Five Key Sleepers for the 2009 NFL Draft

Typically most drafts end up producing some very good, high impact players that weren’t taken in the first three or four rounds (where most of the better talent is taken). We will remember such names as Tom Brady, Mark Anderson and Marques Colston as some of the more recent sleepers in draft history and there is always the prospect of getting some real gems in the later rounds of the draft. The 2009 NFL Draft will be no different than past drafts as there will be several players who could be real strong sleepers and surprise a lot of people in the NFL and the media in the next few years.

The following is a look at five players who are strong sleepers in the 2009 NFL Draft. There is some insight into where they might end up and how their careers may go in the NFL following the draft.

1. Mike Wallace-WR-Ole Miss-After his solid performance in the Senior Bowl, Wallace comes in as a guy would could end up having a good career in the NFL despite being taken (most likely) in the third or fourth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. While Wallace doesn’t have a lot of great speed, he could end up being a good possession receiver who will become the go to guy in the offense. Look for Wallace to have a pretty good NFL career depending on which team selects him in the draft.

2. David Veikune-DE-Hawaii-This is a guy that teams will covet in the middle rounds of the draft and someone who could, quite possibly, have a breakout career at some point shortly down the road. While the knocks on Veikune are that he isn’t that strong against the run and that he has some problems taking on blockers but he’s a good prospect who could play well in the NFL a couple of years down the road.

3. Robert Ayers-DE-Tennessee-Ayers may move up a little bit and could quite possibly move out of the sleeper category because he has shown himself to be quite a capable player. After a strong Senior Bowl performance, Ayers might just be one of the biggest surprises in this year’s draft. With the kind of talent that he has, it’s possible that he could go anywhere from the first round to the third but stands to be one of the biggest sleepers in this year’s draft.

4. Seth Olsen-OG-Iowa-Olsen is a well sized player for his position, strong and has some good explosion off the ball. He is skilled and uses those skills to play well. With a good showing at the East-West Shrine Game, Olsen has raised a lot of eyebrows with scouts. He still needs a lot of work to get things figured out but with the coaching of a good NFL offensive line coach, he should be able to develop well and could even be a starter in NFL at some point. He defiantly has the ability to become a solid starter in the NFL.

5. Jarrett Dillard-WR-Rice-Dillard is going to be one of those guys that comes along a little slow at first but then develops into a good wide receiver who can help a team move the chains and get the ball down the field. While his size is what is holding him back a bit from being a higher draft choice, Dillard can play the position very well and has solid speed. He isn’t afraid to battle for the ball as well and can leap pretty high. Look for Dillard to go somewhere in the third round of this year’s draft and develop into a pretty productive player on the NFL level.

Every draft ends up having some sleepers in it. Some guys come right up front and play well right away while others take time to develop but end up being fine players when it is all said and done. This draft should be no different from some of the past drafts and could produce some real surprise sleepers and great players for several seasons to come.

By Bryan Dietzler