A Decade Ago I Started Mocking “Devy” Drafts – Here’s How 2014 Went

Devy League:
A Fantasy League Where You Draft "Developmental/Devy" Players, i.e. players that are not yet declared for the NFL Draft

If you want to go back to beyond “a decade ago” – see here for the 2012 opening piece. I also only took 85 days to go from installment 2 to installment 3, so I met my in-jest 89 day deadline! Let’s get this train rolling!

To bring everyone up to speed…

I started a Devy League mock draft series back in 2012. I didn’t know that Devy Leagues were a thing at the time (were they?). Nonetheless it was something to look forward too as I would get a head start on the future year’s draft class, and start to imagine what it would be like to draft future fantasy football stars when whey were in high school and watch them rise through the ranks.

2014 was year 3 of the experiment. So the eligible players for the 2014 draft were any player:

  1. Any amateur football player as of August 2014
  2. That was not drafted in the previous season

I’ll start with the players drafted in 2012 that were not in the NFL yet, and get into the year’s picks.

2012 Draft Holdovers

  • Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Missouri Oklahoma
    Now dismissed from Missouri, he was preparing for a season on the scout team for Oklahoma.
  • Jeff Driskel, QB, Florida
    Still Florida at the time.
  • Ricky Seals-Jones, WR, Texas A&M
  • Johnathan Gray, RB, Texas
  • Malcolm Brown, RB, Texas
    Yeah, this wasn’t a fun time to be pulling for Texas skill position players.

2013 Draft Holdovers

  • Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
    Unlike in previous posts, I promise not to accidentally say all Oregon players played for Oklahoma.
  • Brett Hundley, QB, UCLA
  • Leonard Fournette, Athlete RB, TBD LSU
    Jamal Adams is kind of a weird dude.
  • Kelvin Taylor, RB, Florida
  • Braxton Miller, QB, Ohio St.
    Still a QB at this point.
  • Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama
  • Keith Marshall, RB, Georgia
  • Michael Dyer, RB, Auburn

2014

  1. Jameis Winston, QB, Florida St.
    Active 2015-Present; 1598 Career Fantasy Pts
    There weren’t a lot of QB “Prospects” available this year, you just had Jameis and his one year emergence from the land of crab legs. Turned out to be a solid pick from a Devy perspective, even if underwhelming in real life.
  2. Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama
    Active 2015-Present; 1802 Pts
    The beginning of the Alabama WR run. Holy crap was he a good route runner. Probably the re-draft #1 pick for this year.
  3. Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia
    Active 2015-2020; 1599 Pts
    I would argue that Gurley was a great pick here. A few dominant years are worth a decade of mediocrity. Not sure I can think of another RB with as prominent of a dropoff due to wear and tear save maybe Earl Campbell.
  4. Nelson Agholor, WR, USC
    Active 2015-Present; 982 Pts
    Followed Robert Woods and Marqise Lee in the USC prospect run. Despite almost 1000 career points, would anyone consider Agholor to be a good pick at this point? Even if drafting today I might take Speedy Noil over him for the chance that he turns it around in his 30s.
  5. Bryce Petty, QB, Baylor
    Active 2015-2017; 68 Pts
    He was the Jets savior for a hot minute. Which is worth -1 points per hot minute.
  6. Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona St.
    Active 2015-2017; 88 Pts
    Man, I really liked Strong. I think he was one of those players fans liked more than scouts.
  7. Melvin Gordon III, RB, Wisconsin
    Active 2015-Present; 1643 Pts
    Never should have held out, Melv. That was the end.
  8. TJ Yeldon, RB, Alabama
    Active 2015-2020; 619 Pts
    The forgotten Alabama RB. Perpetually mediocre, kinda like Agholor.
  9. DeVante Parker, WR, Louisville
    Active 2015-Present; 1081 Pts
    Speaking of mediocre..
  10. Stefon Diggs, WR, Maryland
    Active 2015-Present; 1985 Pts
    If not for injuries, he’d be the top player in career scoring from the Devy mocks, IMO.
  11. Karlos Williams, RB, Florida St.
    Active 2015; 131 Pts
    Remember the 11 games of Karlos Williams? Actually averaged over 10 ppg.
  12. Speedy Noil, WR, Texas A&M
    Active 2017; 0 Pts
    Arguably the biggest bust of 2014.
  13. Antwan Goodley, WR, Baylor
    Active 2015-2016; 0 Pts
    Arguably the biggest bust of 2014.
  14. Sean Mannion, QB, Oregon St.
    Active 2015-2021; 21 Pts
    I was actually surprised to find he wasn’t on a roster as a 3rd stringer somewhere in 2023.
  15. Mike Davis, RB, South Carolina
    Active 2015-Present; 603 Pts
    Extra points for drafting tree trunk thighs. If I had known his thigh circumference I think he’d have gone 10 picks earlier.
  16. Devin Funchess, WR, Michigan
    Active 2015-2019; 525 Pts
    So, was Funchess a good pick? Same with Davis. The performance was condensed into a small enough window that they were usable at times (unlike Agholor), but for Funchess it just ended immediately after he left Carolina.
  17. DJ Foster, RB, Arizona St
    Active 2016-2020; 37 Pts
    Great name, but a bust nonetheless.
  18. Duke Johnson, RB, Miami-FL
    Active 2015-Present; 975
    Fast Duke Johnson has become Old Duke Johnson.
  19. Nick O’Leary, TE, Florida St.
    Active 2015-2019; 147 Pts
    I repeat: it is TOUGH to find Tight ends here!
  20. Jay Ajayi, RB, Boise St.
    Active 2015-2019; 464 Pts
    Jay Ajayi’s tight (read: slow) leg muscles don’t count.
  21. Cody Fajardo, QB, Nevada
    Active 2015; 0 Pts
  22. Sammie Coates, WR, Auburn
    Active 2015-2018; 98 Pts
    Wonder how many Steelers WR prospects we’ll see come through this way.
  23. Jeff Heuerman, TE, Ohio St.
    Active 2015-2019; 166 Pts
    Same with Broncos TEs. More are coming in 2015.
  24. Connor Cook, QB, Michigan St.
    Active 2016-2017; 8 Pts
    That one playoff game was painful.
  25. Ameer Abdullah, RB, Nebraska
    Active 2015-Present; 502 Pts
    Would you believe he’s still active?
  26. Rashad Greene, WR, Florida St.
    Active 2015-2018; 64 Pts
    I actually really liked Greene but thought he was entering a crowded WR room with Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns (remember that guy?), and Marqise Lee. Didn’t end up being that crowded. Didn’t matter too much.
  27. Jeremy Langford, RB, Michigan St.
    Active 2015-2018; 228 Pts
    Once on the ESPN Fantasy Focus podcast, I believe it was Mike Clay that said “I just don’t think Jeremy Langford is any good”. Maybe it was Karabell guest starring. Whomever said that…was right.
  28. Ty Montgomery, WR, Stanford
    Active 2015-Present; 450 Pts
    Sorry but I’m getting distracted. I have this strange urge to do squats…
Defies explanation.

90 days between installments 1 and 2, 84 days between installments 2 and 3. That means we’ll finish by the time Ameer Abdullah retires.

Continue with 2015 HERE.

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