position.   He uses that ferocity in the KR/PR game. He has been a 3 time All-NSIC South selection. A high school All-State (MN) selection out of Dawson-Boyd. State Champs, he was Marshall Independence  Player of the year.  Also All-State in basketball  and also selected by the Marshall Independence as Player of the Year for that sport.  Last bit; he earn six letters in football. That means he was varsity in 7th grade.  Shivers.  
• Donta Armstrong has credentials:  All State (MS) out of Bruce High School (MS) and offensive player of the year for his conference.  He went the JUCO route, going on to Northeast CC to become a NJCAA All-American with 1195 all purpose yards.  Keeping the trend going, he is an All-American WR at West Alabama. 

Three players scored TDs at a frantic rate:

• Matthew Wilcox (also a former All-State swimmer as well as football player) scored a TD every 4.8 receptions.
• Devin Martin from "Shaolin" scored a TD every 4.4 receptions.
• Marcus Johnson transferred from Thiel College in 2015, won Conference Newcomer of the Year and went on to lead his team in receiving in 2016 scored at a pace of 1 TD every 4.2 receptions. 

Gravy Alert at DefCon 1

Yep, as they say down south, these are some po' boys.  With only 2 above average and just 2 more within 1%, this is a mighty light group.  They have a whopping 6 players in negative double digits off the average body density so it may be time to get the gravy IV's ready.  Keep in mind, in 2015, most of the top NFL WRs had body density measures closer to 3.00x so this group will have its concerns when scouts consider this in projecting durability.

Thanks for reading and check back next week for updates to FBS and DIII ROI.

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