Fantasy Football Dynasty

Print

Dynasty Prospect Profile: D.J. Chark

D.J. Chark, WR, LSU

Height: 6’3

Weight: 199

Age: 21.5

Combine results:

(percentile rank among all WRs at the Combine since 1999, courtesy of mockdraftable.com):

40-yard dash: 4.34 seconds (95th)

Vertical: 40” (92nd)

Broad: 129” (91st)

3-cone: N/A

20-yard shuttle: N/A

College career:

Chark was a 4-star recruit out of high school but didn’t record a single reception across his first 2 seasons in Baton Rouge. His only touch during that time was a 79-yard TD on an end-around against Texas Tech in the 2015 Texas Bowl.

Chark finally got involved as a junior, posting a 26-466-3 line. He averaged a big 17.9 yards per catch, recording 8 grabs of 30+ yards and 4 of 40+

Chark improved his numbers across the board this past season, pacing LSU in all major receiving categories. His 21.9 yards per catch led the entire country among players with 40+ receptions. He made another 6 catches of 40+ yards.

While his raw numbers don’t jump off the page, consider that LSU ranked 106th and 82nd in passing yards and 110th and 85th in passing TDs over the past 2 seasons. Chark accounted for 18.7% of the team’s receptions, 27.2% of the receiving yards and 20.7% of the receiving scores during that time. His 2017 market-share numbers: 22.3% of the catches, 33.0% of the yards and 17.6% of the TDs.

And Chark was efficient, posting 2.92 yards per route run this past year — 12th among draft-eligible receivers, per Pro Football Focus. His 12.85 yards per target towered above the 7.63 mark posted by the rest of LSU’s pass-catchers. That 68.4% difference was 2nd best among 25 of this year’s top WR prospects.

Chark also contributed on the ground, tallying 185 yards and 3 scores on 24 carries over the past 2 seasons. And he served as LSU’s punt returner last year, averaging 10.6 yards and scoring twice on 18 attempts.

He closed his college career with a bang, earning co-MVP honors at the Senior Bowl with a 5-160-1 line. That included a 63-yard reception and a 75-yard TD.

Film study:

Courtesy of DraftBreakdown.com, Cut Up Corner and Cityzen 225

Games watched - Mississippi State (2016), Mississippi (2016), BYU, Auburn, Notre Dame

Chark has a sprinter’s body: long and lean. And he runs with big strides, effortlessly gliding by defenders. He plays like a guy with 4.3 speed.

Chark also shows the ability to adjust to passes that aren’t thrown on the money.

The vast majority of Chark’s production in the 5 games I watched came on deep balls. The rest came via the threat of his long speed — a good number of comebacks and a few out routes.

While Chark’s speed will play at the next level, he has a lot of work to do in the route-running department.

Inconsistent hands are another concern. I saw him make a few impressive grabs, including these 2:

But he far too often lets the ball get into his body, resulting in ugly drops like this:

Fantasy potential:

Chark is much more athlete than WR at this point.

He was a Combine winner, not only running a 4.34-second 40-yard dash but also posting vertical and broad jumps above the 90th percentile at his position.

He’s a good bet to contribute in the deep-passing and return games for his NFL club. But that alone won’t be enough to make him more than a volatile, low-floor fantasy option.

Chark will need to improve his hands and develop as a route runner in order to reach his ceiling. And even that only extends as high as the Robby Anderson-DeSean Jackson spectrum — a boom-or-bust WR3 type.

Jared Smola, Lead Analyst

Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and My Team tools. He currently ranks 1st among 133 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.