Five Bulldogs that would make great fantasy picks

STARKVILLE – The NFL and the SEC are two of the traditional pillars in the fall. For those not on the field, fantasy football ranks as one of the biggest draws from September through December.

Aaron Rodgers, Jamal Charles and Calvin Johnson headline the desires of fantasy football owners each season.

But what if Mississippi State players were available?

Here are the top fantasy picks if Bulldogs were eligible.

Malik Dear

Fantasy drafts can be made through late-round picks, especially if you're in a keeper league. Dear wouldn't be at the top of many rankings, but he's primed as a sleeper this season.

The true freshman enrolled early and played running back, wide receiver and saw action in the return game as well. He's bound to find the field in some role.

MSU listed him as a wide receiver on signing day, but he saw action out of the backfield in April. The Bulldogs need to replace Josh Robinson's 28 catches for 370 yards some way. Dear could be a part of that.

Aeris Williams

Speaking of Robinson, Aeris Williams could be the front-runner to replace the Indianapolis Colts' running back. Robinson gained more than 1,500 total yards last season. He rushed for 1,203 in addition to his 370 yard receiving.

Williams signed with Mississippi State as the best player in the state as Mr. Football in the Magnolia State.

Dontavian Lee pushed for the starting job in the spring, but Williams impressed too. He rushed for 186 yards and a touchdown. He also caught eight passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns.

Like Dear, Williams' value would come in the late rounds. Mississippi State's running back produced nearly 1,600 yards of offense with 12 touchdowns. Someone has to account for those yards, why not Williams?

Fred Ross

Fred Ross is a No. 2 wide receiver with No. 1 talent. He and De'Runnya Wilson arrived on campus two years ago. Ross was projected as the best wide receiver in the class. Injuries hampered Ross and Wilson took off.

SEC defenses are going to focus on Wilson, which might leave Ross with single coverage on the opposite side of the field. With that type of coverage, Ross could break out even more than he did in 2014.

Ross caught nine passes for 115 yards without a touchdown as a freshman. His sophomore season ended with 489 yards and 30 receptions for five touchdowns. He finished second on the team in yards and touchdowns. He also led Mississippi State averaging 16.3 yards per catch. So the big play ability is there too.

His third year in the program should produce even bigger numbers. He may be MSU's No. 2, but a lot of teams in the SEC would take him as their No. 1.

De'Runnya Wilson

The 6-foot-5 wide receiver is on pace to become Mississippi State's all-time leading receiver. De'Runnya Wilson has followed the pace set by Chad Bumphis – who is MSU's all-time leader – through his first two years.

Any time a program's all-time receiver is available, it's a good thing to snatch him in the draft.

Wilson led Mississippi State with 47 receptions for 680 yards and nine touchdowns.

There's room for those numbers to grow too. Wilson didn't catch a pass against South Alabama and UT Martin. He caught only two passes against UAB and Arkansas.

So Wilson caught 43 passes for 643 yards in eight games. That's an average of five receptions for 80 yards in those games. Extend that average to all 12 games and Wilson's numbers balloon to 63 receptions for 963 yards. That total would have ranked fourth in the SEC last year.

Dak Prescott

As the best quarterback in the SEC and a preseason contender for the Heisman Trophy, Dak Prescott wouldn't only be the first Bulldog selected, he'd likely be the first overall pick in the SEC.

As a junior he led the league in total yards with 4,435. He's the only player in the SEC returning who finished in the top 5 of total offense.

No other player had more than 3,837 (Alabama's Blake Sims) last year. South Carolina's Dylan Thompson finished third with 3,502. Patrick Towles of Kentucky is the only returning player who finished in the top six. The Wildcats quarterback totaled 3,021 yards last year, about 1,400 yards less than Prescott.

Only Georgia's Nick Chubb returns in 2015 having rushed for more touchdowns than Prescott in 2014. Chubb tallied 16, one more than Prescott. But MSU's quarterback also threw for 27 touchdowns, which was second in the league to Sims.

There's some debate whether Prescott enters 2015 as the SEC best player. It ends when deciding which player would be the league's best fantasy player.

Contact Michael Bonner at mbonner@gannett.com. Follow @MikeBBonner on Twitter.