loved more than small-school wide receivers who dominated in the lower divisions of college football.
Jeff Janis (obviously). Aaron Mellette.
John Brown.
Charles Johnson. I loved them all and got to watch some of them prosper or have glimmers of hope. Ashton Dulin fits this profile perfectly for me. The school that he played for in college NO LONGER EXISTS.
Malone University announced in February that they are shutting down their football program.
Dulin played in all four seasons at Malone (which is both a positive and a negative). In 2015 as a true freshman, Dulin played in all 10 games as rusher/receiver/kick returner. He had 21 rushes for 106 yards and a touchdown with 19 receptions, 329 yards, and three touchdowns and returned six kickoffs for 134 yards. As a true freshman, Dulin had the second-most all-purpose yards on the team.
In 2016, Ashton Dulin became a D2 NCAA star. Dulin lead his team in receptions (50), receiving yards (825) and receiving touchdowns (4) and returned 18 kickoffs for 353 yards while racking up 1,227 all-purpose yards. He continued his ascent in 2017 where he was named first-team All-Conference in the G-MAC. Dulin accounted for a patently absurd 54.1% of Malone’s passing offense in his junior season with 59 receptions for 1,050 yards and 10 receiving touchdowns. He also added 25 kickoff returns for 524 yards. To help you keep track: Dulin has accounted for over half of his teams passing production, added return production and set school records every step of the way.
In his final collegiate season (and Malone’s, as it turns out), Ashton Dulin had 61 catches, 984 yards, and 11 touchdowns while adding three kickoff return touchdowns. He was named a Division Two All-American, added 13 rushing attempts for 120 yards and a touchdown, and ended his Malone career as the Pioneers’ all-time leader in receptions with 189, receiving yards with 3,188, and total yards with 5,455. He did everything that you would want him to do as a small-school wide receiver. These Division 2 players, they have to be so truly dominant that it looks like they are playing with middle schoolers and that is really what Dulin’s career was. He had a 61% Dominator Rating his final season at Malone which doesn’t even really have a comparable season.
The real reason to start getting excited about Ashton Dulin is how well he performed at the combine. The combination of his absurd Dominator Rating (99th percentile at 60.9%) and his physical scores is enticing. His 38″ vertical jump at 6’1, 215 puts him in a comp bucket with Corey Davis, Justin Blackmon, and Davante Parker. Those sorts of physical comps make sense to me especially Corey Davis who played at small(er) school in college and took a bit of time adjusting to the NFL despite being highly drafted. With a massive wing span, good-enough height and that explosive vertical jump, Dulin has an 86th percentile catch radius which is a positive indicator.
Here is Malone WR Ashton Dulin. At 6’1, 215lbs, he dominates with speed and explosiveness. Don’t sleep on this prospect in the ultra deep 2019 WR #NFLDraft class. #FantasyFootballpic.twitter.com/H3VTR8rg6r
— Alex Johnson (@a_johnsonFF) March 25, 2019
It is hard to learn much from watching Ashton Dulin dominate against future accountants but he certainly does look the part. This tweet from Jesse Reeves shows just how dominant Dulin was at his small school compared to several other NFL Draft wide receiver prospects.
Ashton Dulin, Malone University, WR
6’2, 210 lbs
BOA: 18
College Dominator Rating: 63.8%
Despite playing at a DII college, he led ALL of the NCAA in all purpose yards per game.
Had fun charting his MS receiving yards compared to some D1 studs.
S/O @DynastyGuruFFpic.twitter.com/fWANQJcnap
— Jesse Reeves (@JesseReevesFF) February 8, 2019
Clearly, there is a positive signal with Ashton Dulin and NFL teams know it. According to IndeOnline.com, “all but two NFL teams visited a Pioneers’ practice this season, usually more than once”. The article further notes that ‘of the 1,321 NFL Combine invitations over the last four years, only 15 have been given to Division II athletes.’ There is signal here with Ashton Dulin. He is a real NFL prospect even if he did play as a Malone Pioneer for a school that won’t have a football program anymore.
Ashton Dulin Final Verdict
Dulin did not even start playing football until his junior year of high school. The first time he touched the ball at Malone, he scored an 82-yard touchdown. He was also a track athlete in the offseason, setting school records in several different races. Dulin is an ATHLETE. Dane Brugler said about Dulin “He’s a long-striding athlete with easy acceleration into his routes to stack corners early in the rep. He looks fluid at the catch point and did a nice job adjusting to erratic throws. He needs to be more efficient at the stem to allow his athleticism to work for him and translate to separation. His route polish isn’t where it needs to be right now, but he can get there.”
Is Dulin a sure thing? No. Is he the next Jeff Janis? Probably not. He is athletic but he is not 99th percentile athletic like Janis was. I expect that Dulin will probably be a 7th round pick or sign as a priority free agent and spend the next few years playing special teams and returning kicks while he learns the intricacies of playing wide receiver in the NFL. However, he is a player that I am willing to bet on in deeper dynasty leagues and he will find himself on several of my rosters.
2019 NFL Draft Prospect Profiles:
Josh Jacobs
Kelvin Harmon
N’Keal Harry
A.J Brown
Noah Fant
Jazz Ferguson
Miles Boykin
Hakeem Butler
Devin Singletary
Parris Campbell
Gardner Minshew
Lil’Jordan Humphrey
Darrell Henderson
JJ Arcega-Whiteside
Andy Isabella
D.K Metcalf
T.J Hockenson