Dynasty League Rookie Prospect: Michigan WR Devin Funchess

Devin Funchess, wide receiver from the University of Michigan, is a hard prospect to read. At the beginning of his career at Michigan he was a tight end before he made the move to wide receiver. The big question about Funchess is: how is he going to be used in the NFL? Is he going to be a wide receiver or tight end?

Sep 20, 2014; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines wide receiver Devin Funchess (1) jumps to make a catch in the first quarter against the Utah Utes at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

College Production

Funchess began his college career (age 18) as a tight end where he caught 15 receptions for 234 yards and 5 TDs. He demonstrated a bigger role with the offense during his sophomore year (age 19) where he caught 49 passes for 748 yards and 6 TDs. Then during his junior year, he converted to wide receiver and caught 62 passes for 733 yards and 4 TDs in 11 games. During his junior season (age 20), Funchess accounted for 19.99% of Michigan’s offensive production. Funchess had 5 games with over 100 yards receiving during his 3 years with the University of Michigan. Funchess’s lack of college production is a major red flag. He doesn’t have a year with over 1,000 yards receiving, and he his market share of the offensive production is very low compared to the top level prospects at wide receiver.

Player Metrics

HT	WT	40-Time	Vertical	Bench Press	Hand Size
6’4	232	4.7	38.5″	17	9 3/4

Funchess is a big wide receiver at 6’4 232 pounds. His frame is very comparable to Kelvin Benjamin from the Carolina Panthers, who was a 1^st round pick during last year’s draft. For a tight end in the NFL, Funchess would be considered small. The idea frame for a tight end would be 6’5″ or taller and weighing 250-260 pounds. Funchess is a shade short and about 30 pounds too light.

Funchess disappointed at the combine when he ran a 4.7 40 yard dash. That is not fast enough to beat defensive backs in the NFL. Funchess ran a faster 40 at his pro-day (4.47 and 4.53), but you have to take those times with a grain of salt because pro-day times are always timed differently than the combine. His excuse for running a slow 40 was that he was up all night doing interviews and he was exhausted.

What I do love about Funchess is his vertical. A receiver that’s 6’4″ and jumps a 38.5″ vertical is going to have a big advantage for jump balls in the end zone. Funchess didn’t run his 3-cone drill at the combine, but he did do it at his pro-day, where he logged a 6.95 3-cone. Again, that time was from his pro-day, so we have to take it with a grain of salt.

Film Review

Funchess is very good at catching the ball in traffic. Like his combine metrics provide with his height and 38.5 inch vertical, he can out jump defenders with ease while making difficult catches look easy. Funchess is good at using his body to box out defenders while the ball is in the air, which creates a mismatch for a lot defensive backs. Funchess is a very smooth runner, and it almost looks like he is gliding on the field. He doesn’t possess elite speed, but he has very good short area quickness for his size, which could make it very difficult for linebackers to defend him in the open field while he makes his cuts. Funchess does not run a full route tree. He runs a lot of hitches and curls; using his big frame to box out the defender at the breaking point of his route. He also rounds out a lot of hitches and curls. Other routes he would run would be 9 routes, screens, and drags, but his bread and butter were hitches and curls. While Funchess has the ability to make some amazing catches, he also suffers from concentration lapses that cause him to drop balls.

Player Value

I was one of Funchess’s bigger fans during the season last year. He was one of my favorite players in college, but Funchess has to many red flags for me to invest a 1^st round pick in him. He would have to be drafted into a juicy situation for me to consider drafting him in the back half of the 1^st round. If he was drafted by a team like the Patriots and was forecasted to be used as a hybrid WR/TE joker roll, then I would be all for him as a late 1^st round pick. If he was to fall to the early to mid-2^nd round of the rookie draft, then I wouldn’t mind taking a flier on Funchess because he is a match up nightmare to defensive backs. Funchess is going to be a top 100 pick in the NFL draft, and there’s a chance he could go late in the 1^st round. Funchess is going to get opportunities to succeed due to the premium that NFL teams are going to invest in him. Right now he’s a 2^nd round rookie pick for me unless he gets drafted into one of the better situations in the league for a wide receiver.

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