Vince Mayle currently is not a commonly used name in fantasy circles. Mayle plays wide receiver for the Washington State Cougars, which have been out of the national spot light due to not having a winning season since 2003. Also contributing to anonymity of Mayle, is that fact that this is only his second season playing division one college football. For evidence that the fantasy community is little paying attention to him, look no further than DynastyFantasyLeague.com’s recent four round rookie mock drafts; Mayle was not selected even once. In spite of his little buzz, there are more reasons than his recent Biltenikoff semi-finalist announcement to keep an eye on this prospect.
Arizona’s Cayleb Jones + WSU’s Vince Mayle and River Cracraft have all been added to the Biletnikoff Award watch list.
— Kyle Bonagura (@BonaguraESPN) October 7, 2014
Measurables
Vince Mayle physically looks the part to be a dominant receiver at the NFL level, standing 6’3″ and 219 lbs. This is down from the 240 lbs he weighed while in junior college at Shasta. He reportedly ran a 4.5 forty before starting at Washington State. Thus he could potentially be even faster. Another reason some may by sleeping on Mayle, is because his age-adjusted production, which RotoViz’s Jon Moore refers to as a Phenom Index, is only -0.78. It is true that Mayle is 23 years old, but he did not participate in football in his first two years of college. It is possible that that Phenom Index is useful because it measures how dominant a receiver is when he has less experience. If this idea is used, an argument could be made that Mayle’s Phenom Index should be higher. It is also worth noting that this Phenom Index was based on partial year stats, and Mayle has continued to light up box scores this season. On the other hand, Mayle does very well in the Rotoviz Freak score metric. Mayle scores a 67, which ties Alshon Jeffrey and is one point higher than A.J. Green.
RT“@NDTScouting: @StarvingScout what do you think of Mayle, if you don’t mind me asking?” Size & speed best assets. Lets ball into his body.
— Jordan Plocher (@StarvingScout) November 21, 2014
Production
Vince Mayle has been a beast this year putting up 86 receptions for 1152 yards, and nine touchdowns through 11 games. Mayle was also a strong red zone threat in his only year of junior college, compiling 16 touchdowns. This propelled him to be named the All-California and Valley Conference Offensive MVP. Negatives on film are that he looks raw in his route running and often lets the ball get into him. On the plus side, he has the look of a man among boys when high pointing touchdowns or bowling over defensive backs. Mayle also is accustom to being the focus of opposing secondaries, which helps makes the case for his NFL viability.
History and Character
It is a legaitamate question to ask why is Mayle so old, and what has he been doing between high school and Washington State. The year following high school, Mayle only played basketball at Shasta Junior College where he averaged 8.0 ppg and was known for winning dunk contests. The following year he returned home to take care of his mother after an accident and attended Sierra College. The next year his high school football coaches convinced him to play football again where he obliterated the California Community College Association. After that historic junior college year, he was pursued by many programs, but felt most comfortable at Washington State. Some may question Mayle’s football drive due to his seemingly meandering path. On the other hand, we can also see strong individual who takes care of his family, put education first, and makes good decisions instead of jumping at the next shiny thing.
Going Forward
Vince Mayle has serious physical talents but is raw and has enough question marks to fall in the NFL draft and in dynasty drafts. This is the type of high upside talent that is great to pounce on later in rookie drafts. There is a chance the Biltenikoff publicity, a big combine, and rising in the NFL draft could make Mayle’s ADP soar. Although at his current post fourth round rookie ADP price, Mayle is one to watch.
