Photo: Joe Nicholson, USA Today Sports

There is a growing movement in the Dynasty community toward “devy” players.  The term “devy” refers to developmental players carried on the dynasty league rosters.  These devy players are usually college players but can even be high school athletes.  During each week of the season, we will look at a different set of devy rankings. 

A few weeks ago, we began to look at the potential 2017 NFL Draft class, beginning with the quarterbacks. This week, we are examining the top quarterbacks eligible for the 2019 NFL Draft.

As we survey devy prospects, we will be looking at traits, abilities, and skill sets that will translate to the NFL.  So, let’s get started on top players who might be selected high in the 2019 NFL Draft.  Most of these players are Freshmen so much could change in the next two years.

8. Brandon Peters (Michigan) – Peters is sitting behind Wilton Speight, but we value Harbaugh quarterbacks highly.  Peters has NFL size (6’4”, 207 pounds) and could emerge to be part of the starting discussion in 2017.  He was ESPN’s third-ranked pocket passer and could pass Speight in the Spring.

7. Jalen Hurts (Alabama) – The 6’2”, 210-pound freshman has the Crimson Tide in deep in the national title chase.  With the conservative, run-oriented offense, many do not give the youngster enough due for his strong performance.  Hurts holds a 64% completion percentage and rarely turns the ball over.  Still young (turning 18 years of age this past August), Hurts has plenty of time to grow as a passer.  Throughout the spring and the offseason, he passed several more experienced quarterbacks on his way to being the first freshman starting quarterback in Nick Saban’s tenure.  He was helped by being an early enrollee, but the accomplishment is still a big feat and show’s Saban has confidence in the young player.  Hurts is poised to lead Alabama to its second title in two years. Against Chattanooga, the first-year phenom completed 15 of 21 passes for a paltry 136 yards and three touchdowns.  He gained another 68 yards on the ground in the contest.  For the season, Hurts has completed 64.6% of his passes and owns an 18-7 TD-INT ratio.  In order to improve his NFL prospects, Hurts will need to show he can be a pocket passer when needed.   

6. Shane Buechele (Texas) – Before the bad outing Saturday in the loss to Kansas, the 6’2”, 190-pound freshman had performed well and righted the ship after a shaky few games following the Notre Dame victory.  This season, Buechele became the first player since Bobby Layne in 1944 to start his first career game as a true freshman at quarterback for Texas.  The early success is not a surprise.  Buechele was a known commodity after playing high school football in Arlington, TX where he achieved a 4.0-grade point average and plenty of football accolades.  Buechele’s father is a bench coach for the Texas Rangers which is the reason for the family living in Arlington.  But, let’s not gloss over how bad he was in the game versus Kansas.  Buechele completed 17 of his 26 passes for 165 yards, 1 touchdown, and 3 interceptions.  The youngster is on track for 3,000 passing yards and a 62% completion percentage. 

5. Deondre Francois (Florida State) – The redshirt freshman quarterback has led the Seminoles to a strong season.  His blend of athletic ability and a strong arm have punished opposing defenses for paying too much attention to running back Dalvin Cook.  Florida State holds an 8-3 record while its young quarterback has passed for 2,990 yards, a 60.8% completion percentage, and 17-5 TD-INT ratio.  Francois has added another three touchdowns on the ground.  He is very good now but could grow into a special quarterback. 

4. K.J. Costello (Stanford) – Costello has NFL size (6’4”, 216 pounds) and a great high school pedigree.  ESPN and Rivals listed him as the second-best pocket passer in the country, behind Jacob Eason.  Costello was prolific in high school, even breaking Carson Palmer’s school record with 8,222 passing yards.  He also threw for 62 touchdowns and ran for 19 more.  Stanford rarely starts freshmen, especially at quarterback so we will need to be patient and wait until at least 2017 to see Costello play. 

3.  Sam Darnold (USC) – The redshirt freshman has played very well after getting the starting nod a few games into the season.  In the huge upset of Washington, Darnold was very good.  He completed 23 of 33 passes for 287 yards and a pair of both scores and interceptions.  After the game, Dane Brugler tweeted, “Only a RS freshman, but I've already had NFL scouts bring up Sam Darnold's name during convos. They love him.”  Darnold was impressive the next week in the throttling of cross-town rival UCLA.  In that contest, the freshman completed 25 of his 36 passes for 267 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions.  For the season, Darnold has complete 68.3% of his passes and owns a 24-8 TD-INT ratio.  He is a quarterback to watch as he develops. 

2.  Shea Patterson (Mississippi) –  The 6’1”, 197-pound true freshman had his redshirt removed last week and made an immediate impact in the upside of Texas A&M in College Station.  In the contest, the freshman was awesome.  He completed 25 of 42 passes for 338 yards, two touchdowns, and a pick.  The Aggies have a strong defense and Patterson tore them up in his first collegiate game.  Patterson was less impressive in his second outing, a loss to Vanderbilt.  As with most youngsters, there will be some inconsistency.  Patterson was an All-American on several lists (USA Today, U.S. Army, among others) due to his play-making ability inside – and outside – of the pocket. He is electric.  Patterson was named the Most Valuable Player of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl after completing 6 of his 9 passes for 90 yards and 2 touchdowns while leading his West team to a 37-9 victory over the East.  In addition, Patterson was named the Most Valuable Player of the Elite 11 QB competition.  We are excited to him play, especially with the talent Mississippi has at the wide receiver position. 

1.  Jacob Eason (Georgia) –  The 6’6”, 217-pound true freshman has already led Georgia to a pair of fourth-quarter, game-winning drives on the road (Missouri and Kentucky).  He was recruited from the state of Washington to travel all the way down to the SEC to play college football.  Many people were wondering if he would honor his commitment to Georgia after coach Mark Richt was encouraged to look for another job, and subsequently landed at Miami.  He seems to have a solid rapport with new coach Kirby Smart.  Eason was the top-ranked quarterback for most of the recruiting services and added Gatorade Player of the Year honors.  He turned 19 years of age last week and has a very bright future.  The Bulldogs are a young team who will grow and develop.  Eason has Georgia at 7-4 and looking forward to the future with his young bevy of receivers. 

Feel free to email me (Tefertiller@Footballguys.com) with feedback.  Also, I am on Twitter (www.Twitter.com/JeffTefertiller), LinkedIn, and Google+, so you can ask me questions on one of these as well.