What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

RB Jake Funk, Colts (1 Viewer)

Biabreakable

Footballguy
So with the Akers injury and then a quick look at Xavier Woods I decided we should learn some more about Jake Funk who could be in line for more opportunity this season as I don't think Henderson can or should get all of the opportunities that opened up.

Lance Zierliens info about Funk

The pro day metrics do seem promising as far as Funks athletiicism.

Jake Funk: new opportunity opens up for larger role as rookie for L.A. Rams

His 221-yard performance against Minnesota caught the Rams' attention.

After I watched that game, I saw it all," said Rams Senior Personnel Adviser Taylor Morton, who gave Funk the highest instincts grade of any running back in this year's draft. "I saw him as a runner, in terms of the instincts, the quickness, the speed, the toughness. Being able to catch the football. Everything we grade, I saw in that game."
Jake Funk (Maryland RB) vs Minnesota (2020)
 
Last edited:
After watching the clips vs the Gophers above full speed, I wasn't really that impressed with Funk as a runner. He does have one big run where it was blocked well and he hits the crease. You can see his speed on this play is pretty good.

He had 3 very good pass blocking reps that actually stood out to me as some of his better plays in this game.

Going to watch it again half speed. That was just my first pass at it.

 
Reminds me a little bit of a worse Rex Burkhead in his college videos. Solid at pretty much everything but no real NFL starter level skill anything. They're about the same size but Burkhead is ~10lbs heavier. Pretty similar physical profiles -- similar long jump (125" vs 122"), vertical (38" vs 39"), and bench press numbers (21 vs 22). Burkhead had a real bad 4.7 40 yard time at the combine but managed to hit somewhere in the 4.5's at the pro-day. Funk supposedly ran in the mid to high 4.4's at his. Worth keeping an eye on but I'd be really surprised if he was more than a guy who fills in for when the main runner needs a breather.

 
Reminds me a little bit of a worse Rex Burkhead in his college videos. Solid at pretty much everything but no real NFL starter level skill anything. They're about the same size but Burkhead is ~10lbs heavier. Pretty similar physical profiles -- similar long jump (125" vs 122"), vertical (38" vs 39"), and bench press numbers (21 vs 22). Burkhead had a real bad 4.7 40 yard time at the combine but managed to hit somewhere in the 4.5's at the pro-day. Funk supposedly ran in the mid to high 4.4's at his. Worth keeping an eye on but I'd be really surprised if he was more than a guy who fills in for when the main runner needs a breather.
The fact he had his "big" season as a 5th year senior is also a bit worrisome. Likely not much here except for the fact that he's in a situation where there's potentially loads of opportunity. 

 
Funk was one of my sleepers pre-draft.

He showed really good athleticism at his pro day, and had great rushing efficiency.

Downsides:
* rarely saw the field in his first 2 years
* tore his left ACL twice, cutting short each of his next 2 years
* most of his production came this year, as a 5th year senior, when he just played in 4 games

Could easily wind up doing nothing (especially given that he fell to the 7th round), but seems like a good stash.

 
So I just watched the clips vs the Gophers again at half speed.

There were two pass protection reps which were not as good as the 3 very good reps I noticed going full speed. I still like what he did on those good reps just noting that he made some mistakes here as well.

I think he needs to work on his footwork and change of direction ability. He isn't that great at making defenders miss and on one rep I saw poor balance that messed up the play. He doesn't have loose hips and he seems to be fighting himself a bit instead of having smooth fluid motion.

I watched the screen pass that ended up as an interception a few times. I think what he did on that was fine and what the linemen did was fine. Just a poor throw by the QB and a great play by the defender which is really strange to see from a Gopher.

I think the offense limits him somewhat on the pass plays, but at the same time I don't think he has that good of a feel for getting separation from coverage or setting defenders up to gain separation from coverage. This is sort of related to the footwork as well. His hands seem fine from what I saw though.

I am not sure what Taylor Morton is talking about as far as instincts go. Maybe he is talking about Funks big run? I am thinking that must be it. I was purposefully kind of looking for examples of that. Maybe I need to watch it again.

 
The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue said RB Xavier Jones "may quietly be one of the Rams’ better assets this fall," depending on Darrell Henderson's health. 

Barring a splashy free agent signing -- a distinct possibility after the Rams lost Cam Akers to an Achilles injury -- Jones could be the next guy up after Henderson, the default No. 1 back following the Akers injury. Henderson has struggled through injuries in his two NFL seasons, missing four games and parts of others with a variety of minor injuries. Jones, 24 in August, is an undrafted free agent out of Southern Methodist University (SMU) who recorded nearly 1,300 rushing yards and 23 rushing scores in his final collegiate season. Rodrigue said Akers' season-ending injury almost guarantees seventh-round rookie RB Jake Funk -- an analytics darling -- will make the Rams' final roster. Funk, 23, suffered two ACL injuries and a broken hand in college, limiting his opportunity at Maryland, where he gained 7.2 yards per carry on 135 attempts. Henderson missing time in 2021 could open up opportunities for Jones and Funk, both of whom will be highly coveted by Zero RB drafters this summer. 

RELATED: 

Cam Akers

, Darrell Henderson

, Jake Funk

SOURCE: The Athletic 

Jul 21, 2021, 9:00 AM ET

 
As a rookie, he's not available in leagues that drafted. I still have a chance in 2 leagues that haven't drafted. Maybe he'll be a little light under the sun.

 
Was just picked up in 2 of my dynasty leagues; didn't really see any new news, am I missing something?

 
McVay “You can expect to see all three of those guys at some point”

implies that Funk may be a committee member.  

 
thread rename @Biabreakable ?
Jake Funk had two rushes for ten yards in the Colts’ Week 1 loss to the Jaguars, adding one reception for 12 yards.

Funk was forced into second half snaps against Jacksonville after Evan Hull left the game with a knee injury and Deon Jackson struggled mightily as the team’s lead back. Funk could see decent run in Week 2 against the Texans if Hull is sidelined. All of this week’s Colts running backs will be droppable once Jonathan Taylor (ankle) returns from the PUP list in Week 5.

- Rotoworld
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top