Oakland Raiders unearthed UDFA gem in James Cowser

The Oakland Raiders snagged one of the top UDFA gems in the 2016 class in FCS powerhouse pass rusher James Cowser. Can he make the cut?

Any player with the career statistics of Southern Utah pass rusher James Cowser should be drafted into the NFL, I don’t care what level of competition you play against. The Oakland Raiders were able to snag the FCS All-American and all-time career sack leader after the draft.

Cowser was unbelievably productive in his college career, specifically over the last two seasons. He racked up 80 tackles for loss and 42.5 sacks in his time at Southern Utah, which might have been a reason for his fall out of the draft.

No, I’m not talking about his stats, I’m talking about the time he spent at Southern Utah. Cowser took a redshirt in 2009 before going on an LDS church mission. Seven years later, he finds himself in position to make an NFL roster in Oakland that is among the brightest up-and-coming units in the league.

Cowser’s pass rushing prowess is his major weapon. As you can see here, quickness is the name of his game…

But it’s not just quickness, either. Cowser combines a heavy hand punch with relentless pursuit of the football as well.

There’s no question in my mind that Cowser should have been drafted, at worst on day three. Even at his age, there’s no one in the history of FCS that has as many sacks as he does. Some will challenge that he’s not as athletic as other guys coming in, but he posted numbers that would hold up against other players from big name schools who had very little actual production.

I would take this guy in a heartbeat.

When you are good at football, that’s really all there is to it. This is a smart football player coming from a school that doesn’t often produce NFL talent, but this year had a couple of guys drafted and a number picked up after the draft.

He certainly didn’t expect to have to wait to hear his name called until after the draft, but the Raiders found a real gem here. He’s going to work hard to make this team, and give them an asset behind the likes of Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin, the team’s prized pass rush duo.

The Raiders used a third round pick on Shillique Calhoun — another one of my favorite picks in this draft — but they have little depth in terms of the veterans returning. Cracking the rotation at DE will not be an impossible task for Cowser in the Bay Area, and at worst, he’ll get enough snaps to generate interest from other teams.

This is a player who has to prove that he’s NFL-ready in terms of athleticism, but he can certainly be a productive pass rusher in this league whether as a starter or as a backup/rotational guy.

This was an absolute steal for Oakland.