Late-Round TE Profiles: Jelani Woods

JELANI WOODS, TE, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

ADP: TE26, Round 17

The secret is out on Jelani Woods, whose ADP has risen to the 17th round after not being drafted for months. Woods, a player with immense potential, showed his ELITE athleticism in 2022 before injuries derailed his sophomore season. He is built like an Altered Beast after three power-ups at 6’7" with a perfect RAS score of 10. He has ELITE speed and explosiveness, two traits that can break fantasy football as a TE, although not always (SEE Mike Gesicki).  Jelani Woods' ADOT in 2022 was 10.7, which would have been second to all TEs who ran over 150 routes in 2023 after George Kittle. He also maintained a respectable .20 target per route run.  These stats were obtained with Matt Ryan and Sam Ehlinger, so they must be taken with a grain of salt since inaccurate QBs and high aDOTs/targets are like peas and carrots (SEE Kyle Pitts).

Even Jelani Woods' coach, Shane Steichen, is singing his praises. On June 7th, 2024, he lauded him, saying, “Woods really caught my eye during that session. After not seeing him on the field at all last year due to his nagging hamstring injuries. I honestly forgot how BIG and FREAKISHLY ATHLETIC Woods is.” This endorsement from his coach further solidifies Woods' potential as a matchup nightmare at TE.

Jelani Woods's skill set and profile make him a prime candidate for a late-round TE pick.  He’s an exceptional athlete in a second-year QB pass offense that targeted TEs 112 times in 2023. With a thin TE room in the Colts, Woods has the potential to be the 3rd receiving option in an improving pass offense.  In the two full games when Anthony Richardson was healthy, Kyle Granson had a 17% target share, equating to about the TE 13 over an entire season. Notably, Jelani Wood’s 2022 PFF grade is 8 points higher than Kyle Granson's—James Boyd of the Athletic projects Jelani Woods as the number 1 TE for the Indianapolis Colts. If Woods can secure a route percentage of 60%, he could easily outperform his current ADP.

Jelani Woods has three games with teams in the top 16 for TE scoring in 2023, which makes for some juicy bye-week elite TE coverage matchups for LaPorta (5), Ferguson (7), and McBride.

The concerns for Jelani Woods include that all three Colts TEs will have a role on this team. Woods also has nonspectacular yards after the catch per reception of 4.76 and a 7.7% drop in per-target percentage. Many also expect the Colts to be run-focused, with Richardson rushing for TDs.  The bull case is that Anthony Richardson will improve as a passer in his second year, especially amid the positive reports in training camp. Jelani Woods will improve as a catcher with more accurate passes than in 2022. 

Jelani Woods is the very late-round TE Konami Code TE and an easy SMASH in the 17th and 18th rounds, especially as a stack with Anthony Richardson.