C2C Veteran Leftovers
Here is a few veteran choices to consider in 2025 supplemental drafts
Sometimes we need to consider upside plays in supplemental drafts over the flashy new freshmen. While the freshmen may offer the unknown mystery box appeal, the veterans can offer some potential NFL talent with some CFF usage in the mean time. That can be much more useful for our college rosters than weekly zeros from a bunch of freshmen who have not earned starting reps yet. Leagues vary so much from no waivers to a set number for the season to unlimited. Therefor this list will unfortunately not work out for everyone, but this would be the first names I consider searching for in each position before your draft kicks off.
Wide Receivers
Javonnie Gibson WR Oklahoma,
Malcolm Simmons WR Auburn
Emmett Mosley WR Stanford,
Cayden Lee WR Ole Miss
Yannick Smith WR East Carolina,
Omarion & Drelon Miller WR Colorado
Jeff Caldwell WR Cincinnati
This position is probably the one we may can find multiple fun upside bets for the rosters. While I had notes last offseason to consider multiple names here, these names ended up with under 20% ownership numbers on Fantrax so they possibly went unnoticed until after people used up their waiver claims. Gibson and Caldwell are transfers up so they will be available for sure. Both are having good springs and could look to solidify a top 2 target role for their offense.
Simmons was underrated last season and should have the slot locked down with Singleton and Cam Coleman on the outside. Mosley now steps in without Ayomanor and Cisse so he could look to be the main target for whichever QB takes over Ashton Daniels. His situation does require some monitoring though with the portal open following the head coach firing. Chase Sowell also steps into East Carolina this year with only Anthony Smith being the main returning target. Cayden Lee also steps into an offense losing a lot of talent with a great connection with the quarterback. He does face a little extra competition with Stribling, Wallace III, Odom, and Ray joining the staff. Having the inside track to the system and chemistry with the quarterback though has a shot to make some noise if he can get some positive TD regression (super low 2 TDs for 874 yards is not the norm). Omarion Miller, Drelon Miller, and throw in Joseph Williams all look like they have potential to step in for the new look Colorado offense. I lean with the Millers who have experience in the scheme and know the competition level over Joseph who is transferring up.
Quarterbacks
Micah Alejado QB Hawaii
Fernando Mendoza QB Indiana
Darian Mensah QB Duke
Austin Simmons QB Ole Miss
Reese Poffenbarger QB North Texas
For quarterbacks, the play here was more to consider CFF potential. Each of these five schemes have put out quarterbacks that can be useful in the 2-3QB starting lineups I play in for C2C. Alejado only had the one great game against New Mexico, but could be the next Hawaii starter that is a plug and play guy. Mendoza had a great season but went largely under the radar it seems while at Cal. Now stepping in for Indiana’s vacancy could propel him to set up a repeat performance with hopefully a higher touchdown rate. Mensah swaps over to Duke to replace Murphy. The change in competition will be interesting to watch, but I am always down to bet on a starter who is not a complete zero in the run game.
Simmons classified up TWO recruit classes early and has sat behind Dart learning the past two years. He now enters his third season (would have originally been his FIRST) with experience in the scheme and a very small sample size where he looked comfortable against Georgia defense. The Ole Miss offense decided to not add any quarterback competition from the winter portal so he is truly getting the shot to step into a solid fantasy role. It also is encouraging that Simmons is stopping baseball to focus on football now too which will help on the reps needed. Poffenbarger at North Texas is a fun system play as he sits in a competition too. Risking a supplemental pick on him can be very uplifting to your roster.
Running Backs
Al-Jay Henderson RB Buffalo
Bryson Donelson RB Fresno State
Yasin Willis RB Syracuse
DeSean Bishop RB Tennessee
Davion Gause RB North Carolina
Braylen Russell RB Arkansas
Darrion Dupree RB Wisconsin
Al-Jay Henderson put up a great season last year at Buffalo. Still being low rostered, he could be had cheaper in some supplemental drafts to help be a stabilizing asset while you take some other shots on freshmen or unproven running backs. Bryson Donelson could end up being a featured part of Fresno State in 2025 after a solid freshman start. I recommend reading my Caden Knighten article for a better idea of the grouping that Donelson could be in if he is unlocked this year. With the top receivers gone now and his better efficiency, Donelson could be the top dawg for Fresno State.
Willis, Bishop, and Russell are all system plays in offenses that should lean on the run game this year. Willis and Russell had decent freshman years as the backups while Bishop was the #2 behind Sampson in his second season. I would probably consider Peyton Lewis as well to really lock in Tennessee’s productive RB run of production just in case. Gause and Dupree have a little more uncertainty but could be the only stable feature of either offense as it transitions into new schemes.
Tight Ends
Lance Mason TE Missouri State
Kenyon Sadiq TE Oregon
Elija Lofton TE Miami
Tight Ends look kind of limited if I only look at the general Fantrax numbers below 20%, but here are three names with a case to be useful for fantasy at the position. Lance Mason and Missouri State are joining Conference USA this year. He already had a good 2024 season and should not find much defense to stop him in 2025 from a similar or better season. It does help that he returns with the same quarterback and three of the top five names moving on among the receiving producers.
Sadiq could unlock his Bowers athleticism for Oregon this year as Dakorian Moore (true freshman WR) and Evan Stewart seem like the only two other guys likely to command targets. A lot will depend on if they will use him just as much as Terrance Ferguson was last season; I like the bet as he could be the safety blanket for new QB Dante Moore. Elija Lofton is a similar style bet at Miami since the top SIX producers for receiving are gone. A lot is banking on Carson Beck being healthy, but a competition for him versus Jojo Trader, Ray-Ray Joseph, and Joshua Moore among others could lead to a decent role as a stash play for an uncertain position.