Late-Round NFL Rookies Who Can Compete for Starting Jobs in Year 1

May 31, 2016   ·   Justis Mosqueda   ·   Jump to comments

It's easy to focus on Day 1 and Day 2 NFL draft picks in terms of impact. When you read draft grades or draft reviews on individual teams, they almost always revolve around those players specifically. While this is correct as a generalization—that Day 1 and Day 2 selections do tend to play more as rookies than Day 3 players—it is not set in stone.
Last year alone, we saw players like an unknown Rodney Gunter from Delaware State start double-digit games on the Arizona Cardinals' defensive line, Baltimore's fourth-round pick Za'Darius Smith finishing third in rookie sacks and Shaq Mason starting 10 games for the New England Patriots at guard. That's not even counting some part-time skill players like Jeremy Langford and Karlos Williams, who did well when they were able to field some reps.
Heading into 2016, you should expect the majority of the NFL's rookie contributions to come from top-100 picks, but keep an eye out for possible sleepers. As far as players who wer...

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