NFL Draft: Undrafted five-stars, other notables
We wrap up our NFL Draft coverage today with a look at former five-stars that went undrafted, along with other notable players that hooked on as free agents following the draft.
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MORE NFL DRAFT: Top 10 former two-stars and unranked drafted | Top 10 former three-stars selected | Top 10 former four-stars selected | Top 10 former five-stars selected | Looking ahead to top 10 players for 2021 draft
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022: Top 100
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Recruiting: Early in his senior season, Campbell committed to Florida State over Florida and LSU.
Overview: Over three seasons at Florida State, Campbell played in only seven games, he caught 13 passes and had no touchdowns. He transferred to West Virginia and last season he totaled 19 receptions for 469 yards and led the team with seven receiving scores. The New York Jets signed him as an undrafted free agent.
Farrell’s take: This is no surprise to me honestly. Campbell always had a big boom-or-bust label on him and I reached in pushing for him to be a five-star. He showed some of his potential at West Virginia but obviously not enough. His hands were our biggest knock against him but we thought they would develop.
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Recruiting: Fowler was an LSU commit until National Signing Day when he flipped to Texas. According to reports, Fowler leaned toward the Tigers throughout his recruitment but his mother preferred he play for the Longhorns, and they won out.
Overview: Because of academic issues, Fowler did not play in Texas’ first three games of the 2016 season and then finished the year with one tackle. He transferred in the summer of 2017 to Sam Houston State. In the 2018 season, Fowler finished with 40 tackles (14.5 for loss) and five sacks along with two fumble recoveries. He didn’t play there in 2019.
Farrell’s take: This appears to be about off-field issues more than anything as Fowler had the size and willingness to hit that would make him a terrific inside linebacker. This is an example of great promise wasted.
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Recruiting: USC was always considered the frontrunner and the Trojans beat out Arizona State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Miami and others.
Overview: Houston finished with 271 tackles during his career at USC, including 104 this past season to lead the Trojans. However, Houston was not invited to the NFL Scouting Combine. He signed as an undrafted free agent with Pittsburgh.
Farrell’s take: This is a bit puzzling because Houston was productive on the field and had athleticism and length. His career fell far short of five star status but a late round pick would not have shocked me.
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Recruiting: On National Signing Day, Jamabo committed to UCLA over Texas. He also took an official visit to Notre Dame. The Bruins were always considered the frontrunner.
Overview: In four seasons at UCLA, Jamabo rushed for 1,183 yards and 13 touchdowns but he suffered a head injury early in the 2018 season and never returned.
Farrell’s take: Jamabo was awesome coming out of high school, a kid with speed and elusiveness who could also catch the ball. The head injury obviously ended his career and he wasn’t dominating up until that point as we expected but it would have been nice to see him be able to play it out.
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Recruiting: Jones and four-star quarterback Dwayne Haskins flipped their commitments from Maryland to Ohio State a few weeks before National Signing Day.
Overview: Over three seasons at Ohio State, Jones played in 16 games and had 29 tackles. He transferred to Maryland for one year and hit it big with 73 tackles, including 14.5 for loss and seven sacks but he was not one of the three Terrapins invited to the combine. He’s signed with Chicago.
Farrell’s take: Jones, like Campbell, came on too late in his career and couldn’t push into the draft. He was a downhill kid who could thump but also good in coverage coming out of high school so this is puzzling to an extent.
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Recruiting: Lucier-South committed to UCLA in November of his senior season and the Bruins beat out USC, which made a serious but late push for his services, and many others. He ended up with 30 offers. Michigan, Oregon and Oklahoma were involved as well.
Overview: Lucier-South was productive with 99 tackles (17 for loss) and four sacks in his sophomore and junior seasons but he missed time as a senior because of academics. There is no reporting that he signed as an undrafted free agent.
Farrell’s take: Lucier-South flashed signs of being elite here and there but never put it all together. He was a thin edge rusher and a tweener coming out of high school so there were question marks and clearly he didn’t develop enough at UCLA.
Recruiting: An early Arizona commitment, Patterson picked Ole Miss over LSU, USC and others in the spring of his junior year.
Overview: Patterson finished his college career - which was played at Ole Miss and then Michigan - with 8,800 passing yards with 68 touchdowns and 27 interceptions, only 52 fewer yards than Joe Burrow in two fewer games. Patterson signed a free agent deal with Kansas City.
Farrell’s take: This one is crazy to me. This kid had it all — a live arm, accuracy, pocket presence — everything but great size. And at Michigan he was up and down but to not be drafted at all? That’s crazy.
Recruiting: Originally an Ole Miss commit, Richmond flipped to Tennessee on National Signing Day. Ohio State, Alabama and others were also involved.
Overview: Richmond started for three years at Tennessee before doing a graduate year at USC. He was not invited to the combine and planned a pro day but that did not materialize because of the coronavirus travel ban. There are no reports of him signing as an undrafted free agent.
Farrell’s take: Richmond was a massive kid with light feet who has had plenty of chances to impress. He just never put it all together. But you’d think someone would take a risk on his size alone.
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Recruiting: Virginia looked to be the frontrunner in Taylor’s recruitment early on but after a visit to Florida State, he committed to the Seminoles in the spring before his senior season.
Overview: Taylor finished with 90 tackles and four interceptions over 35 games in his four-year career. He was not invited to the combine so he made his own makeshift one which was filmed by a camera crew. He signed an undrafted free agent deal with the Los Angeles Rams.
Farrell’s take: Taylor was small and a move to safety sealed his fate at FSU as he wasn’t as much of a lockdown corner as we hoped. He could stick though as he has speed and instincts. The Rams might have a steal here.
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NOTABLE UNDRAFTED FREE AGENT SIGNINGS
Undrafted free agents can make up as much as 20% of NFL starters in any given season, and include household names like Tony Romo, Priest Holmes and Antonio Gates.
Here is a look at intriguing undrafted prospects who signed with teams in the last week.
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Oluwole Betiku, New York Giants
A physical phenom who left his home in Nigeria and spent time on both coasts during his high school career, Betiku committed to UCLA before his senior season only to de-commit and sign with crosstown rivals. His career at USC never reached the heights projected, and was ground for good when hip surgery erased his 2018 season. Betiku opted to transfer to Illinois for his final collegiate season and ended up leading the Illini with nine sacks despite missing a handful of games with ankle issues. Betiku did not sign with the Giants until Tuesday.
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Hunter Bryant, Detroit Lions
The No. 1 UDFA signing following the 2020 NFL Draft according to Pro Football Focus, Bryant goes to a Detroit team who picked tight end T.J. Hockenson in the first round one year ago. Bryant jumped into the draft after the minimum three season of college, during which he caught 85 passes for 1,394 yards and five touchdowns. Out of high school Bryant committed to the home-state school during his junior year, but was still a target of several schools throughout his senior season. Bryant never wavered on that Washington commitment, though, and was one of seven five-stars the Huskies signed in its 2017 class.
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Tavien Feaster, Jacksonville Jaguars
Feaster came to Clemson with great promise, and for all intents and purposes lived up to that promise. He rushed for over 2,000 yards and averaged 5.99 yards per carry in three seasons with the Tigers, but never overcame Travis Etienne for the starting role. He would transfer in-state to the South Carolina Gamecocks for his final season, rushing for 572 yards and five touchdowns last fall, and was not invited to the NFL Combine. Feaster signed with a Jacksonville organization that did not draft a running back, but signed two others at the position in free agency.
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Khalil Tate, Philadelphia Eagles
Many schools recruited Tate as an athlete out of high school, but the four-star saw himself purely as a quarterback and committed to Arizona because it promised to keep him behind center. Rich Rodriguez’s offense was an ideal fit for Tate’s quarterbacking skill set, and he would draw national attention in year two with the program by combining for more than 3,000 yards passing and rushing. Rodriguez’s quick dismissal after that season, though, coincided with Tate’s descent. He never clicked in Kevin Sumlin’s offense the way he did with Rodriguez, and now Philadelphia is expected to move Tate to receiver.
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Jeff Thomas, New England Patriots
After a promising start to his career at Miami, the last year has been a long, strange journey for Thomas that results in him signing a free agent contract with the Patriots. One of a handful of third-year juniors to declare early that did not hear their name called, Thomas’ off-the-field question marks likely played a role in his tumble out of the draft. An explosive receiver and returner, Thomas was suspended by Miami in 2018 and announced intentions to transfer to Illinois last off-season, only to find himself back with the Hurricanes for the 2019 season. Thomas could be a Devin Hester-type weapon if New England can keep him focused.
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Ahmad Wagner, Chicago Bears
Wagner committed to Iowa basketball the summer before his senior year of high school, then decided to go out for the Hubert Heights Wayne football team that fall even though he had not played football before. Halfway through that first football season, Wagner had drawn a scholarship offer from Kentucky and interest from the likes of Ohio State. He decided to stick with basketball, though, signing with Iowa in the early period. After three years he left the Iowa basketball team and transferred to Kentucky. In two seasons with the Wildcats, Wagner caught 15 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns as a tight end.