DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2014 NFL Season NFL Draft 2014 Who's your late round sleeper?

Every year we see it guys...several players picked late that pan out to be legit football players...who's your pick as perhaps a late round gem?

I'll go with CB from Texas Carrington Byndom...he was projected a 2nd-3rd round pick last year...elected to stay his senior year...and well we know Texas didn't play all that well...the kid is mocked in most drafts as a late pick or UDFA...has very good size 6'0 180 4.48 speed...was snubbed from this years combine...I think he had hammy issue and I really liked the kid last year...I know he had zero picks his senior year...but Texas always produces pretty good secondary players (Vasher, Griffin, Williams, Thomas, Vaccaro, Jammer, etc) Kid has zero off field baggage...but obviously had an inconsistent year to drop so much...here's a nice YouTube clip http://m.youtube.com/v/sh0vdhETyBA

I don't know much about the kid... I do like his size though. CB is also a position of need IMO

Jerrick McKinnon RB GSU

Once he learns how to run at a tilt he'll be unstoppable. Another muscle midget.

I don't know how late he is going to go, but I'll say Jordan Zumwalt from UCLA. The dude is a straight up crazy person and aggressive as all get out.

RB McKinnon man I never knew that guy was that fast...and when he did his long jump...I thought he was going to leap off the screen...shows lots of lower body explosiveness

Jordan Najvar TE Baylor, love this kid reminds me of steve Heiden. If you like combine winners this one is not for you. He is big, slow but catches everything thrown his way and is a vicious blocker. 6 or 7 rounder but will probably be a 10-15 year player.

I think Isaiah Crowell is the most talented RB in the entire class. I also think he will last until the latter rounds. Not saying he will make it, but he is worth the shot.

Here is a link to an article in which Crowell says the Browns have expressed an interest in him.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000...-isaiah-crowell

La'Damien Washington Wr Missouri

Devin Street, WR Pitt. Tough & catches everything. Projects 4th-5th round.

Tom Savage QB Pittisburg. 6'4 230lbs

21 TD's, 9 INT's, 2,958 yards

Gil Brandt compared Savage to a player he scouted when he worked for the Cowboys. Troy Aikman after watching hin throw for 6 TD's againts Duke last year.

Mike Mayock also feels he could be a real sleeper in the draft due to his boucing around in college. He started his career at Rutgers but lost his job when he was injured and Dodd came in and played really well. Greg Shiano went with Dodd because he did not want to remove a "HOT" QB. Savage transferred to Arizona but while sitting out his transfer year Arizona hired Rich Rod. Savage is a pocket passer and did not fit Rich Rod's spread option attack. He then transferred to Pitt.

Strengths-
Has a cannon for an arm. quick release, moves in the pocket well, shows good ability to lead receivers, like Big ben has shruggged off defenders and extended plays, decent speed to escape in the pocket but not a threat to run the ball.

Weakness -
Needs to have better touch on short routes, passes hang when throwing on the run, relies heavily on arm strength to beat defenders needs to learn to move defenders with eyes and pump fakes, body of work is limited due to transfers.

Would be a nice project to draft in the 5th or later.

Seeing as how I know nothing about the upcoming draft.

I vote for Peter Lalich, UDFA

jc

Some good sleeper candidates already mentioned in this thread, good work guys.

I particularly like Norwood as a bigger slot WR with WR2 upside. Some of the RBs mentioned also have a shot at making it in the league, but my man crush at RB is James White from Wisconsin. Guy reminds me of Fred Jackson or Alfred Morris, as in: he does a lot of things well, but none of them "wow" you or flash, but he has little to no weaknesses in his game. He is a well rounded 3 down RB and in the later rounds those guys are rare. He runs with a great mix of instincts and wiggle between the tackles and is not afraid to go in there, unlike some bigger name guys in this draft who look to bounce a lot of runs outside. He's very smart, plays situational football and is an aware and good pass protector too. I really had a hard time finding any negative in his game.
I think his low draft status is because of the deep class and the fact that he was on the same roster as Gordon. He's a big time sleeper imho.

Other guys that are slated to go later on day 3 but in my opinion have a good shot at becoming starters include:

ILB Bullough (perfect mash 2 down ILB at worst in a 3-4)
CB/FS D.Johnson (good FS candidate)
CB W.Aikens (small school press corner)
RG Trai Turner (not a ZBS fit although he has very good athleticism. Just pushes DL out of the way)
DE Urban...this guy is the perfect 5-Tech DE with the versatility to play in a lot of formations. Very underrated.
TE Crockett Gilmore...cool name, underrated game. Good blocker, like a 6th OL and has enough athleticism to work out as a receiving option too.

Some deep sleepers (probably UDFA) that I think have a shot at making a roster and more down the line:

ILB Morris...found him when I was looking at Kirksey's tape. Guy's a very, very good and dependable ILB
C/G Harrison...underrated big school blocker
G Fulton....see above

My VERY deep sleepers are two RBs:

Zurlon Tipton from CMU and Reaves from UAB.

It will be very hard for them to get a chance considering how crowded backfields are and how much the NFL depth charts get filled by name recognition (see McGahee vs Baker), but those two should get into a camp as the 5th/6th RBs and should make some PS. They looked like they belonged with the others when I watched them.

aaron murray......who i feel maybe the best QB in the draft.

j/c

Kenny Guiton backup QB OSU

I have two guys who you may or may not have heard but could become really great players:

Marcel Jensen- TE Fresno State

Caraun Reid- DE/T Princeton

Both of those are really late guys I haven't seen mentioned who I believe can be really great players if given time and coaching.

I also love Crowell who has been mentioned, and Preston Brown.

My pick is Wesley Johnson, OT/G/C from Vanderbilt. At the combine he measured in at 6' 5 3/8", 297 pounds. Started 51 games, played both tackle spots and some guard and center. He is athletic and smart and blocks well on the move.

He needs to add some strength, but I think he could do that at the next level.

In a zone blocking scheme I think he develops into no worse than an extremely valuable 6th lineman, if not a quality starter.

I see him projected as a 7th round pick, or an UDFA. But I like him.

I also like Jay Bromley, DT out of Syracuse in the 6th or 7th to potentially provide some interior pass rush.

I can't argue with you neighbor. A versatile o-lineman that can play multiple positions is never a bad thing.

Connor Shaw

My late round sleeper is the same every year, but for some reason I keep going undrafted...

I've been draft eligible for 7 years now!

Erik Lora, WR from Eastern Illinois.

I have watched several of their games to check out Garoppolo and he keeps showing up every single week. The kid is a baller and is going to make some team a nice slot receiver. The Browns should take him in the 7th to mix in with Andrew Hawkins.

Some of you can never let it go. Shot after shot after shot after shot. Then, you freak when someone defends one of those guys and get upset when someone criticizes any move that H and H made or Farmer has made.

But yeah, we started it.

Let it go, man.

WR Jeremy Gallon and WR Devin Street I put 3rd round "grades" on and I bet I'm not the only one.

WR Chandler Jones from San Jose State is a guy who ai think will actually go late but is talented. Same with Josh Stewart from Oklahoma State. Both are slot guys.

C/OG Corey Linsley Ohio State I've been talking up all season.

NT Beau Allen from Wisconsin... You can see a big difference in their defense when he's in there and when he's not.

QB Stephen Morris from Miami is the best QB that will be taken outside the top 100. Casey Pachall has some skills too, but I think is less likely to fulfill his potential.

I really liked Adam Muema before I found out he was a crazy person.

CB Andre Hal from Vandy can be very good if he gets into a zone scheme. He uses strange man technique that leaves him trying to catch up.

LB from OK State is really slow but has special instincts. He's better than Borland IMO who is way overrated.

Oh yeah and one more OG prospect Tyler Shatley of Clemson is pretty good, too.

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QB Stephen Morris from Miami is the best QB that will be taken outside the top 100.

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Don't really know any of the other people you mentioned, but Stephen Morris has never impressed me. I don't think he's an NFL QB. Not for long at least.

I don't think he's particularly accurate and he doesn't make good decisions.

How many QBs usually get drafted? Because I'd rather take the usual crop of 8 (JFootball, Teddy, Blake, Carr, that Eastern Illinois guy, MacCaron, Mettenberger, Murray) right off the back. Then Hundley makes 9. I'd rather have Conor Shaw. That's 10. Can't think of any other QBs in the draft right now. Didn't get a chance to watch the Southern Methodist QB.

But yeah, not impressed with Morris

Well, Hundley is not in this draft. I think I have Morris behind JM, TB, DC, AM, and that might be it.

He's not really a sleeper, but I wouldn't mind a 6th or 7th round flyer on Logan Thomas, QB, Virginia Tech. He's 6-6, 250lbs, runs 4.61, and appears to throw really well (yeah, it was a highlight video). Issues, according to the guys at CBS (Brugler, Rang, Prisco) are footwork and a resulting lack of accuracy. They also question his drive and desire.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1691193/logan-thomas

Even if he's not a prospect at QB, he could be an interesting TE conversion project. Of course, that assumes he can catch the ball.