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We all know that the Pats have 4 picks in the top 100. But they also have 5 picks in the last hundred. Matt Cassel and Andy Stokes last year suggest a model for some of those late picks...swinging for the fences.
This isn't a regular sleeper pick, an unheralded guy you think could be better than advertised. It's a shoot the moon pick, where you take a wild flyer on a guy with the build and raw athleticism of a day-1 talent, but no track record at all. He never saw the field, or played in division III, or was on the lacrosse team instead of the football team. You accept that most of these guys won't make it out of TC, but if one does, like Cassel (or wrestler Stephen Neal, or--we can dream--Antonio Gates), you've struck gold. Keep in mind that by the standard value chart, a 7th-round pick is worth one twentieth of a 3rd-round pick.
Some possibilities:
Jai Lewis, forward/center, George Mason basketball
6'6" 277 4.72
High school tight end who is aggressively pursuing the Antonio Gates career path. Great competitor with excellent hands.
Shuttle: 4.03
Vertical: 39.5
Troy Bergeron, WR, Arena League (mentioned by bosfan in the sleeper thread)
6'2" 190, 4.38
An odd tale this one...heavily recruited out of high school, signed by Auburn, then showed up on campus and was told he had to be a CB. He declined and signed with a D-II team, but had to leave and take a paying job to support a new baby. Eventually found his way to the Arena League where he tore things up.
Shuttle: 3.98 (!)
Cone: 7.08
Vertical: 35"
David Dixon, OLB, Hutchinson JC
6'2" 244 4.45
Spectacular athlete (44" vertical) wasn't D-I eligible, was absurdly dominant at the juco level:
161 tackles, 112 solos, 43 TFL.
5 blocked kicks, 4 FF, 8.5 sacks, 2 INT.
27.0 avg on PR, 27.8 avg on KR.
Yes, that's all one season.
Reportedly a very alert player with excellent field vision, agile, strong tackler, nose for the ball, can run with TEs in coverage. Was heavily recruited to jump to D-I but decided at the last minute to try the draft instead. His coach explained: "Dixon is a great person, but he just doesn't like school."
This isn't a regular sleeper pick, an unheralded guy you think could be better than advertised. It's a shoot the moon pick, where you take a wild flyer on a guy with the build and raw athleticism of a day-1 talent, but no track record at all. He never saw the field, or played in division III, or was on the lacrosse team instead of the football team. You accept that most of these guys won't make it out of TC, but if one does, like Cassel (or wrestler Stephen Neal, or--we can dream--Antonio Gates), you've struck gold. Keep in mind that by the standard value chart, a 7th-round pick is worth one twentieth of a 3rd-round pick.
Some possibilities:
Jai Lewis, forward/center, George Mason basketball
6'6" 277 4.72
High school tight end who is aggressively pursuing the Antonio Gates career path. Great competitor with excellent hands.
Shuttle: 4.03
Vertical: 39.5
Troy Bergeron, WR, Arena League (mentioned by bosfan in the sleeper thread)
6'2" 190, 4.38
An odd tale this one...heavily recruited out of high school, signed by Auburn, then showed up on campus and was told he had to be a CB. He declined and signed with a D-II team, but had to leave and take a paying job to support a new baby. Eventually found his way to the Arena League where he tore things up.
Shuttle: 3.98 (!)
Cone: 7.08
Vertical: 35"
David Dixon, OLB, Hutchinson JC
6'2" 244 4.45
Spectacular athlete (44" vertical) wasn't D-I eligible, was absurdly dominant at the juco level:
161 tackles, 112 solos, 43 TFL.
5 blocked kicks, 4 FF, 8.5 sacks, 2 INT.
27.0 avg on PR, 27.8 avg on KR.
Yes, that's all one season.
Reportedly a very alert player with excellent field vision, agile, strong tackler, nose for the ball, can run with TEs in coverage. Was heavily recruited to jump to D-I but decided at the last minute to try the draft instead. His coach explained: "Dixon is a great person, but he just doesn't like school."