Biggest Steal and Reach of Each Round of the 2019 NFL Draft
STEAL: Los Angeles Rams – Taylor Rapp, S, Washington (Pick 61)
Taylor Rapp was sure to be one of the top couple safeties off the board up until his pro day in early April.
He then reportedly ran in the mid 4.7’s in his 40, which really took the air out of that first round chatter.
However, Rapp was recovering from a groin injury that caused him to miss the Rose Bowl last January, and presumably kept him from running at the NFL scouting combine.
So it’s important to remember that he could very well have not been running at 100%.
Regardless, it’s obvious when you watch Rapp play that he is much faster than that 40 time, not to mention he is one of the more well-rounded defensive backs in the entire draft.
The Rams were lucky enough to snag him at the bottom of the second round after 5 other safeties had been chosen.
Rapp couldn’t have landed in a better place either, as he gets to learn from one of the best of the last decade in Eric Weddle.
The reigning NFC champs got themselves one of the biggest steals of the draft.
HONORABLE MENTION: Jacksonville – Jawaan Taylor, OT, Florida (Pick 35)
REACH: Cincinnati Bengals – Drew Sample, TE, Washington (Pick 52)
There are some that were high on Washington tight end Drew Sample leading up to the draft. I was not one of them.
He showed very little production with the Huskies, totaling just 46 catches for 487 yards and 5 touchdowns while getting action in 31 games in his collegiate career.
These numbers are what most day 2 tight ends tally in one season.
In fact, there were 15 tight ends drafted this year and not one of them had fewer yards than Sample had in 2018 (252), and only 5 had fewer touchdowns (3).
“Yeah but he’s a good blocker…”
You don’t draft a tight end at 52 unless you expect him to produce in the passing game as well. Especially when it’s presumed he will see a lot of action after the next inevitable Tyler Eifert injury.
With the tight end position being one of the deepest groups of the draft, this pick was a shocker.