Week 5 of NCAA's Most Efficient Wide Receivers...with a NEW # 1

Week #5 

Welcome back for the third Wide Receiver Return on Investment (ROI) Top Efficiency lists for college football through Week 5 of the 2018 season.  For those of you not familiar with ROI it is an efficiency measure that allows college receivers to be measured side by side.  Regardless if a player is in a run heavy or pass heavy offense or is a second option in an offense that has a household name receiver as its focal point, ROI clarifies so we can see who gets the most production out of his opportunities.  The FBS list will be updated weekly with rotational coverage of FCS, Division II and Division III through the Bowl/Championship season all the way to the NFL Player Draft where we have used ROI to uncover gems.   This past week in the NFL, the Top ROI WR for 2017, Keke Coutee made the record books in his debut, smashing decades old records.   

This week we will look at FBS and go back to a broader update across the other NCAA football divisions in our Week 6 update.

FBS

Same old song and dance...Hakeem Butler is just a man among boys at this point in the season.

• Room at the Top - Although the 1-2 punch of Butler and Hall remained unchanged, we make way for a first timer who debuted at #3 in Eskridge, a 5'9", 190 lb former HS all-State (IN) running back.  He was first listed as a WR in his sophomore season and went on to lead the team in receiving yards and yards per reception.
• Welcome Back, Welcome Back, Welcome Back... - After taking a week off, we find Custis, Osborn amd Duhart making their way into the Top 20 again.  We'll see how long they last. 
• New Jack City- Besides Eskridge, other first timers on the list include Davis, Winston Jr., Patmon, Richardson and Miller.  Looking forward to watching footage of each to see if they have the skill sets to remain on this list. 
• Quantum Leap - Of players remaining on the list from last week, Gaither made the biggest jump 10 spots to #5.  He is at my son's top college choice of San Jose State, so he is likely to get hyped up by this space throughout the year. 

Bad Man of the Week

Although the FCS, DII and DIII tables will return in Week 6, we will present the top ROI receivers in each division:

• #4 Kolin Shulte from Wartburg College in Iowa was a HS QB before switching positions to become the leading receiver in this, his junior season.  His ROI was 200% above average for D3 but he was only 10% ahead of the second most efficient WR based on our criteria.
• #3 Josh Wilkes was originally destined to Eastern Michigan however, reworked his plan and had a stint at Butler CC before arriving at Arkansas - Pine Bluff.  He set a school record earlier this year with a 244 yard performance. He has ROI of 267%, with an ROI margin of 43%.
• #2 is Hakeem Butler, our FBS #1 ROI receiver for the 2nd straight week.  His ROI is a ridiculous 318% better than average and he was 54% better than the #2 receiver.
• #1 is UVA-Wise receiver Kaian Duverger with a jaw dropping 333% ROI (he is that much more efficient than the average D2 WR) and has a ROI Margin of 167% between himself and the next guy.

Finding himself at the top of the ROI and ROI Margin, Duverger is a Bad, Bad Man.

Rumors that Duverger dropped out of pre-Kindergarten because "he don't play" have not been substantiated.

Touchdown Chain

Looking at all 4 Divisions, let's take a look at who generates TDs at the quickest pace based on Receptions to Touchdown Ratio (RTDR).

• #4 here is Top Dog Kaian Duverger showing he can get in the end zone also with a Rec/TD ratio of 4.0x.  Based on the average REC/TD ratio for the Top 20 ROI WRs in D2, his ratio is 93% better than average.
• #3 is Josh Wilkes, not to be outdone by Duverger for his appearance on both lists this week.  He had a RTDR of 4.8x which was 108% better than the FCS Top 20 ROI average.
• #2 is Andrew Barker of Marietta who leads D3 with RTDR a TD every 2.7 Receptions.  Stacked up against his direct competitors he is 128% better than average.
• This man has a death grip on the Touchdown Chain, in this, his third straight week as TD King: JJ Arcega-Whiteside has a TD every 2.8 however, because his peer group average RTDR is 9.2x, his RTDR/Avg is 235%. 

Check out your ROI updates every week for all 4 NCAA divisions right here!

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