Late-round NFL draft finds for every Power 5 team, from Tom Brady to Richard Sherman
While much of the considerable attention paid to the NFL draft focuses on the first round and the top prospects, there is plenty of talent available in the later rounds. It’s just a matter of finding it.
A team’s draft class can be made by landing a diamond in the rough, a player who, for one reason or another, slips through the cracks for the first few rounds but ends up being a major contributor in the NFL. Sometimes it’s the result of shrewd scouting, sometimes it’s taking a chance on a player coming off an injury, sometimes it’s dumb luck. Hitting it big with a top-10 pick is all well and good, but who doesn’t love a bargain?
We’re here to salute the best late-round NFL draft finds from every Power 5 school. Our parameters are players who were chosen in Rounds 4-7 (Day 3 of the current draft format) since 1994, when the draft went to seven rounds. We asked our college football reporters to pick the best player, based on their NFL career, who fits that criteria from each Power 5 school. Here’s who they came up with.
Jump to a conference:
ACC | Big 12 | Big Ten
Pac-12 | SEC
ACC
Matt Hasselbeck, QB (1998, sixth round, 187th overall, Green Bay)
At 6-foot-4 with a strong arm, it’s easy to see how Hasselbeck might have been considered a serious prospect, but his relatively lackluster numbers at BC — 22 career TD passes, 26 interceptions — didn’t exactly scream superstar. So he landed with Green Bay, where he backed up Brett Favre before following coach Mike Holmgren to Seattle. He spent a decade as the Seahawks’ starter, made three Pro Bowls, and led the team to a 13-3 record and a Super Bowl appearance in 2005. He retired in 2015 with 212 career TD passes. — David Hale
Grady Jarrett, DT (2015, fifth round, 137th overall, Atlanta)
Jarrett was overlooked coming out of high school. He was a two-star prospect who was supposedly undersized for an interior lineman, but nobody worked harder. Jarrett became a star at Clemson, but he was usually overshadowed by teammate Vic Beasley, who would be selected in the first round in 2015. Jarrett slid to the fifth round, and both players ended up with the Falcons. Beasley had some solid years in Atlanta, but it was Jarrett who became a Pro Bowler and one of the top defensive tackles in the NFL, with 112 career starts, 32.5 sacks and 420 tackles to date. — Hale
Patrick Mannelly, long snapper (1998, sixth round, 189th overall, Chicago)
This honor will almost certainly belong to Michael Carter II soon. The former Duke safety was a fifth-round pick by the Jets in 2021, and he has already started 13 games with two picks and two fumble recoveries. But Carter is still at the outset of his career, and it’s impossible to overlook the 16 years Mannelly spent in the NFL after being taken by the Bears in the sixth round in 1998. Hey, long snappers don’t get much attention until they mess up, but there’s no substitute for a good one, and Mannelly stayed in the league longer than any other Duke alum except Sonny Jorgensen. — Hale
Vince Williams, LB (2013, sixth round, 206th overall, Pittsburgh)
There aren’t many former Seminoles who truly fell below the radar when it came to NFL scouts, but Williams certainly wasn’t a hot name in the 2013 draft. He had been a leader and critical figure during the difficult transition from the Bobby Bowden era to the Jimbo Fisher era, and his work in the middle of the defense helped set the stage for 2013’s national title. Vince’s younger brother, Karlos, actually seemed to be the more prominent prospect. But Vince Williams landed in the perfect spot. Drafted by the Steelers, he started 11 games as a rookie and remains one of Pittsburgh’s defensive mainstays. — Hale
Dawan Landry, DB (2006, fifth round, 146th overall, Baltimore)
Georgia Tech actually has a lot of strong contenders for the honor of best late-round pick, from Dorsey Levens (fifth round in 1995) to Vance Walker (seventh round in 2006) to Darren Waller (sixth round in 2014) to Harrison Butker (seventh round in 2017). But Landry was the best of the bunch, spending nine years as a starter for the Ravens, Jaguars and Jets. He earned All-Pro honors as a rookie in 2006, when he picked off five passes, and finished his NFL career in 2014 with 13 career interceptions and three touchdowns. — Hale
William Gay, CB (2007, fifth round, 170th overall, Pittsburgh)
Gay was a pivotal player for the 2006 Orange Bowl champion Louisville Cardinals, but despite running a strong 4.48 40 in the combine, he fell to the fifth round of the 2007 draft, landing with the Steelers, who have a knack for finding late-round talent. Gay went on to play 10 seasons with Pittsburgh (plus one year with Arizona in between), finishing with 13 career interceptions and helping the Steelers win Super Bowl XLIII. — Hale
Chris Myers, OL (2005, sixth round, 200th overall, Denver)
No one goes to Miami to fly beneath the radar — at least, not in the early 2000s — so there aren’t many former Hurricanes who can claim the honor of being massively overlooked in the draft. Still, Myers didn’t draw much attention entering the 2005 draft after playing tackle as a senior. The Broncos drafted him and moved him to guard, but it wasn’t until he shifted to center and joined the Houston Texans that Myers found his niche. He started every game from 2007 through 2014, making two Pro Bowls, before retiring following his 10th NFL season. — Hale
J.R. Sweezy, OL (2012, seventh round, 225th pick, Seattle)
At NC State, Sweezy played on the defensive line and was considered a minor prospect. But Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable saw something in him and set up a private workout to test his footwork and strength to see if Sweezy might be able to make the change. It was a brilliant gamble. Seattle took Sweezy in the seventh round, but by the end of his rookie season, he was in the Seahawks’ starting lineup at guard. He was a full-time starter the next two seasons in Seattle, when the Seahawks went to the Super Bowl both years. He played four more seasons after that with Tampa Bay, Arizona and the Seahawks, starting 70 games before retiring in 2022. — Hale
Gerald Sensabaugh, DB (2005, fifth round, 157th overall, Jacksonville)
Sensabaugh’s college career began at East Tennessee State, where he was a three-year starter before transferring to North Carolina. As a senior with the Tar Heels, he racked up 78 tackles and three sacks. The Jaguars selected him in the fifth round, and he spent his first three seasons in Jacksonville as a part-time starter before blossoming in 2008 with 70 tackles and four interceptions. That landed him a free-agent deal with Dallas, where he spent the next four seasons as a regular contributor. He finished his career with 14 picks. — Hale
Damar Hamlin, S (2021, sixth round, 212th pick, Buffalo)
A four-year starter at Pitt, Hamlin was regularly among the ACC’s top defensive backs, but he largely flew beneath the radar among NFL scouts. The Bills selected him in the sixth round, and he largely served as a backup during his rookie season in 2021. By 2022, however, Hamlin had emerged as a burgeoning star, starting 13 games with six tackles for loss and 93 total tackles. Hamlin drew national attention when he collapsed on the field in December after a hit and nearly died. His inspirational story galvanized fans across the world, and he said Tuesday that he has been fully cleared to return to playing football. — Hale
Zaire Franklin, LB (2018, seventh round, 235th pick, Indianapolis)
Franklin never wowed the scouts in college. He was perhaps a step too slow, an inch too short. But based on what he did on the field, there was no doubt the guy could play. He topped 80 tackles in 2015, 2016 and 2017, and he finished his college career with 31.5 TFLs. Indianapolis saw him as a worthy project, and while his first three seasons in the NFL amounted to just four starts, the bet paid off big in 2021 when Franklin racked up 40 tackles in 11 starts. Last season, he was the full-time starter and finished fourth in the league with 167 total tackles. — Hale
Jason Snelling, RB (2007, seventh round, 244th pick, Atlanta)
OK, so Virginia doesn’t exactly have a rich history of draft-day steals, but Snelling did carve out a solid NFL career despite being among the last players selected in 2007. Despite the fullback position waning in value at the time, Snelling was an impactful runner at Virginia before being drafted by Atlanta, where he would spend his entire seven-year NFL career. Snelling was a versatile back whose best season came in 2009, when he ran for 613 yards and caught 30 passes for 259 yards, scoring five touchdowns. He finished his career with 1,420 rushing yards and 1,249 receiving yards. — Hale
Kam Chancellor, S (2010, fifth round, 133rd pick, Seattle)
At Virginia Tech, Chancellor flirted with playing both quarterback and corner before finding a home at rover, where he excelled in Bud Foster’s aggressive scheme. Still, it wasn’t enough to earn much love from draft experts. Chancellor fell to the fifth round, but he found the perfect fit in Seattle, which had also just drafted safety Earl Thomas. The duo would help establish the Legion of Boom, one of the best defenses in the NFL. Chancellor played 109 regular-season games and 14 more in the playoffs, picking off 15 passes, scoring twice and racking up more than 700 career tackles. — Hale
Desmond Clark, TE (1999, sixth round, 179th pick, Denver)
Clark was 6-3 and 230 pounds in college, but he was still primarily used at wideout, where, not surprisingly, he excelled in the red zone, catching eight TDs out of 59 grabs his senior year. Still, his size made him difficult to peg as a pro, and he slipped to the sixth round before Denver rolled the dice. In the NFL, he found a home at tight end, and — again, not surprisingly — he blossomed as a red zone target. He caught six touchdowns in 2001 — his final year in Denver — went to Miami for a year, then spent the final eight years of his 12-year career with the Bears. In all, he had 323 catches for 3,591 yards and 27 touchdowns. — Hale
Big 12
Andrew Billings, DT (2016, fourth round, 122nd overall, Cincinnati)
Billings shared the 2015 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award with end Emmanuel Ogbah and was named the league’s defensive lineman of the year. He was projected as a first-round pick after a strong combine performance but inexplicably fell to the fourth, where he was selected by the Bengals, with coach Marvin Lewis saying some teams were concerned about his height (6-1, at 311 pounds). He missed his rookie year with a knee injury and opted out of the 2020 season, but he has started 51 games over his other five NFL seasons. A valued run-stopper, Billings signed with the Chicago Bears in March. — Dave Wilson
Brett Keisel, DE (2002, seventh round, 242nd overall, Pittsburgh)
Keisel wasn’t even the most sought-after BYU defensive end in his draft — those honors went to Ryan Denney — but his size and stats were decent enough for the Steelers to take a flier on him. After a few years as a special teamer, he found his way into the lineup by 2006, and he was in the Pro Bowl by 2010. — Bill Connelly
Jason Kelce, C (2011, sixth round, 191st overall, Philadelphia)
A former walk-on running back, Kelce weighed in at just 280 pounds at the combine — far from NFL size — but he ran a 4.89 in the 40, and the Eagles took a chance on him. Five first-team All-Pro seasons and a Super Bowl later, it seems to have worked out pretty well for everyone involved. — Connelly
Elandon Roberts, LB (2016, sixth round, 214th overall, New England)
Case Keenum has had a long NFL career, but he was undrafted, so we can’t use him. Roberts, a 5-11, 234-pound inside linebacker, started his career at Morgan State, transferred to Houston and led the country in solo tackles in 2015 with 88 (of his 142 total tackles). He was a late draft find by the Patriots, starting five games his rookie season, then starting 28 more over the next three seasons in New England at multiple linebacker positions. He even filled in at fullback in 2019, catching a 38-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady against Miami. He then signed with the Dolphins and was a starter the past three seasons at linebacker. He signed a two-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers last month. — Wilson
Ahtyba Rubin, NT (2008, sixth round, 190th overall, Cleveland)
At 6-2, 315 pounds, Rubin played offensive line his sophomore year in junior college, then flipped to defensive line at Iowa State. He emerged as an NFL prospect, arrived in Cleveland as a sixth-round pick and broke through as a starter after Shaun Rogers got injured. He ended up starting 107 games in 11 years in the NFL, mostly with the Browns, until starting for two seasons in 2015 and ’16 with Seattle, finishing with 428 tackles and 15 sacks. — Wilson
Justin Hartwig, C (2002, sixth round, 187th overall, Tennessee)
Hartwig was the prototypical “standout on a bad offense” for much of his time at KU, earning all-conference votes for teams that never topped 70th in scoring offense. He was a starter for six of his eight NFL seasons, starting out with Tennessee and eventually winning a Super Bowl with Pittsburgh. — Connelly
Darren Sproles, RB (2005, fourth round, 130th overall, San Diego)
Sproles rushed for 4,769 yards and 44 touchdowns during three standout seasons in Manhattan. He was an absolute star. What was the holdup? Size, of course: He measured 5-foot-6, 187 pounds. Just too small for the pros, right? Wrong. He produced 8,392 yards from scrimmage with nine career return touchdowns over a 15-year career. — Connelly
Kelly Gregg, NT (1999, sixth round, 173rd overall, Cincinnati)
At 6-foot, 320-pounds, Gregg was a force at Oklahoma in his senior year with 117 tackles and 23 tackles for loss, still an OU record. But the NFL wasn’t impressed with his measurables. He was drafted by Cincinnati but waived, then spent time on the Bengals’ practice squad, signed with Philly and was waived, signed to Baltimore’s practice squad and played in NFL Europe. He became the Ravens’ starting nose tackle after Tony Siragusa left and ended up starting for eight years for Baltimore and one with Kansas City, retiring in 2011. Pro Football Focus named him to its All-Pro second team in 2009. — Wilson
Antonio Smith, DE (2004, fifth round, 135th overall, Arizona)
A junior college transfer who battled injuries throughout his college career, Smith didn’t enjoy massive college production and wasn’t at full speed during the draft workout process. His health mostly held up in the pros, though: He recorded 47.5 sacks over 13 seasons and made a Pro Bowl appearance in 2011 with the Texans. — Connelly
Marcus Cannon, OT (2011, fifth round, 138th overall, New England)
Cannon was a highly regarded tackle prospect who started three years at TCU and didn’t give up a sack his senior season at left tackle blocking for Andy Dalton. The 6-5, 358-pounder was shocked to test positive for non-Hodgkin lymphoma in a physical before the 2011 combine. New England drafted him in the fifth round and placed him on the injured list while he went through chemotherapy. Cannon has started 73 games and appeared in 120 total, winning three Super Bowls with the great Patriots teams from 2011 to 2019 and being named second-team All-Pro in 2016. He did not play in 2020 during the pandemic, started four games for the Texans in 2021, then started two games at right tackle last year after returning to New England. — Wilson
Brian Robison, DE (2007, fourth round, 102nd overall, Minnesota)
Robison started 37 games at Texas, including on the Longhorns’ national title team in 2005, and was also a star in the shot put, winning a Big 12 title. At 6-3, 260, he ran a 4.74 at the combine and was drafted to back up Jared Allen. But he ended up starting five games his rookie year and made the NFL’s all-rookie team. Robison became a fan favorite in Minnesota, starting 103 games and playing in 170. He racked up 60 sacks, including 25.5 in his first three years as a full-time starter, over 11 years with the Vikings. — Wilson
Zach Thomas, LB (1996, fifth round, 154th overall, Miami)
Thomas, the Red Raiders’ best pro before Patrick Mahomes, was the steal of the 1996 draft. Despite a stellar career at Texas Tech, where he was a first-team All-American his senior year, NFL scouts weren’t in on Thomas, with the consensus being he was too small (5-11, 233 pounds), too slow and not athletic enough (he had a 4.85 40 and 28.5-inch vertical jump at the combine). But he quickly shot up the Dolphins depth chart and started as a rookie from Week 1. He had at least 100 tackles each of the first 11 years of his NFL career, finishing with 1,734, and was a five-time first-team All-Pro. — Wilson
Brandon Marshall, WR (2006, fourth round, 119th overall, Denver)
Marshall was a better athlete than receiver for much of his college career, but after accumulating 38 catches in three seasons, he erupted for 1,195 yards as a senior. Combined with his 6-4, 229-pound measurements and 4.53 speed, he landed a spot on the Broncos. From 2007 to ’15, he ripped off a run of eight 1,000-yard seasons in nine years. — Connelly
Marc Bulger, QB (2000, sixth round, 168th overall, New Orleans)
Bulger threw for 6,072 yards and 45 touchdowns during two standout years at West Virginia, but he battled injuries during his senior season, then measured in at only 6-1, 208 pounds at the combine. The Saints drafted him, but his first start came with the Rams, his third team, in 2002. He ended up throwing for 22,814 yards over eight NFL seasons. — Connelly
Big Ten
David Diehl, OL (2003, fifth round, 160th overall, New York Giants)
Diehl was a second-team All-Big Ten selection as a senior in 2002. A year before, he was part of an Illinois team that won the Big Ten. After the Giants took him in the fifth round, he quickly became a stalwart on an offensive line that helped Eli Manning, Tom Coughlin & Co. win a pair of Super Bowls. Diehl, a second-team All-Pro selection in 2008, started 156 of the 160 games he played in. — Blake Baumgartner
Chris Liwienski, OL (1998, seventh round, 207th overall, Detroit)
Liwienski was a durable offensive tackle for the Hoosiers throughout his career. He was taken by the Lions in the 1998 draft and eventually played for the Vikings, Cardinals, Dolphins and Jaguars in a 10-year career. — Tom VanHaaren
George Kittle, TE (2017, fifth round, 146th overall, San Francisco)
Kittle battled for extended playing time throughout his tenure in Iowa City, thanks to a deep tight end room. In his final two seasons as a Hawkeye (2015 and ’16), he tallied 42 catches for 604 yards and 10 touchdowns. The 49ers were fortunate enough to jump on him in the fifth round of the 2017 draft, and he has rewarded them handsomely. A four-time Pro Bowler and an All-Pro selection in 2019, Kittle has 395 receptions for 5,254 yards and 31 touchdowns in his career. — Baumgartner
Stefon Diggs, WR (2015, fifth round, 146th overall, Minnesota)
In three seasons playing for the Terrapins, Diggs accumulated 2,277 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was a second-team All-Big Ten selection for the 2014 season after leading the team in receptions and receiving touchdowns. Since being drafted by the Vikings in 2015, Diggs has been an All-Pro twice, a three-time Pro Bowler and a big part of the Buffalo Bills offense. — VanHaaren
Kirk Cousins, QB (2012, fourth round, 102nd overall, Washington)
Cousins led the Spartans to a share of the Big Ten title in 2010 and an appearance in the inaugural Big Ten championship game in 2011, and left East Lansing as one of the better quarterbacks in program history (9,131 passing yards, 66 TDs). The second quarterback taken by Washington in 2012 behind Robert Griffin III in the first round, Cousins — a four-time Pro Bowler — established himself as a top-level NFL quarterback with both Washington (2012-17) and the Vikings (2018-present), with 37,140 passing yards and 252 touchdown passes in his career. — Baumgartner
Tom Brady, QB (2000, sixth round, 199th overall, New England)
The patron saint of late-round draft finds. After splitting playing time with Drew Henson, Brady eventually won out and started during the 1998 and 1999 seasons, leading the Wolverines to a Big Ten title in 1998. In those two seasons, he combined for 30 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. After a famously unimpressive combine, Brady certainly impressed with the Patriots and Buccaneers, retiring with seven Super Bowl rings and a rewritten NFL record book. — Baumgartner
Marion Barber, RB (2005, fourth round, 109th overall, Dallas)
Barber ranks No. 10 all time at Minnesota for single-season rushing yards, No. 2 for rushing touchdowns in a season, No. 5 in career rushing yards and No. 2 in career rushing touchdowns. He was taken in the fourth round by the Cowboys and earned the nickname Marion the Barbarian for his physical running style. He had more than 50 rushing touchdowns in his six-year career with the Cowboys and Bears. — VanHaaren
Rex Burkhead, RB (2013, sixth round, 190th overall, Cincinnati)
Burkhead was one of six freshmen to see playing time during the 2009 season at Nebraska. He had 346 yards and three touchdowns in his first season and followed that up with 951 yards and seven touchdowns as a sophomore. He was selected by Cincinnati in the 2013 draft and eventually played for the Patriots and Texans as well. He won a Super Bowl with the Patriots and finished his career with 1,908 yards and 17 touchdowns. — VanHaaren
Zach Strief, OL (2006, seventh round, 210th overall, New Orleans)
Strief was a right tackle at Northwestern and was a two-time All-Big Ten player for the Wildcats. He was selected by the Saints in the seventh round and went on to win a Super Bowl and be named a first-team All-Pro player in 2013 over 12 seasons in New Orleans. — VanHaaren
Corey Linsley, OL (2014, fifth round, 161st overall, Green Bay)
Linsley started as the Buckeyes’ center during his final two seasons (2012 and ’13) after making the move over from right guard. The Packers tabbed him with a fifth-round selection, and his time both in Green Bay and with the Chargers, whom he signed with as a free agent in 2021, has been fruitful. In his last year in Green Bay, Linsley was a first-team All-Pro before being named a second-team All-Pro during his first year in Los Angeles in 2021. — Baumgartner
Adrian Amos, S (2015, fifth round, 142nd overall, Chicago)
Amos was a three-year starter during his time in Happy Valley, finishing with a career-high three interceptions as a senior in 2014. He recorded at least 42 tackles in each of his final three seasons at Penn State. The Bears selected him in the fifth round in 2015, and he has carved out a nice career (636 total tackles, 6 sacks, 48 passes defended and 10 interceptions) through eight seasons with the Bears (2015-18) and Packers (2019-22). — Baumgartner
Rob Ninkovich, LB/DE (2006, fifth round, 135th overall, New Orleans)
Ninkovich won a national championship at Joliet Junior College before transferring to Purdue. He had 8 sacks, 2 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles his senior season and was taken by the Saints in the 2006 draft. He would play for three teams in the NFL and won two Super Bowls with the New England Patriots. — VanHaaren
Isiah Pacheco, RB (2022, seventh round, 251st overall, Kansas City)
Pacheco started 12 games in his final season at Rutgers and accumulated 2,442 yards and 18 touchdowns in his four-year career. He was selected by the Chiefs in the seventh round and became an impact player on Kansas City’s Super Bowl-winning offense. Pacheco ran for 830 yards and five touchdowns during the regular season and had 197 yards and one touchdown during the playoffs. — VanHaaren
Owen Daniels, TE (2006, fourth round, 98th pick, Houston)
Daniels transitioned from quarterback to tight end after a pair of ACL tears — one as a senior in high school and one during his redshirt sophomore year at Wisconsin. He ended up becoming a productive player, hauling in 62 passes for 852 yards and eight touchdowns over his final three years in Madison. Drafted by Houston in 2006, he recorded 479 catches for 5,661 receiving yards and 36 touchdowns during a 10-year career that saw him play for the Texans, Ravens and Broncos, ending his career with a victory in Super Bowl 50. — Baumgartner
Pac-12
Lawrence Guy, DT (2011, seventh round, 233rd overall, Green Bay)
Guy has bounced around the league a bit since coming into it in 2011, but over the course of his career, he’s started 110 games, accounting for 255 solo tackles, 17 sacks and 38 tackles for loss. Since 2017, Guy has been a fixture of the Patriots’ defensive line and helped New England on its way to its Super Bowl win in 2018. Not bad for a seventh-round pick. — Paolo Uggetti
Nick Folk, K (2007, sixth round, 178th overall, Dallas)
Folk, who made 63% of his field goal attempts at Arizona, was a sixth-round gem for not just the team that drafted him (the Cowboys, for whom he was selected to the Pro Bowl in his rookie year) but also the Jets (he’s the team’s all-time leading scorer) and, most recently, the Patriots, for whom he had a streak of 64 straight field goals from inside 50 yards. In 2021, Folk was the NFL’s leading scorer as well. — Uggetti
Marvin Jones, WR (2012, fifth round, 166th overall, Cincinnati)
After a solid, if unspectacular, four-year career in Berkeley, Jones’ modest production (156 catches in four seasons) was the likely reason he wasn’t drafted earlier. Since entering the NFL, he has been one of the league’s most consistent receivers with more than 500 yards receiving in each of the past eight seasons. — Kyle Bonagura
David Bakhtiari, OT (2013, fourth round, 109th overall, Green Bay)
After a stout three-year career at struggling Colorado, Bakhtiari went on to find the perfect NFL home in Green Bay. The California native immediately became a staple of the Packers’ offensive line on his way to three Pro Bowl selections and two first-team All-Pro selections. Bakhtiari started every game at left tackle during his rookie season, becoming the first rookie to do so in Green Bay since 1978 and the only NFL rookie to start every game that season at left tackle. — Uggetti
Terrance Mitchell, CB (2014, seventh round, 254th overall, Dallas)
Before declaring for the draft, Mitchell received an unfavorable evaluation from the NFL, so he knew that being an early pick after starting 38 games at Oregon was unlikely. Still, he bet on himself, and nearly 10 years later, he’s still collecting an NFL paycheck. — Bonagura
T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR (2001, seventh round, 204th overall, Cincinnati)
That Houshmandzadeh got drafted so late wasn’t a surprise considering he started just one season at Oregon State, where he was overshadowed by Chad Johnson. But he went on to have a standout 10-year career, which included a Pro Bowl appearance in 2007, when he tied for the league lead in receptions. — Bonagura
Richard Sherman, CB (2011, fifth round, 154th overall, Seattle)
Sherman’s pre-draft evaluations were all over the board, likely due to the fact he switched from receiver to corner midway through his college career. In the NFL, he blossomed into one of the best corners in league history, earning All-Pro honors five times in an 11-year career. — Bonagura
Matthew Slater, WR (2008, fifth round, 153rd overall, New England)
Not many NFL players can have a 15-year career, tally 10 Pro Bowl nods, two All-Pro selections and three Super Bowls. That’s exactly what Slater has done. After starting off at UCLA as a wide receiver, Slater switched to defensive back his second year at the school and proceeded to account for 34 total tackles and one sack. But after finding a niche and a role on Bill Belichick’s team, Slater thrived as a Swiss Army knife, excelling on special teams while contributing on both defense and offense at various points throughout his career. — Uggetti
Everson Griffen, DE (2010, fourth round, 100th overall, Minnesota)
The Trojans have had their fair share of both elite top draft picks and late-round finds, but Griffen might be the best of the bunch. After spending three years at USC and totaling 84 tackles, 21 tackles for loss and 18 sacks as well as three forced fumbles, Griffen slipped to the fourth round, where the Vikings were happy to take him. Griffen has since outplayed his selection by a mile, amassing nearly 400 tackles, 86 sacks and 13 forced fumbles over the course of 12 seasons. — Uggetti
Mike Anderson, RB (2000, sixth round, 189th overall, Denver)
Anderson had a relatively short career in the NFL — seven seasons — but his introduction to the league was a memorable one. After being selected in the sixth round by Denver, Anderson rushed for 1,487 yards that year, averaging 5 yards per carry and adding 15 touchdowns. That was good enough to garner the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Anderson would cross the 1,000-yard threshold only once more in his career. — Uggetti
Dashon Goldson, S (2007, fourth round, 126th overall, San Francisco)
Goldson was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection in 2006 after a season hampered by a high ankle sprain. During a 10-year NFL career, he was a two-time Pro Bowler and a first-team All-Pro in 2012. — Bonagura
Erik Coleman, S (2004, fifth round, 143rd overall, New York Jets)
Coleman was an integral part of WSU’s three straight 10-win seasons (2001 through 2003) before being drafted by the Jets. In New York, he quickly broke into the starting lineup and a nine-year career followed. — Bonagura
SEC
Eddie Jackson, S (2017, fourth round, 112th overall pick, Chicago)
A broken leg limited Jackson’s senior season to eight games and meant he couldn’t participate in pre-draft drills. But the former cornerback-turned-safety had serious ball skills with six interceptions as a junior, two of which he took back for touchdowns. He made the Pro Bowl in 2018 and 2019 and was on track to return to the event last year before an injury ended his season. — Alex Scarborough
Peyton Hillis, RB (2008, seventh round, 227th overall pick, Denver)
Maybe he was a flash in the pan, a one-year wonder. But when you appear on the cover of EA Sports’ Madden video game, you’ve done something special. And when you’ve done it as a seventh-round pick who was once buried on the depth chart in college behind Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, you’ve done something downright incredible. — Scarborough
Stephen Davis, RB (1996, fourth round, 102nd overall pick, Washington)
Davis wasn’t an every-down back in college, he ran more upright than some scouts might like and he ran a solid but not spectacular 4.54-second 40-yard dash. Maybe that’s why he fell out of the first three rounds. He started his NFL career at Washington as a fullback before finally getting the starting nod at running back during his fourth season. He led the league with 1,405 yards that season, and finished his career with 8,052 yards and three selections to the Pro Bowl. — Scarborough
Alex Brown, DE (2002, fourth round, 104th overall, Chicago)
Being the most prolific pass-rusher in Florida history (Brown holds the school record for the most sacks in a season with 13 and the most in a career with 33), you’d think Brown would at worst go in the first three rounds of the draft. But as Brown himself would say, it all worked out in the end, as he played nine years for the Chicago Bears and had 45.5 sacks, forced 17 fumbles — recovering 12 — and even finished sixth in the AP Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2005. — Harry Lyles Jr.
Terrell Davis, RB (1995, sixth round, 196th overall, Denver)
Davis’ reputation for being injury-prone hurt his draft stock. After having 167 carries and 824 yards in his second year at Georgia (he transferred from Long Beach State), he had just 97 carries in his final year with 445 yards and six touchdowns. However, taking a chance on Davis paid off for the Broncos. He had three consecutive All-Pro seasons, including an NFL MVP season in 1998 when he rushed for 2,008 yards. Denver won a pair of Super Bowl titles along the way. — Lyles Jr.
Za’Darius Smith, OLB (2015, fourth round, 122nd overall, Baltimore)
It appears the big criticism of Smith heading into the draft was that he had no more room to grow. His draft profile on the NFL’s website said that his “body is likely maxed out” and that he scored low with production and athleticism. However, Smith was productive enough to make three Pro Bowls over the course of his NFL career, two with the Packers and one last season with the Vikings. — Lyles Jr.
Kyle Williams, DT (2006, fifth round, 134th overall pick, Buffalo)
Williams wasn’t among the first nine defensive tackles taken in the 2006 draft. He wasn’t even the first defensive tackle taken by the Buffalo Bills. Maybe it was because he was only 6-foot-1 that he slid in the draft, but he quickly rose on the depth chart in New York and became a starter as a rookie, racking up 53 tackles in 16 games. By the time he retired in 2018, he had been selected to six Pro Bowls and logged 610 career tackles and 48.5 sacks, all with the Bills. — Scarborough
Dak Prescott, QB (2016, fourth round, 135th overall pick, Dallas)
If not for a DUI arrest 46 days before the draft — he ultimately was found not guilty — Prescott might never have fallen into the lap of the Cowboys. Arguably the greatest player in Mississippi State history, he stepped in for an injured Tony Romo and was an immediate success, winning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. A two-time Pro Bowler, he signed a four-year, $160 million contract in 2021. — Scarborough
Justin Gage, WR (2003, fifth round, 143rd overall, Chicago)
There was no questioning Gage’s speed and agility going into the draft. He left Missouri as the school’s all-time leading receiver after moving from quarterback to wide receiver, and was a part of Missouri’s 2002 Elite Eight run in basketball. While drafted by the Bears, Gage had his most productive seasons with Tennessee, where he led the Titans in catches and yards in 2007. — Lyles Jr.
DJ Jones, DT (2017, sixth round, 198th overall pick, San Francisco)
Jones was part of a deep rotation with the Rebels and never developed into a top-flight pass-rusher, so it’s no wonder he fell to the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round. But each year he proved himself, especially in defending the run — to the point that when he hit free agency a year ago, he commanded a three-year, $30 million deal from the Broncos. — Scarborough
Captain Munnerlyn, CB (2009, seventh round, 216th overall, Carolina)
Because of durability concerns and coming out a year early, Munnerlyn didn’t go as high as he might have if he had stayed in school for another year. But it all worked out fine for the Panthers, as he set the franchise record for interception-return touchdowns with five. — Lyles Jr.
Malik Jackson, DT (2012, fifth round, 137th overall, Denver)
The 27th defensive lineman taken in the 2012 NFL draft, Malik Jackson started his college career at USC during the end of the Pete Carroll era before transferring to Tennessee during the early Derek Dooley years. While the Vols didn’t command much positive attention then, a 4.91-second 40-yard dash at the combine did for Jackson, and he ended up being drafted a round earlier than many projected. — Lyles Jr.
Shane Lechler, P (2000, fifth round, 142nd overall pick, Oakland)
It’s tempting to claim Dante Hall here. He made two Pro Bowls and played in the NFL for nine seasons. Lechler, on the other hand, made seven Pro Bowls, was a nine-time All-Pro and a member of the NFL All-Decade Team for the 2000s and the 2010s. So don’t give me the whole “but he’s a punter” criticism. He had an incredible career. — Scarborough
Hunter Hillenmeyer, LB (2003, sixth round, 166th overall, Green Bay)
In 2002, Hillenmeyer finished second in the nation with 168 tackles for the Commodores. But critics said he lacked the top-end speed to be a productive player at the next level. However, he was productive enough to play eight seasons with the Bears, accumulating 300 solo tackles, 6 forced fumbles and 2 interceptions in 101 games over 69 starts. — Lyles Jr.
One team is a win away from advancing to a third straight Stanley Cup Final. The other is about to once again come up short in a conference final. As drastic as that sounds, that is the reality facing the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes following the Panthers’ 6-2 win Saturday in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.
The defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers opened the series by scoring five goals in each of the first two games and exposing the Hurricanes in a way that hadn’t been done by another team this postseason. On Saturday, it appeared that the Canes may have found a solution as they entered the third period tied at 1-1 … before the Panthers exploded for five straight goals to close out Game 3 in emphatic fashion.
How did both teams perform? Who is worth watching in Game 4? And given that there’s a sweep in play, what could Monday mean for both teams, knowing that one of them could see their season come to an end? Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton answer those questions while reviewing what has been a lopsided Eastern Conference finals.
The Panthers withstood an expected early push from Carolina and settled swiftly into their own game. They failed to capitalize on their first-period power-play chance but made up for it by opening the scoring with a goal credited to Niko Mikkola (that actually went off Carolina’s Dmitry Orlov) midway through the first. It was a deflating marker for Carolina goalie Pyotr Kochetkov to cede right after a solid Hurricanes penalty kill and appeared to diminish Carolina’s confidence.
There was potential to shift Carolina’s momentum, though. Before the first period ended, Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen finished a check sending Jackson Blake awkwardly into the boards. That earned Luostarinen a five-minute penalty and game misconduct, putting the Panthers down two of their top forwards in Luostarinen and an injured Sam Reinhart. But Florida didn’t let the lengthy man advantage hurt its momentum. The Panthers killed it off and matched Carolina’s shot total while shorthanded.
While the score was tied at 1-1 going into the third, Florida regained its lead with Jesper Boqvist undressing (to put it mildly) Orlov in shocking fashion. Boqvist entered the lineup to replace Reinhart, and it was the type of contribution Florida could only hope to see from its depth skater.
It was all Panthers from there, with goals from Mikkola, Aleksander Barkov (capitalizing on a turnover by Orlov), Evan Rodrigues and Brad Marchand giving Florida a 6-1 lead halfway through the third and putting Carolina against the ropes going into an elimination Game 4. Florida will wonder about Mikkola’s status ahead of that tilt. (He left in the third period Saturday after slamming into the end boards.) But the Cats can’t be too frustrated given their win. — Kristen Shilton
0:53
Jesper Boqvist puts Panthers back ahead
Jesper Boqvist goes through the goaltender’s legs to restore the Panthers’ lead vs. the Hurricanes.
Unofficial Canadian poet laureate Avril Lavigne once posed one of more philosophical questions of her generation: Why’d you have to go and make things so complicated?
Everything the Hurricanes did through the first two periods of Game 3 created the belief that they could potentially stick with the Panthers. Only to then fall apart in the third period. Again.
There are numerous reasons why losing Game 3 is so damning for the Hurricanes. What might be the most prominent and prevalent is there might not be anything else they can do at this stage. We have seen the Panthers take a 3-0 series lead only to be pushed to a Game 7 in a playoff series. That was the case in last year’s Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers.
But through three games of this series? The Hurricanes have switched goaltenders, adjusted their lineups and sought out other alterations within their structure — and still lost by a large margin while once again falling prey to being on the other end of a big period. — Ryan S. Clark
Three Stars of Game 3
Mikkola has had quite a series. The defensemen has broken up plays, taken command off the rush and created quality scoring chances. He had two goals in Game 3 for his first career multigoal playoff game and the fourth multigoal playoff game in Panthers franchise history.
It was two goals and a helper for the Cats’ captain. This was Barkov’s 20th career multipoint playoff game, the most in Panthers franchise history.
3. The Panthers’ third period
The Panthers unloaded in the final frame, scoring five goals to run away with Game 3 by a final score of 6-2. Five tucks is the most in any period in a playoff game in franchise history. The Hurricanes have now lost 15 straight conference final games since they won the Stanley Cup in 2006. — Arda Öcal
0:44
Panthers pour it on with 2 more quick goals
The Panthers net two more goals in just over a minute to pad their lead vs. the Hurricanes.
Players to watch in Game 4
There’s no question Florida’s netminder has been building a Conn Smythe case with his excellent play in this postseason. However, Bobrovsky hasn’t been at his most dominant in (initial) closeout games during the playoffs. He made 26 saves for an .897 save percentage in Florida’s Game 5 win over Tampa Bay to send the Lightning home, and made just 15 stops (.882 SV%) in Florida’s Game 6 loss to Toronto in the second round, when the Panthers had a chance to advance.
Bobrovsky was practically impenetrable in Game 7 of that series as the Leafs imploded, but it’s fair to wonder what version of Bobrovsky the Panthers will get in Game 4.
When Florida had an opportunity to close out Edmonton in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final last spring, Bobrovsky turned in his worst showing of the playoffs, with five goals allowed on 11 shots that saw him chased from the net in an 8-1 thumping. Florida has put itself in a good position to send Carolina home, but wouldn’t it be nice to do it sooner than later? Bobrovsky at his best will help Florida do just that. — Shilton
Benching Frederik Andersen was done with the belief that Kochetkov could give the Hurricanes a stronger chance to win. Through two periods, it appeared that that could be the case, as Kochetkov received the necessary support from the Hurricanes’ defensive structure, something that had been an issue in the first two games.
But the Panthers’ five consecutive goals in the third period derailed things. The Hurricanes have now allowed 16 goals over three games. It’s a stark contrast to the first two rounds, when Carolina allowed 18 total in 10 games against the Devils and Capitals.
Kochetkov’s first two periods of Game 3 provided a level of consistency the Hurricanes have struggled to find at times. Is it possible they take something from the opening two-thirds of Game 3 and parlay it into a different outcome in Game 4? Or will it be game and season over instead? — Clark
Big questions for Game 4
Is Florida ready to end this series?
The cliché that the fourth win of a playoff series is the hardest to get exists for a reason. The Panthers experienced that firsthand last season when they took a 3-0 lead over Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Final, then crisscrossed the continent over the next week as the Oilers clawed back to force a Game 7.
Did the Panthers learn their lesson on how to close an opponent out quickly? Florida did it to these very Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference finals two years ago with a tidy four-game sweep featuring many of the same elements we’ve seen from the Panthers in this round. But Florida appeared to have Edmonton well in hand 11 months ago, too.
Game 3 was arguably the Hurricanes’ best of the series. If they can channel some significant desperation into their game Monday, how will Florida handle the pressure of an urgent club trying not to be embarrassed with a 16th consecutive loss in a conference final situation? The Panthers can’t afford to look past what will be a dramatic Game 4. — Shilton
Is this it for the Hurricanes — and what comes next if it is?
That in and of itself is a rather loaded question for several reasons, with the obvious being: Will Monday be Carolina’s last game of the 2025 playoffs? If it is, what could that mean for the franchise going forward?
The way the Hurricanes have been constructed has allowed them to become a perennial playoff team with a legitimate chance of reaching the conference finals. But that comes with the caveat that the Canes might not go any further than that.
It was a dilemma the Panthers faced before making the changes that saw them not only win a Stanley Cup, but also be one win away from a third consecutive Stanley Cup Final. Maybe it doesn’t come to that point for the Hurricanes. But if they allow five or more goals for a fourth straight game while also struggling to score? It could lead to some difficult questions this offseason in Raleigh. — Clark
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Greg Wyshynski
SUNRISE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers are one win away from an Eastern Conference finals sweep. They’ve outscored the Carolina Hurricanes, a team that’s lost 15 straight conference final games, by a count of 16-4. Yet Panthers forward Brad Marchand is still ready for this series to go the distance.
“We’re prepared to go seven here,” he said after their 6-2 victory in Game 3 on Saturday night. “I mean, you can’t start looking ahead. That’s such a dangerous game to play.”
Contextually, that mindset might seem preposterous. The Panthers are trying to match the Tampa Bay Lightning as the only teams since the Edmonton Oilers’ 1980s dynasty to advance to the Stanley Cup Final in three straight seasons, having won the Cup last season. They’ve dominated the Hurricanes with their physicality, scoring depth and the goaltending of Sergei Bobrovsky, who now has a .947 save percentage and a 1.33 goals-against average in the conference finals.
It seems like a matter of when, not if, Florida will eliminate Carolina — and the “when” is trending to be Monday night at home in Game 4. Yet the Panthers are the last team to take a 3-0 lead for granted.
Coach Paul Maurice recalled their semifinals series against the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2023, when they went up 3-0 and dropped a Game 4 on home ice. “We wanted it so bad that we tried to win the game on every play,” he said.
Then came the ultimate lesson on how not to close out a series: The 2024 Stanley Cup Final, which saw the Panthers squander a 3-0 series lead to the Edmonton Oilers before finally winning Game 7 to hoist the Cup for the first time.
Maurice hopes his players understand the dynamics at play in Game 4.
“They have the desperation advantage. You have, potentially, the desire advantage. Both teams will fight that. Can we control the desire emotion and play the game? Can they control the desperation emotion and play the game? The common denominator is just playing the game,” he said.
Game 3 saw the Hurricanes play with more desperation than they’ve exhibited in this series. The game was tied 1-1 entering the third period after Carolina’s Logan Stankoven — who Bobrovsky robbed earlier in the second period with a lunging blocker save — managed to knock the puck past him for a power-play goal at 14:51 to even the score.
The Hurricanes were finally looking like the stingy, tight-checking team they’re known for being. Maurice wasn’t expecting a windfall of offense from the Panthers after the first 40 minutes of Game 3.
“We’re not going out to the third period saying, ‘Well, we can tell this is going to work out [for us]. I’ve got an extra piece of gum in my pocket for the second overtime. That’s how our experience with Carolina has been,” the coach said.
The gum stayed in his pocket. Florida scored five goals in the first 10:37 of the third period to put the game — and potentially the series — away.
“We knew we needed to be a little better than what we were in the second period, so we tried to keep things simple and I think we got rewarded for that,” said captain Aleksander Barkov, who had two of the goals in the onslaught.
Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour was left dumbfounded.
“We’re playing better and then we just turn pucks over. It’s not what we do. I think everyone’s just pretty surprised, you know what I mean?” he said. “Just you can’t do that. In a preseason game it’s going to cost you. But against that team, and you turn it over for odd man rushes? Forget it.”
The key to the rally was a goal by forward Jesper Boqvist, who was put on Barkov’s line as an injury replacement for Sam Reinhart, the Panthers’ leading scorer in the regular season. He took a short pass from linemate Evan Rodrigues and then turned Carolina defenseman Dmitry Orlov (minus-4) inside out before scoring on the backhand against Pyotr Kochetkov (22 saves), who got the start over Frederik Andersen in Game 3 for Carolina.
Boqvist had just one goal and one assist in 9 playoff games this postseason, averaging 8:53 in ice time. In Game 3, he had three points (1 goal, 2 assists) and skated 15:08 for the Panthers.
“He’s an extremely gifted player. I love playing with him. He can kind of play anywhere in the lineup and he’s such an incredible skater. So strong with the puck, so smart. And that was a massive goal,” Marchand said.
The Panthers won Game 3 without Reinhart and without having forward Eetu Luostarinen for most of the game, after he was ejected for boarding Carolina forward Jackson Blake in the first period. Luostarinen was tied for the team lead with 13 points entering Game 3, with 4 goals and 9 assists.
The Panthers would kill off that 5-minute major in what Maurice called “a real inflection point in the game,” considering that Florida was missing key penalty killers in Luostarinen and Reinhart, who is day-to-day with a lower body injury. When they needed him, Bobrovsky (23 saves) was a great last line of defense.
Thanks to their third-period deluge, the Panthers are now poised to sweep the Hurricanes in the conference final for the second time in three postseasons. Yet even with Florida’s domination of the series, Marchand said his team is anything but overconfident.
“I don’t think the way the games have been played is really an indication of what the outcome’s been, score wise. They’ve been pretty tight. It just seems like we’ve gotten a couple bounces, a couple lucky breaks here and there that have given us a pretty good lead,” he said.
“But it doesn’t matter. It’s not going to change anything about next game. We’ve got to come in and prepare the same way. It’s always the toughest one to get, so we got to make sure we bring our best.”
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Greg Wyshynski
SUNRISE, Fla. — Florida Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen was ejected from Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals after a boarding major against forward Jackson Blake of the Carolina Hurricanes.
With 3:01 left in the first period, Blake was chasing the puck back in his own zone with Luostarinen behind him. As Luostarinen reached out with his stick, Blake stopped short of the boards and Luostarinen hit through him. Luostarinen drove Blake’s head into the boards, bloodying the Carolina forward.
The on-ice officials gave Luostarinen a five-minute major and then reviewed the hit. They confirmed the call on the ice. Per NHL Rule 41.5, when a major penalty for boarding is called, a game misconduct is automatic. A major penalty for boarding is determined by “the degree of violence of the impact with the boards.”
Luostarinen was tied for the team lead with 13 points entering Game 3, with 4 goals and 9 assists. He scored 12 of those points on the road. Blake returned to action in the second period.
The Panthers lead the series 2-0 and had a 1-0 lead in Game 3 when the major penalty was called.
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