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Hidden Gems

Tuesday, March 04, 2008 by Jason Baudendistel

This report was submitted to us by Jason Baudendistel, big fan of both the Bears and he has an eye for small school talent.  We hope to have more posts like this from him in the near future.  You can check out his latest draft here.

Hidden Gems and Draft Sleepers

Every year you have players who no one expects to be that good.  They play for a small school or they merely do not get the press that some other players do. The 2006 Draft offered up Marques Colston, he was drafted by the Saints in the seventh round and had a monster year.  The late rounds of the 2007 Draft proved to be vital for the NY Giants run for the Super Bowl.

In this psot I have listed five players that I believe will be impact players in the NFL. Impact does not necessarily mean a starter, but a player who can contribute even if in a backup role. Several of these players as I will note will be possible starters. Many of these names will surprise you, but I am confident most if not all of them will go between rounds 4 -7 in the draft. 

Josh Johnson, QB, San Diego

Be honest, until the combine you had no idea who he was and many people still are not looking that closely at him. He will probably go much later than he should. He might go as high as the second or third round but he's first round talent that is why he is on this list. He played under head coach Jim Harbaugh who was a successful NFL quarterback himself. His final year in college he threw 43 touchdown passes and only one interception. He also happened to run a 4.40 40 at the combine and had a chance to display his cannon of am arm.  He will start somewhere and plenty of general managers will surely be kicking themselves.

Player Comparison: Donavan Mcnabb 

Dexter Jackson, WR, Appalachian State

A 4.37 40 at the combine may have widened some eyes, but what impressed me more about Dexter Jackson was watching his play in the Michigan game.  He put up almost a hundred yards and two touchdowns against a very good defense. He will be a dangerous slot receiver for years to come.  He also happens to be a dangerous return man, so should be able to pitch in almost immediately.

Player Comparison: Torry Holt
 
Kevin Smith, RB, Central Florida
He nearly broke the single season rushing record held by Barry Sanders.  He has a good blend of quickness, speed and has excellent vision. His level of competition and foot speed has been constantly scrutinized and this will probably cause him to be selected much later than he should.  I see no reason why he would not be a quality starter, if he is given the chance.

Player Comparison: Brian Westbrook

Kerry Brown, G, Appalachian State
He is a solid blocker and has a great attitude.  He is also a very hard nosed and hard working player. He kept Michigan out of his quarterback's backfield so enough said.

Given his play at a small school and lack of publicity, he will probably slip to late in the second day, where some NFL team will pickup quite a steal.

Player Comparison: Flozell Adams
 
Jerome Simpson, WR, Coastal Carolina

At 6'2 and a 4.47 40, Jerome has a good blend of size and speed. He has good hands and is also a excellent option as a punt returner. He is a smart player with good open field quickness. He impressed everyone at the combine displaying good hands and athleticism.

Player Comparison: Bobby Wade

Bonus Player

Corey Lynch, S, Appalachian State
If I were an undefeated team that beat Michigan and several of my players were looked at as undraftable I would feel cheated too. Lynch is the prototypical safety who has good speed and range. He also managed to come up big on special teams, blocking the field goal that preserved their upset win over Michigan. He is an extremely intelligent player. His foot speed is very average and played for a small school so unfortunately he'll go late but someone will take him and get a steal.  At the very least, I believe he will make an excellent special teams player and serve as a great backup. Nonetheless, given a chance in the right system, he could be a quality starter.

Player Comparison: Ed Reed

*Current Player Comparison is not who I think these players are equal too right now. It's more of if they reach their potential, players that I feel they can make a similar impact as if they reach their potential.

If you are interested in contributing on MyMockDraft, please contact us.  We are looking for a few writers to cover various NFL teams and NCAA conferences.

Comments (11)

  1. Dexter Jackson will be a slot receiver and kick returner, the comparison to Torry Holt is crazy. Wes Welker is more like it.

    Kevin Smith isn't as good out of the backfield as Westbrook. Probably doesn't have quite the moves of someone like Westbrook either. He's better at finding the right angles and beating defenders by sheerly running at better pure angles.

    Jerome Simpson to Bobby Wade? His draft stock would probably plummit if people thought he would be as good as Bobby Wade.

    Corey Lynch isn't nearly as fast as Ed Reed, or athletic for that matter. He is the type of player who is smart and is almost always in the right position at the right time.

    Posted by mikek4687 | 3/4/2008

  2. Also congrats on using the exact format of the 5 underrated players I did. Down to the typo in the *note at the bottom.

    Posted by mikek4687 | 3/4/2008

  3. Lol...i was saying talent wise he has that kind of ability i mentioned that he will most likely be a slot reciever in the NFl...
    I was basing the comparisons on their potential contributions and talent Lynch runs a 4.5 and reed a 4.3 but his intelligence and playing style are similar. in my opinon if someone gives Kevin smith the chance he will be that good but this is just my opinon...Bobby Wade was a good role player at one point their is no guarantee that Simpson will be more but in my opinon he could be a surprise and make a good starter..also ...lol...the format i submitted was slightly different than this but I did use your i admit it was exactly like this when I sent it to sean

    Posted by Ozzfan1317 | 3/4/2008

  4. Your Idea not the exact same thing

    Posted by Ozzfan1317 | 3/4/2008

  5. Dexter Jackson isn't quite so underrated anymore. He ran one of the fastest times at the combine, so people ARE taking notice. He'll end up in the 2nd or 3rd Round. And he's not the Torry Holt type, as Mike mentioned above. He'll spend a few years as a KR (and a good one, at that) and a slot WR, but won't blossom into the threat Holt is.

    The problem I see here is that since every one of these players is from a 'mid-major,' they are automatically deemed a sleeper or underrated. While this correlation is true to some extent, it holds very little when you choose some of the best talent from the lesser-known football schools. An underrated player is some one who flies under the radar, and many of these are quite firmly on the radar now, despite hailing from 'mid-major' schools. So, some of these players do not qualify for sleeper status since they are very much being looked at by every team.

    Posted by Erich Mueller | 3/4/2008

  6. (continued from above..)

    Underrated players can be from major programs...an example I have is Jamie Silva, from Boston College. Maybe I'm biased, but I've seen this kid play and he will be successful at the next level in my opinion. Still, he will not be a first-day pick, or even much higher than the 4th Round. Also, he doesnt recieve much attention, thus qualifying him to be a sleeper. But he comes from BC, an elite program.

    I agree with a few of your selections; nice job with your other App. State guys and Johnson, although I never see him becoming McNabb. He may blossom into a good QB though.

    I just think your underrated list contains many players that are no longer underrated and may in fact be overrated at this point. Keep up the good analysis though.

    Posted by Erich Mueller | 3/4/2008

  7. Your saying you agree Jackson will be a slot receiver completely refutes the comparison to Torry Holt, and me and Erich both said. Holt splits out wide and is a teams number 1 option. At his best, Jackson will be like Welker, who had Moss to distract coverage all season.

    Simpson will probably go in the 3rd, maybe 4th round. For him to be a 'Hidden Gem' he has to be a pretty good player, making the Wade comparison not very good. It even says in your blog that the current player comparison is taking into account their potential, and his potential is much higher that Bobby Wade. His comparison is someone like Keyshawn Johnson (who I do realize isn't a current player), but Bobby Wade is a completely different receiver as well. Simpson will at best be a possession receiver who runs really good routes and has really good hands. We already know about the hands, and I think he'll be fine with the routes. Wade is not that, and not even close in fact.

    Posted by mikek4687 | 3/4/2008

  8. Kevin Smith could be a very good player, but isn't much like Westbrook. Smith would be more like an LT (lofty goals, and won't be THAT good). A RB who is smart enough to know the exact angle to run and has a few moves if necessary. LT doesn't do anything great, he just knows his angles and can make people miss if he has too. His comparison should be someone like Cadillac Williams (if he can stay healthy)

    Posted by mikek4687 | 3/4/2008

  9. With Lynch, again, your refuting your own player comparisons. You can't say that someone who isn't near as fast or near as athletic is a similar player. And they aren't. When you sustain a drive on Baltimore, Reed starts to get jumpy and tries to get a pick. If you throw a pump fake his way he can be open to a big play. Lynch won't do that. He stays disciplined and always positions himself well. He won't bite on stupid things just because you've sustained a drive. Reed is more fast and athletic to recover though. Darren Sharper, as I said in my piece, is a much, much better comparison.

    Posted by mikek4687 | 3/4/2008

  10. better Kevin Smith comparison is Willis McGahee. And as much as I have disagreed with you, I agree Kevin Smith could be a later steal in the draft. I just disagree with the comparison.

    Posted by mikek4687 | 3/4/2008

  11. I agree with you on Jackson I should have put more thought into the comparison for him His lack of size will most like keep him from being used on the outside...Athletic Ability and speed only do so much if the corner is three inches taller than you.
    So yes I agree he'll mostly likely PLay A kevin curtis Or Wes welker type role..Probably more welker I think he has the potential to put up a thousand yards in the right system.

    Posted by Ozzfan1317 | 3/5/2008