Over eight NFL seasons with three teams, Eric Decker piled up over 5,800 receiving yards and used his 6’3″, 214-pound frame to high-point 53 touchdown passes. Over a four-year stretch from 2012-2015, Decker had three seasons with over 1,000 yards and double-digit touchdowns. In each of those seasons Decker finished as a top-15 fantasy option in PPR formats—including two years inside the top-10. I mention the former Broncos and Jets standout because it’s Decker that Lance Zierlein of NFL.com used as a player comp for Stanford’s J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, a 6’2″, 225-pounder who had 63 catches for 1,059 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Cardinal in 2018.
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“Big, strong target who plays like he’s big and strong and gets more and more dangerous the closer he gets to the red zone,” Zierlein wrote in pegging Arcega-Whiteside as a third-round pick. “Arcega-Whiteside plays with functional quickness in spurts, but not enough to get away from tight coverage and he won’t run by many NFL cornerbacks on go routes. However, his basketball bloodlines are on full display every time the ball is in the air, using his body control and ball skills to excel at combat catches and back-shoulder throws. Arcega-Whiteside may not be explosive, but his competitive nature should help make him a future NFL starter.”
For Dan Schalk of My Fantasy Sports Talk, the comp was another big-body in Vincent Jackson. “Arcega-Whiteside gives any QB a big, strong and reliable target especially in the red zone,” Schalk said. “His body control and ball skills are always on full display and the main reason why he will be selected on Day 2 of the NFL Draft. There are questions about his deep speed and ability to run routes in a finesse fashion–but I feel once he’s on the field, he will make plays. He may not be explosive, or make “big, home run-type” plays–but his competitive nature should help make him a future NFL starter, just like his comp was.”
J.J. Arcega-Whiteside is the Best Contested-Catch Wide Receiver in the Class of 2019
The son of professional basketball players, Arcega-Whiteside’s propensity for attacking the football was lauded by Gavino Borquez of the Draft Wire.
“Arcega-Whiteside is physically impressive and his basketball background is evident, showing the ability to box out, out-physical defenders and handle the ball with phenomenal ball skills,” he said. “While he isn’t an elusive player, Arcega-Whiteside is more than just a possession target, always looking to turn catches downfield and create yards after the catch.”
Pro Football Focus is that much higher on Arcega-Whiteside, ranking him among the top-25 prospects in the class. Partly, it’s because Arcega-Whiteside led the nation (by a wide margin) with 19 contested catches in 2018. But they believe he’s much more than just a jump-ball monster.
“He is much more than just a jump-ball receiver,” they wrote. “His receiving grade ranked third in the draft class, but he also averaged 16.8 yards per catch (T-9th in the draft class) and had a 135.6 passer rating when targeted, good for second in the draft class. He used his exceptional timing and ability to find space in his routes to make the most of each opportunity he had at Stanford. One of Arcega-Whiteside’s best traits was his performance in the clutch. On third and fourth downs this season, he caught 95.2% of his catchable targets and recorded 12 explosive plays (20+ yards) to go along with his 90.6 overall grade. He was a consistent target for Stanford signal callers this season.”
The biggest knock on Arcega-Whiteside is a perceived lack of straight-line speed, although after running a 4.49-second 40 at Stanford’s pro day Arcega-Whiteside told Justin Melo of SB Nation he feels like he can run past defensive backs just fine.
“I know what I’m good at and I try to maximize that to my benefit,” he said. “I definitely have a unique skill set. My coaches always told me that if you ever want to be good at something, be good at something that you can’t teach. Well, I’m really good at running past corners downfield. It’s not something that can be coached up. I’m very thankful to put that on tape and to go out there and do it on a regular basis. At the same time, I don’t wanna be known for just that. I wanna be known as an all-around complete receiver.”
Arcega-Whiteside also has some of the best hands and route-running ability in this year’s class. While speaking with Matt Parrino of New York Upstate.com, he attributed the latter to being a student of the game.
“Originally when I first started playing,” Arcega-Whiteside said, “the coach told me, ‘Hey, you want to get on the field, you have to learn every single position.’ So, I took that to heart and learned every single spot, X, F, Y, Z. I ended up playing slot because our slot receiver went down. That increased my value to the team to be able to run every single spot, and I carried that all the way through my senior year. I definitely intend to do that at the next level, learn every single spot to increase the value I bring.”
Arcega-Whiteside isn’t the biggest wide receiver in the class of 2019. Or the fastest. Or the most productive. But he’s big enough to have been the best contested-grab receiver in college football in 2018. He compensates for a lack of straight-line speed with good routes, crisp cuts and quick releases at the line of scrimmage. And over 1,000 yards and 14 scores ain’t exactly cat food.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKTFWa5zrxw&t=2s
It’s possible that Arcega-Whiteside won’t ever be a true No. 1 receiver in the NFL, and he’s not going to be the first receiver drafted. But you don’t be to be blazing fast to be effective in the pros if you run good routes and know how to use your body to box out defensive backs—areas in which Arcega-Whiteside excels.
Arcega-Whiteside also doesn’t have the fantasy ceiling of a physical freak like D.K. Metcalf of Ole Miss. What he does have, however, is one of the highest floors of any pass-catcher in the class. Maybe the highest.
It wouldn’t be a huge upset (assuming that he gets a decent landing spot come Day 2 of the draft) to see Arcega-Whiteside’s ability to win in the red zone propel him to the top fantasy finish among rookie wide receivers in 2019. As a matter of fact, this writer wouldn’t be surprised if five years from now we’re all wondering why Arcega-Whiteside wasn’t the first wideout taken in 2019. He’s that good. His skill-set is that diverse and well-rounded.
And he’s got the potential to be the steal of dynasty rookie drafts if he falls into the second half of Round 1 or farther.
You’ve been warned.
A member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and Pro Football Writers of America who resides in Columbus, Ohio, Gary Davenport has been featured on a number of fantasy websites and in nationally circulated publications, including the USA Today Fantasy Football Preview and the magazines distributed by Fantasy Sports Publications Inc., for whom Gary is both a contributing author and associate editor. Gary is an eight-time FSWA Award finalist and two-time winner who has been a finalist for that organization’s Fantasy Football Writer of the Year award each of the last three years. He won the honor in 2017. Gary also appears regularly on Sirius XM Radio (including live from Radio Row at Super Bowl XLIX) and over-the-air stations across the country. He knows football. Or so he’s heard.
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