Dynasty Prospect Profile: J.J. Arcega-Whiteside
J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, WR, Stanford
Height: 6’2
Weight: 225
Age: 22.2
Combine results:
Arcega-Whiteside did not work out at the Combine. Stanford’s Pro Day is on April 4.
College career:
Arcega-Whiteside’s raw college production is good. His market-share numbers are excellent.
The 2016 Cardinal ranked 114th in passing yards and 92nd in passing scores. Arcega-Whiteside, then a sophomore, led that squad in receiving TDs, accounting for one-third of the total. He also finished 2nd with an 18.4% share of the receiving yards.
Arcega-Whiteside boosted his numbers across the board as a junior, despite Stanford ranking just 84th in passing yards and 47th in TDs. He led the team in all major receiving categories, soaking up 23.1% of the receptions, 29.9% of the yards and 39.1% of the TDs.
Stanford’s passing game took a big step forward this past year, finishing 27th in yards and 16th in TDs. But Arcega-Whiteside still managed to improve his market shares. He tallied 25.6% of the team’s catches, 33.1% of the yards and a whopping 56.0% of the TDs. Those marks rank 20th, 15th and 2nd among the 48 WRs who were invited to the Combine.
Arcega-Whiteside also shined in efficiency. He caught 67% of his targets and averaged 16.8 yards per catch — good for an 11.3 yards-per-target average that was 46.8% better than the rest of Stanford’s pass catchers. He ranked 12th among all draft-eligible WRs in yards per route run (3.03), according to Pro Football Focus.
Arcega-Whiteside was named All-Pac 12 Second Team and a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist.
Film study:
Courtesy of @WhatsOnDraftNFL
Games watched - Oregon (2017), TCU (2017), Oregon, Notre Dame, Washington State
Arcega-Whiteside’s tape checks just about every box.
He’s a big dude at 6’2 and 225 pounds with an 80-inch wingspan (90th percentile among WRs at the Combine since 1999). An all-state basketball player and McDonald’s All-America nominee, he plays WR like he’s rebounding.
Arcega-Whiteside bullies DBs and hasn’t seen a jump ball that he can’t win.
He’s a natural hands catcher who plucks the ball away from his body. Pro Football Focus charged him with a solid 6.0% drop rate in 2018. Combine that with that wingspan and he’s like a vacuum out there.
But Arcega-Whiteside can also win in the “small receiver” game. He’s exceptionally quick off the line of scrimmage and has good burst at the top of his routes to create separation.
Arcega-Whiteside isn’t a burner in the open field, but he has enough wiggle and tackle-breaking ability to do some damage after the catch.
Arcega-Whiteside didn’t run a wide variety of routes at Stanford and wasn’t great running comebacks. He needs to do a better job selling the vertical route and then breaking back hard to the ball. With his frame, though, he should be capable of improving on that route.
Fantasy potential:
Arcega-Whiteside is a super intriguing prospect. He boasts some of the best market-share numbers in this WR class, accounting for 30.7% of Stanford’s receiving yards and a whopping 46.7% of the receiving scores over the last 3 years. The tape shows a guy with a rare blend of size and quickness — plus a huge catch radius.
We’re missing measurables from Arcega-Whiteside after he sat out Combine drills. Hopefully he’ll participate at his Pro Day in early April. I’d expect him to test as at least an average NFL athlete for his size — and it wouldn’t surprise me if he posted impressive marks in the jumping and agility drills.
Seemingly flying under the radar, Arcega-Whiteside looks like 1 of the biggest sleepers in this deep WR class. We’ll see if his Pro Day and/or the NFL Draft changes that before your dynasty rookie draft.