2011 NFL Draft Results: 15 Best Draft Picks from Day 3
Go deep or go home.
If you're hoping to get an "A" on draft day, you'd better be thinking about snagging the best late-round gems in the NFL draft. While the day one and two guys are going to be expected to be Week 1 starters, the fourth- through seventh-rounds are where the draft separates the men from the boys.
The general managers with true football IQs have always been able to find stud prospects on day three. Whether it's Tom Brady, Marc Bulger or Terrell Davis, a general manager cannot live on first-round picks alone.
Plenty of experts will be looking to assess every NFL team's ability to draft the potential "sure-thing" in the first-round. But here we'll break down the best day three draft picks. These are the raw prospects, the third tier QBs; this is the place where teams make sure to draft guys they have fallen in love with over the course of private workouts.
15. Johnny White, UNC: Buffalo Bills, Round 5 (133)
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Johnny White was Todd McShay's 10th best available player entering day three and Buffalo got him at 133rd overall. Coming out of UNC, White didn't have enough experience at running back for teams to think that he could do it at the next level.
Their mistakes will be Buffalo's fortune.
He ran a 4.5-40 at the combine but has incredible quickness in his first few steps. White has great leadership intangibles, but lacks prototypical every-down size for the NFL.
For White, Buffalo is a strange destination after they chose C.J. Spiller in the Top 10 last year. While Spiller is every bit a better player than White, they do have a similar running style and both are valuable in the return game.
14. Greg McElroy, Alabama: New York Jets, Round 7 (208)
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McElroy will not be a staring quarterback for the New York Jets. It's not a guess; it's a fact.
But at Round 7, Mark Sanchez needs a sturdy backup that knows how to win football games. After two years in the league, Sanchez has been terrific in leading the Jets. It's time for the Jets to stop wasting a roster spot on aging QBs like Mark Brunell.
Now Sanchez can start to work with McElroy to make sure they have a manageable quarterback, should the starter go down to injury. In McElroy, the Jets get a leader and a winner. He led the Alabama Crimson Tide to a BCS Title in his junior season before losing his first game as a starter since middle school in 2010.
The Jets add a great locker room presence at 208th overall, even if he won't see the field.
13. Niles Paul, Nebraska: Washington Redskins, Round 5 (155)
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Niles Paul is a guy that I thought should have gone a lot higher. The system he played in at Nebraska didn't help his draft stock, even after a terrific junior year.
The bottom line: Paul is a big wide receiver at 6'1" and has good top-end speed, running a 4.45-40 at the combine. He's the perfect guy for Shanahan to plug in and be a No. 3 option behind deep threats Santana Moss and Brandon Banks.
If he can get on the field and the Skins get some stability at quarterback, plenty of teams will regret not going after this Cornhusker.
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12. Gregory Salas, Hawaii: St. Louis Rams, Round 4 (112)
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All Salas did last year at University of Hawaii was catch 119 passes for 1,889 yards and 14 touchdowns. No biggie.
People will argue that he didn't have enough competition, but he did rack up 124 yards receiving in week one against USC. When push comes to shove, Salas is a terrific athlete and has a big body that Sam Bradford can target for the next few years.
He's not the flashy pick that Rams fans wanted (like Julio Jones), but he's the perfect compliment to the their third-round pick, Austin Pettis.
While Pettis is busy making teams worry about the deep route, Salas will gladly take the five-to-10 yard patterns underneath and help the Rams move the chains.
11. Pernell McPhee, Mississippi State: Baltimore Ravens, Round 5 (165)
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McPhee was a guy that saw his stock move up and down after a roller coaster of a Senior Bowl performance. Now he's got the opportunity to learn from the best defensive players in the league: the Baltimore Ravens. As the 165th pick in the draft, Baltimore got a guy with exceptional value that some had going in the third-round.
The Ravens got one of the steals of the draft, gained in a compensation pick that ended the fifth-round. McPhee definitely won't start right away, but he has the ability to make an impact on special teams and work himself into the defensive end rotation behind Cory Redding, Paul Kruger and Terrell Suggs.
10. Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State: San Francisco 49ers, Round 4 (115)
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After a flurry of picks that I saw as reaches in the first few rounds, the 49ers picked up a terrific change-of-pace running back to compliment Frank Gore. Hunter is a quick runner at just under 5'8" and, while he may not have three-down back size, the NFL has seen several runners without elite size prosper of late.
Although Hunter missed time in 2009, his stats are unbelievable. In a pass-heavy Big 12, Hunter rushed for over 1,500 yards in both his sophomore and senior seasons.
The 49ers got their quarterback of the future, one of the game's best tight ends, a young receiving stud and, with this pick, added to their offensive stable in a big way. They will be competitive in the NFC West next year and Kendall Hunter will be a big reason why.
9. Casey Matthews, Oregon: Philadelphia Eagles, Round 4 (116)
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Casey Matthews saw his draft stock rise after a terrific performance in the BCS National Championship Game and a couple of unbelievable seasons by his older brother Clay.
While he has a high motor, Casey doesn't have the top-end speed that usually comes with the Matthews name. On the other hand, his exceptional instincts make up for his speed.
Casey is the blue-collar type of edge rusher that Andy Reid will love and, in the fourth-round, he's a straight up bargain. He'll play his way onto this team with an incredible amount of heart and special teams ability, and will be an immediate difference-maker next to Brandon Graham, their first-round pick from 2010.
8. Chris Carter, Fresno State: Pittsburgh Steelers, Round 5 (162)
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Carter was a guy I thought would have been gone by the end of the third-round. Though he played in the WAC, where the competition isn't as tough, his junior and senior seasons were oozing with productivity.
At Fresno State, Carter racked up 15 sacks, four forced fumbles and an incredible 27 tackles for loss over his last two seasons. It was like a man playing against boys when he was on the field.
Scouts Inc. ranked him the sixth overall outside linebacker in the draft; you don't usually see someone with such a high ranking fall all the way to the bottom of the fifth-round. At 162nd overall, Pittsburgh got a steal in a guy that can come in and make a difference without the pressure of being a star on one of the best defenses in the league.
7. Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon State: Atlanta Falcons, Round 5 (145)
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The Falcons traded a lot of pieces to move up to the No. 6 pick in the draft to take Julio Jones. They used a couple more to trade up in the fifth-round to take Jacquizz Rodgers.
Most teams probably shied away from Quizz because of his height. On his tippy toes, the Oregon State product is barely over 5'6". While Rodgers doesn't have breakaway speed, his lateral quickness is absolutely phenomenal.
Michael Turner now has a great change-of-pace running back combination, similar to that of the 49ers with Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter.
The Falcons will have one of the most explosive teams in the NFL next year, and Rodgers will only add to it.
6. Marcus Cannon, TCU: New England Patriots, Round 5 (138)
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Marcus Cannon is most likely out for the 2011 season, which illustrates just how high the Patriots are on him, using one of their fifth-round picks. We all know how much Bill Belichick loves his draft picks.
Cannon was recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma but is expected to make a complete recovery. The Pats have a lot invested in Tom Brady and they will do everything they need to to keep him upright.
Cannon is a bruiser, an excellent run blocker and a Rose Bowl winner with the undefeated TCU Horned Frogs.
He won't make an impact this year, but after a recovery, Cannon has all the potential and skills to make it as a starting lineman in this league.
5. Sam Acho, Texas: Arizona Cardinals, Round 4 (103)
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Ken Whisenhunt may have neglected his QB situation, but he got a real steal in the fourth-round. Some scouts viewed Acho going as high as in the second-round; in the fourth he's a stud.
He accumulated 19 sacks in his final two seasons at Texas and has a knack for getting after the ball carrier.
The Cardinals have been looking for an eventual replacement for Joey Porter. I believe they just found one in Texas defensive end Sam Acho.
4. Christian Ballard, Iowa: Minnesota Vikings, Round 4 (106)
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Ballard could have gone on day two, but his off-field issues and average strength dropped him to the fourth-round, where he is a terrific value.
The Iowa product tested positive for marijuana at the NFL combine. As soon as the information came out, teams seemed to declare him unworthy of a day-two pick.
He had just three sacks in his senior season at Iowa, but if he can continue to work on his pass-rushing skills, he should have plenty of opportunities with Jared Allen getting double-teamed.
The Vikings add another high intensity guy to stick on their defensive line while other teams hold their breath, hoping they didn't make a big mistake passing him up.
3. Tandon Doss, Indiana: Baltimore Ravens, Round 4 (123)
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One of only two teams to be appear twice on my list of day three steals, the Baltimore Ravens took a second helping at wide receiver after landing Torrey Smith in round two.
While Smith is the burner that the Ravens desperately need, Doss is the Derrick Mason-type replacement that they also need to have around. Doss has one of the best sets of hands in the draft and, while he lacks great speed (4.5-40,) the Ravens personnel love his route-running ability, believing he plays much faster on the field.
Doss was one of the best overall players on the board after day two concluded, and could very well have gone on the third, but was somehow taken as the fifth wide receiver on day three.
Hand picked by Joe Flacco himself, this guy is going to be a great safety net for years to come.
2. Brandon Burton, Utah: Minnesota Vikings, Round 5 (139)
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This one baffles me folks. I would have figured Burton to be long gone in Round 3, but somehow he lasted all the way through Round 4 and the Vikes snatched him up as the 139th overall pick in the fifth-round.
Burton has good enough size and skills to be a top notch nickel in the NFL, and could be groomed to become a No. 2 corner. While he didn't have great competition at Utah, he has excellent cover skills and above average ball skills.
If he's not coming down with the interception, he can definitely be relied on for the pass deflection. This Ute is going to the Vikes and the many teams that took cornerbacks before him will surely regret this one.
1. Clint Boling, Georgia: Cincinnati Bengals, Round 4 (101)
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This may have been the best value pick after day one.
Boling was a stud lineman at University of Georgia and was not only ranked as the No. 3 guard prospect in the draft, but was No. 50 overall.
I don't normally praise the Bengals, but they probably enjoyed a Top 3 draft class before this pick; they skyrocket to No. 1 or No. 2 after.
A.J. Green, Andy Dalton and Boling are a trio of rookies that will have to depend on each other to make plays. Cincinnati is doing it right this year.
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