Rookie Spotlight: Alex Wesley, Northern Colorado University
Height: 6000 (official)
Weight: 190 lbs (official)
Hands: 9” (official)
Arm: 31 1/4” (official)
40 yard dash: 4.45 (official)
NFL Comparison: Carlos Henderson, Malachi Dupre, Will Fuller

Pros
– track-star functional speed
– creates separation despite horrible agility testing
– deep threat but runs full tree

Cons
– undersized
– lacks physicality

Scouting Notes: Alex Wesley is probably a player you haven’t heard of if you haven’t been keeping up with the Senior Bowl this year. He played at a Northern Colorado, a D-II school, so he hasn’t gotten much on-air time in comparison to many of the receivers invited to this year’s combine. At NCU though, he notched 2 back to back 1,000+ yard seasons as their do-it-all playmaker. Wesley is best suited to stretch the field vertically. He uses his impressive wheels to blaze past defenders where he can track the ball well and go up and get it if need be. Good body awareness and comprehensive ball skills allow him to place himself where only he can come up with the ball, as long as it’s thrown past him.

Wesley isn’t the sharpest route-runner, but he has experience running most of the route tree, so he can have success in short and intermediate routes in addition to his dangerous posts. He’s more like a fine-tuned automobile than a mack truck, so you’re not going to get much blocking out of him – that’s just not why he’s on the field.

Fantasy Outlook: Wesley practiced serviceably at the Senior Bowl before bowing out of the actual game due to a groin injury. His Combine performance was somewhat middling, though he had a more than respectable 4.45 40 time. His 3-cone drill was miserable (7.40). For context, only one receiver finished with a worse time. Maybe Wesley was still dealing with groin problems that limited his agility, but it’s not a great sign.

Wesley is going to have to rely on his straight-line speed and his special teams acumen to get drafted in April. Despite his usage as a an every down player in college, he seems destined for a deep-ball specialist/kick returner role – at least initially. Those players usually don’t pay off in fantasy enough to hold onto. He’s a dynasty flier right now, though he has menial upside should he find a regular role somewhere.

From the NCU Athletic Department:

2018: Played in 10 of the team’s 11 games, starting in all 10 he played in…Became the second player in program history with two 1,000 yards receiving seasons finishing with 1,050…Led team with 57 receptions and tied for team lead with four touchdowns…Had six 100 yards receiving games…He finished eighth in the FCS and second in the Big Sky averaging 105.0 yards per game…Ranked 25th in the FCS and third in the Big Sky with 5.7 receptions a game… Named second team All-Big Sky, First Team Phil Steele All-Big Sky, Invited to Reese’s Senior Bowl and NFL Combine.