Sleepers of the Draft

Every year, we see talented players slide endlessly into the later rounds of the draft. Some may have had bad combines, suffered from injuries, or played for a smaller school causing them to remain relatively unkown. When given their opportunity, there are a handful of these late-round selections who burst onto the NFL scene and leave scouts saying, "How did we miss this guy?" It happens every year. We had Alfred Morris, Russell Wilson, and Vontaze Burfict reveal their talent of the biggest stage. As a 6th round pick out of small school Florida Atlantic, Morris finished 2nd in the NFL in rushing. Considered to be too short to be an NFL quarterback, Wilson was selected in the 3rd round and quickly established himself as one of the most efficient passers in the league this past year - helping to lead the Seahawks into the playoffs. Burfict was once considered a first round pick, but a bad combine and some negative reviews in the interview process caused his draft stock to plummet. However, he was still picked up by the Bengals as an undrafted free agent and never looked back once he got his opportunity as a starter - tallying over 100 tackles in his rookie campaign. Obviously there were more sleepers than just these three players, but these are some great examples of undervalued players who come up big at the next level. While the first round of the NFL Draft gets the most publicity, valuable picks in the later rounds of the draft help to build a team for the long haul. So who can your team pickup after the 1st round?


QUINTON PATTON - WR - Louisiana Tech

While the bigger receivers like Cordarelle Patterson and Keenan Allen have a lot of hype surrounding them as potential first round picks, Quinton Patton may be the best player in the draft that you've never heard of. At 6-foot 205 pounds, Patton is a quick footed receiver who is an excellent route runner with a knack for making big plays. In his two years as a starter at LA Tech, Patton came down with 183 receptions for 2,594 yards and 24 touchdowns. This small school stud is an aggressive blocker in the open field, and is a master at getting off of press coverage at the line of scrimmage. He uses his feet and hands well to move his defender at the line of scrimmage allowing him enough seperation to develop his route. I urge all readers to watch his game against Texas A&M, in which he tallied 21 receptions and 4 touchdowns:

DJ HARPER - RB - Bosie State

Boise State appears to be quite the running back factory, churning out 1st round selection Doug Martin (aka "Muscle Hamster") of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who had a solid rookie season. But before Doug Martin became the starter at Boise State, he had to play second fiddle to DJ Harper. Martin only got the starting job because Harper tore the ACL in his left knee two years in a row. While this will be red flag to many teams, he has the ability to be a decent back at the next level if he checks out medically. Once considered the fastest player on the Boise State squad, Harper has decent vision and an explosive burst when in the open field. He easily shakes off arm tackles, and his lateral agility make him tough to tackle in the open field. Harper will likely be a very late round selection in the 2013 NFL Draft, but reminds me a lot of DeMarco Murray:

Side Note:

Sitting behind DJ Harper this past season was freshman Jay Ajayi, who is a strong back with suprising lateral quickness and top end speed. At 6 foot 220+ pounds, it makes you wonder how Alabama passed up such a running back prospect. Look for him to have a big year as Boise State's feature back in the 2013 season. He has the talent and build to become a productive NFL back in the future: