Jp's Xs & Os Blog

This year’s draft was full of great athletes from every position. You would automatically assume that every year must be the case, but that’s simply false. Most years the draft class fluctuates between extremely talented and developmental talents. You see it mostly in the quarterback and running back positions because those are hard positions to be consistent in throughout the season. But this year’s draft had so many great players that it left out some athletes who would usually get more attention. The draft left many teams with steals, and there are a few ways to find out if your team acquired one, so stay tuned. 

(separation/player analysis chart)

The first thing to look for when seeing if your team got an under-the-radar type player is to see what they did in college. But not only what they did in college, but also what they do differently from everyone else at college. These are where this process becomes fun. Not every player separates themselves in every aspect of the game, so if a player is just “okay” at a lot of things and just amazing at another, that’s what truly stands out. For example, Jacob Rodriguez is a Texas Tech linebacker that was taken in this year’s draft. In every aspect of the game he was near perfect, but he fell to the second round to the Dolphins. Throughout his career, he proved week after week that he was one of the best linebackers on the field, and there was one thing that he mastered. He has a great understanding of getting the ball out. He led the nation with 7 forced fumbles, which was just shy of the all-time record.

(Film Breakdown)

Being able to tell what a player does differently than the rest helps you understand who’s really considered a steal. Where most people get confused is thinking an NFL steal only applies to a player who’s drafted in a later round, which is not always the case. A player like Rodriguez is nothing short of a one-of-a-kind linebacker that most likely should’ve been drafted in the first round but ended up in a perfect spot, being Miami. Every year, some players are overlooked for various reasons. But the players selected, regardless of the round, who fit systems perfectly and play like first-rounders are the ones that achieve success. You also are able to see if there are steals off immediate impact charts. They develop these off of football IQ which is something that’s hard to always find out unless you test or watch an insane amount of film. This being such a hard thing to track, some players get left on the board longer than they probably should. That is what we call a draft steal.