Late Round Gems

The players in the first round of any 2008 mock draft are all pretty similar for the most part, just in a different order. It’s pretty easy to determine which team needs what, then place the best player at that position in that slot. After the first 2 rounds it gets a little harder. You will see teams fall in love with a certain player, then panic and take him a round before he should be selected. When a team puts a lot of effort into scouting, film sessions and interviews finding a great player in the later rounds really makes up for all that effort. A few notable players that were selected in later rounds were: Tom Brady 6th round, Marques Colston 7th round, Donald Driver 7th round, Bart Starr 15th round. The 2008 NFL Draft will more than likely have a few great players selected in late rounds, but I’m just going to go over the 3 who I think have the most potential.

Tony Temple RB Missouri – Tony has above average speed, the ability to make people miss, and improved hands out of the backfield. At Mizzou’s pro day the 5-foot-9 210 lb back ran a 4.47 40. Almost everyone projects him to be a 7th round pick. If your a team that needs a backup running back, make Tony your pick.

Stanford Keglar LB Purdue – One of the many Boilermaker players that starred in Indianapolis, he definitely improved his draft stock considerably. The 6-foot-2 239 lb linebacker ran a 4.58 40 at the Combine. At Purdue he totaled 70 tackles last season. Before the Combine he wasn’t supposed to be selected in the draft. Now most project him as a 5th or 6th round pick.

Barry Richardson OT Clemson – My first mock draft I had him in the first round(people called me out rather quickly), but after the combine he is projected to go later. Scouts don’t like his lackadaisical attitude, but he can definitely play. He was selected to the ACC first team, he started all four years at Clemson. He is a very large man standing 6-foot-7 weighing 320 lbs. He could make a nice addition to a power running team. Most project him to be selected in the 6th round.