Dynasty Prospect Profile: Malachi Dupre
Malachi Dupre, WR, LSU
Height: 6’2
Weight: 196
Age: 21.5
Combine results:
(percentile rank among all WRs at the Combine since 1999, courtesy of mockdraftable.com):
40-yard dash: 4.52 seconds (45th)
Vertical: 39.5” (90th)
Broad: 135” (98th)
3-cone: 7.19 seconds (11th)
20-yard shuttle: 4.26 seconds (37th)
College career:
Dupre’s college career fell way short of expectations. Rivals.com tabbed him as a 5-star recruit and the #15 overall prospect in the 2014 class. ESPN had him 17th overall and #1 at WR.
He showed flashes as a freshman, averaging 22.7 yards per catch and finishing 2nd on the team in TD receptions. Dupre emerged as the Tigers’ #1 WR in 2015, leading the team in catches, yards and TDs. But he still ranked outside the top 80 in the country in all 3 marks.
Dupre’s numbers took a step back this past year, although he still led the squad in catches and yards.
He certainly wasn’t helped by a popgun LSU passing game. The Tigers didn’t crack the top 100 in passing yards in any of Dupre’s 3 seasons. They ranked 79th in passing TDs in 2014, followed by 105th- and 110th-place finishes. Dupre played with a different starting QB all 3 years.
His numbers look significantly better from a market-share perspective. Dupre accounted for 21.3% of LSU’s receptions, 24.5% of the receiving yards and 33.3% of the TDs over the past 3 seasons. He actually finished with a better career TD market share than Mike Williams, John Ross and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Dupre also bested Williams and Ross in career catch and yardage market share.
Film study:
Courtesy of DraftBreakdown.com
Games watched - Florida (2015), Alabama (2015), Wisconsin, Mississippi St., Southern Mississippi, Texas A&M
Full disclosure: I watched 6 games of Dupre and didn’t come away with a whole lot to say about him.
LSU deployed a run-heavy offense and very vanilla passing game. There’s plenty to see of Dupre as a blocker (where he’s solid). But he totaled just 30 targets (plus 2 pass interferences) in the 6 games I saw.
The majority of Dupre’s routes were either flies or outs — and they weren’t particularly impressive. With subpar change of direction and burst, his routes are often slow and rounded.
Dupre isn’t nearly as good in contested situations as you’d like from a 6’2 receiver.
On the plus side, he flashes some play-making ability after the catch.
Dupre played both out wide and in the slot for LSU, so he’ll bring some versatility to the next level.
Fantasy potential:
The best we can say for Dupre is that he’s a relatively young prospect and hails from the school that recently produced WRs Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry.
Dupre, of course, isn’t in the same stratosphere as those guys in either production or talent. There isn’t a single aspect of his game that really stands out at this point.
He’s certainly a long shot to make an immediate NFL impact. And I’d be surprised if he develops into anything more than a #3 WR.