By John Sarianides
Every year a handful of teams will discover that diamond in the rough in the draft that will change the fortunes of their team. Most of the time, that player is from a small school. The Patriots took a chance on an undrafted free agent cornerback from West Alabama named Malcolm Butler. Butler competed, made the team and the rest is history.
Here are ten diamonds in the rough that could contribute as rookies.
1. Trey Henderickson, DE, 6-4 266 Florida Atlantic: Henderickson was a man among boys in the East-West Shrine game. The five technique defensive end is explosive off the ball, can rush the pass consistently and offers scheme versatility in that he can play with his hand in the dirt or out of a two point stance. Which ever team drafts Hendrickson will get an immediate impact player in sub packages with the potential to start down the road.
2. Brian Hill, RB, 6-1 220, Wyoming: Hill had a highly productive 2016 season rushing for 1,860 yards and 22 touchdowns. At 6-1 220, he has terrific size, runs behind his pads and can separate in the open field. His 4.54 forty time isn’t great but it is good enough. Hill reminds a great deal of Bears running back Jordan Howard. He could be highly productive as a rookie in a time share.
3. Alex Torgersen, QB, 6-2 229 Penn: Torgersen is accurate from the pocket and can make many of the signature NFL throws. He can throw the ball hash to hash and has shown good anticipation and touch on late breaking routes. He was well coached at Penn and had full control of the offense. Torgersen will not be ready to play as a rookie but if he is given time to develop, he could at the very least develop into a quality back-up.
4. Gerald Everett, TE, 6-3 239 South Alabama: Move tight ends who create match-ups are all the rage in football today. Everett is one of the best in this class. He can move around in formations and create match-ups against linebackers, safeties and sub defensive backs. He has plus hands and a wide catch radius. Everett isn’t as effective a blocker as you would like but he can block in space. Teams that are looking for a match up tight end in the red zone will take a long look at Everett late in day two or early in day three.
5. Francis Owusu, WR, 6-4 219, Stanford: Owusu has great size at 6-4 219 and can fly. He has run a 4.37 forty officially. He has the length and the ball skills to be an elite match up generator on the backside of formations. Owusu can also separate after the catch once he gets in space. Owusu is unpolished as a route runner and can be inconsistent but the physical talents are too much to pass up late in day three.
6. Tanoh Kpassagnon, DE, Villanova, 6-7 290: A freakish athlete for his size who is long and has tremendous get off. Kpassagnon is clay ready to be molded by the right defensive line coach. Chiseled and well built, Kpassagnon has the size, speed combo teams look for the in the defensive end position. He can play the nine technique in a base 4-3 and kick inside in sub packages.
7. Connor Harris, 5-11 242, Lindenwood: Harris might be short in stature but he has elite instincts and is a tackling machine. One of the best finishers in this draft. Harris plays with great leverage and he is physical at the contact point when he makes a tackle. Teams may pass on Harris because of his 5-11 frame and his lack of college competition but that would be a mistake. At the very least, he’s a valuable contributor on special teams.
8. Xavier Coleman, CB, 5-11 189, Portland State: Coleman has good size and terrific ball skills. He has enough size to play on the outside but teams may draft him to play in the slot as a nickel or dime defensive back. Cornerbacks are more polished than ever now thanks in large part to spread offenses. Coleman might not have faced elite competition at Portland State but physically, he is more than ready to play in the NFL.
9. Lorenzo Jerome, SS, 5-10 204, Saint Francis (PA): If you watched the Senior Bowl, you couldn’t help but be impressed with Jerome. He is a missle in run support. Jerome is a box safety who can be effective as the eighth man down or as a blitzer. Jerome has had some issues in coverage over the top but he can play in sub packages and could be a special teams maven.
10. Grover Stewart, NT, 6-4 347, Albany State: Stewart is a space eater who good get off on the snap of the ball and can be effective on twists and stunts. He is ideal suited to play the zero nose tackle in the 3-4 but he can play the shade tackle in the 4-3 as well. He will be a great day three value or a PFA for the right team.