Fantasy Football Wish List: How good is Vance McDonald?

Tale of the Tape

When I studied McDonald’s 2018 tape, I saw a few key attributes that make him special. The first attribute is his ability to gain extra yards after the catch. He is certainly fast enough to do this, but what stood out was his toughness: he is a tackle-breaking machine.

What stands out to me there is his excellent balance through contact. He prepares for each hit by putting his body in position to absorb the contact and keep rumbling. Because of his contact balance, he stays upright and does not go down easily.

On many of his catches in the open field, it also stood out to me that he runs with the ball like a running back. He waits patiently for his blocks to develop, showing off excellent vision. He also uses quick footwork to get his body in the right position to hit a hole and get through it.

The Steelers used McDonald all over the formation as well. He lined up in line as a traditional tight end, in the slot, out wide, and even in the backfield. In the clip below, he is motioned into the backfield so the defense will think he is helping with blocking, then he turns into a receiver on a quick screen and takes it for a big gain. Watch the way he follows his blocks and quickly changes directions to get maximum yardage.

On this next play, McDonald is covered well on an important 3rd and 9, but Roethlisberger trusts him and throws it to his back shoulder anyway. McDonald shows off his excellent hands by catching it with only one hand, then he again shows his toughness by fighting for extra yards and maintaining his balance through contact.

Finally, we can see McDonald’s quickness and ability to change direction on a dime on this next play. When he catches the ball he is in the vicinity of the defender, but he changes direction and accelerates immediately, enabling him to pick up a bunch more yards.