ADP: 91st overall, WR46
Keelan Cole broke out in a big way in 2017, especially over the second half of the campaign, but it flew under the radar a little bit.
Starting in Week 7, Cole had multiple catches in each of his final 10 outings, and he put up at least 60 yards in half of those games. He took things to a new level over the final stretch, posting yardage totals of 99, 186, and 108 from Week 14 to Week 16.
Only 40 wideouts had at least 700 yards last year, and Cole did that in his final 10 games. His production over that 10-game run put him up there with the game's best as -- according to Adam Harstad -- only 10 receivers had at least 700 yards over their team's last 10 games (adjusted for byes).
Player | Games | Receptions | Yards | Touchdowns |
---|---|---|---|---|
DeAndre Hopkins | 9 | 59 | 996 | 7 |
Julio Jones | 10 | 54 | 978 | 2 |
Keenan Allen | 10 | 69 | 947 | 5 |
Michael Thomas | 10 | 69 | 842 | 3 |
Antonio Brown | 8 | 53 | 833 | 7 |
Marvin Jones | 10 | 41 | 821 | 6 |
Tyreek Hill | 9 | 45 | 793 | 5 |
Adam Thielen | 10 | 53 | 788 | 4 |
JuJu Smith-Schuster | 8 | 43 | 725 | 5 |
Keelan Cole | 10 | 36 | 701 | 3 |
Outside of Cole, that's a who's who among elite receivers right now. Of that group, Cole and Marvin Jones are the only players valued outside the top 13 wideouts in dynasty. This isn't to say Cole is as good as any of those receivers or that his dynasty value should be similar to their values, but there's a lot to like with the young Jacksonville Jaguars receiver.
Cole definitely benefited from Allen Robinson's season-long absence, and there are a lot of variables at play with the Jags' wideout depth chart right now. In addition to Cole, Dede Westbrook is also emerging, while A-Rob and Marqise Lee are headed to free agency, and Allen Hurns is a cut candidate this offseason. There's a lot going on here -- not to mention the team has a big decision to make at quarterback -- but the opportunity could be there for Cole to see meaningful snaps in 2018 even if Jacksonville elects to retain Robinson.