Conference Preview: PAC-12

Conference Preview: PAC-12

This article is part of our Conference Preview series.

Welcome to the tenth and final installment of our Conference Preview series with a look at the PAC-12. This conference is well represented in the top 10 across all skill positions, headlined by our top overall player in Khalil Tate. Beyond Tate is a bevy of other great players primed for huge seasons as well.

For each conference preview, we will have first-,second-, and third-team All-Fantasy teams as well as sleeper and bust selections. To the right of each player's name will be their overall positional ranking.

All-PAC-12 Fantasy Team


First Team

QB: Khalil Tate, Arizona (1)

RB: Bryce Love, Stanford (2)

RB: Miles Gaskin, Washington (4)

WR: N'Keal Harry, Arizona State (11)

WR: Tyler Vaughns, USC (30)

TE: Noah Togiai, Oregon State (4)

Second Team

QB: Justin Herbert, Oregon (17)

RB: Zach Moss, Utah (8)

RB: Patrick Laird, California (9)

WR: Theo Howard, UCLA (37)

WR: Michael Pittman, Jr., USC (65)

TE: Caleb Wilson, UCLA (5)

Third Team

QB: Tyler Huntley, Utah (19)

RB: Eno Benjamin, Arizona State (12)

RB: Stephen Carr, USC (28)

WR: Dillon Mitchell, Oregon (73)

WR: Juwann Winfree, Colorado (77)

TE: Jacob Breeland, Oregon (12)

Sleepers

Gardner Minshew, QB, Washington State
Minshew, a graduate transfer from East Carolina, still needs to win the starting job in Pullman, but if he does he will be surrounded by the most talented group of position players he's ever had at his disposal. After finally taking hold of the starting job down the stretch last year, Minshew topped 350 yards passing in three of his final four games. In addition to a talent upgrade, he moves to Mike Leach's offense that has seen its starting QB throw for 30 TDs in each of the last five seasons.

Travon McMillian, RB, Colorado
McMillian posted an impressive freshman season at Virginia Tech, leading the Hookies in rushing as he topped 1,000 yards rushing. But his production began to peter off to where he found himself in a timeshare. So McMillian graduated early, packed his bags and headed west, where he'll look to replace workhorse Phillip Lindsey. Colorado likes to lean heavily on one back, and McMillian could be in prime position to rediscover the magic he flashed as a freshman.

JT Daniels, QB, USC
It's hard to call the Gatorade Male Athlete of the Year and one of the top quarterback recruits in the 2018 class a sleeper, but it's also hard to gauge exactly how well a true freshman will transition to the college game, especially at the most important position in the sport. Daniels enters the season ranked ninth in the Pac-12 Rotowire projections for quarterback, but the talented youngster could far exceed that finish if he earns the starting job out of camp.

Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, USC
St. Brown is another talented USC freshman making waves at the fall camp. While he has serious competition at the receiver spot, he has more familiarity with quarterback JT Daniels than any other receiver on the roster, as the two were high school teammates.

Kanawai Noa, WR, California
Noa is second on the depth chart at Cal behind Vic Wharton at receiver, but as the No. 2 target in the offense, he should still see plenty of targets come his way. Quarterback Ross Bowers will be looking to improve on his 3,039 passing yards from a year ago, and to do that he'll look to his upperclassmen targets.

Busts

Manny Wilkins, QB, Arizona State
Wilkins being listed as a bust has less to do with his talent as it is the uncertainty of what new coach Herm Edwards' offense will look like after nearly a decade out of coaching and three decades out of the college game. Wilkins was impressive last year, throwing for more than 3,000 passing yards and improving his TD-to-interception ratio, but if Arizona State switches to a more NFL-style offense, he could see his numbers take a step back.

Wilton Speight, QB, UCLA
Speight enters his second-life as a college quarterback after transferring to UCLA from Michigan. While Speight showed promise at Michigan before injuries derailed his career, he's not the typical quarterback that comes to mind when you think of a Chip Kelly-run offense.

Nathan Tilford, RB, Arizona
Tilford could see opportunities despite being second on the depth chart and third in the pecking order for carries due to Arizona's offense, Tilford will still be in a reserve role and accumulated more than half of his career yards in garbage time of an early season blow-out last year. Tilford will have to fend off former receiver Gary Brightwell who the new coaching staff switched to running back this spring.

Stephen Carr, RB, USC
Carr is another talented player who finds himself on the list less to do with his potential than with his situation. Carr will find himself in a timeshare, splitting carries with Aca'cedric Ware, and was held out of spring ball with a back injury that required surgery.

Renard Bell, WR, Washington State
Any receiver on Washington State has potential due to Mike Leach's Air Raid offense, which produces lots of opportunities for its receivers. However, the offense also spreads the ball around, which means while many players get involved, it can be hard to rely on any receiver on a week-to-week basis.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ethan Padway
Padway covers college football for RotoWire. He is a firm believer that teams should go for it on fourth down.
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