We’re one week away from Day 3 of the NFL Draft, which is where all of the “sleeper” picks tend to be.
A comment from Friday’s Pre-Snap Reads drew my attention for an open thread idea.
I know we have a lot of fans who have been voraciously following and studying the draft prospects, so let’s do this! In the interest of defining a sleeper pick, I think there are two obvious parameters:
Absolutely no projected first-round or second-round picks. Pretty much by definition these are the upper echelon of draft prospects and can’t be sleepers when they’re considered 75th percentile and up. I’d consider third-rounders as borderline but I don’t totally mind if there’s a sleeper draft pick in this range. This thread should mostly be populated with Day 3 guys.
No players who are considered at or near the top of their position. This is mostly for the off-ball linebacker class, where someone like UCLA’s Carson Schwesinger is considered second-best at his position behind Alabama’s Jihaad Campbell but has no shot at being a first-rounder. He might go in the second round and maybe even the third.
That’s pretty much it.
Running backs might be a popular answer in this thread given the depth of talent. I’m partial to Miami’s Damien Martinez as a Seahawks target if, if, if Seattle looks at tweaking the RB room again. He’s not a speedy back but he’s got great balance and an immediately to drive forward through contact, something I feel has been a problem for Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet at times (although Charbonnet ended the season strongly). Martinez can run through guys better than anyone on Seattle’s depth chart right now, and I can see him being very valuable in short yardage.
Day 3 wide receivers are plentiful. For the sake of being sentimental, Auburn’s Keandre Lambert-Smith is Kam Chancellor’s nephew. In his fifth and final collegiate season he posted up 981 yards on just 50 catches on an otherwise bad offense. He has long arms (32 5/8”) for his size (6’0) and is a burner with a 4.37-second 40-yard dash. Most likely he’d be taken in the 4th or 5th round.
Chat away!
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