Since the beginning of the NFL Draft, there always are dark horses who come with no name recognition. Some are listed near the bottom of a top 500 list. Others come from mere obscurity. Honestly, the success of a late-round pick or an undrafted free agent boggles the 365 days of the year experts who study every single second of tape of thousands of players. There is always something on a player. A number of sleeper players overcame injuries, or a school tucked away in rural America. For the most part, the circumstances are beyond control. That being said, players do what they need to do to make a name for themselves. This is a small sample of players who were either undrafted or late-round sleepers who made a mark on the NFL. Here is a small list of those players: Wes Welker, Nate Newton, John Randle, Marques Colston, and Darren Sproles.
The True Dark Horses of the 2020 NFL Draft
Darren Sproles Never Gave in to the Doubters
Darren Sproles’ story was one of my favorites. Sproles defied all of the odds of being too small for the NFL. Recently, Sproles decided to hang up his cleats after a brilliant 14-year career. In the end, Sproles solidified his place in NFL history. He is fifth all-time in all-purpose yards ahead of legends Marshall Faulk, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Barry Sanders, to name a few. Sproles finished with 19,696 yards, behind only Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton, Brian Mitchell, and Jerry Rice. And the funny thing is, 13 running backs were drafted before Sproles in the 2005 NFL Draft. Sproles went late in the fourth round at pick #130.
Teammates and coaches who played with him gave him high praise all around to give us an insight into what made him great.
Malcolm Jenkins, a longtime teammate of Sproles had this to say. “Every time I think of Darren it really is one thing that constantly pops into my head,” Jenkins said. “He makes you reconsider if you want to be great.”
Jenkins saw him train harder than anyone year after year without complaint. “Tank” he was called since he weighed 10 pounds at birth never gave in to the feeling of ineptness. Regardless, the doubter kept chirping about putting roadblocks to his career. Also, not many people know this, Sproles dealt with other challenges too. He overcame a speech impediment throughout the time from elementary school all the way to college. Additionally, his biggest fan, his mom died from cancer while attending Kansas State. Most athletes would simply crumble to the pressure of being a highly touted player and facing personal challenges at the same time.
A Star is Born in Kansas
Former Kansas State running back Michael Smith worked closely with Sproles at Kansas State. “Darren ran for 250 yards against Louisiana-Lafayette early in the season, but he fumbled twice. We go in Sunday morning to grade the film–our staff room overlooked the stadium–and we just see this guy out there running. Running plays by himself with a ball in his hand. It was Darren. Here’s our best player, our All-American, our guy. He know’s he’s going pro, but just to see him to take part of his game so serious. And what he did is he took the game script out there and ran every play over, and just was carrying the ball, making moves on the air. I don’t want to make it sound like a movie but it’s true, man. The dude was unbelievable. I tell people I’ve been fortunate to coach a lot of unbelievable players, but by far the best player I’ve ever coached was Darren.”
And Sproles flourished in the NFL. He played for the Los Angeles Chargers, New Orleans Saints, and the Philadelphia Eagles to set record after record until his retirement.
Now speed up to current day, the year 2020. The NFL Draft will look quite different in a few days. There won’t be Jets fans hooting and hollering. Nor, the handshakes with players on a well-lit stage is now replaced by a commissioner from a basement. Be that as it may, there is surely yo be at least one or two dreamers to break the odds barrier again. Perhaps another Marques Colston, or even a Kurt Warner may lie beneath the grass hidden from the eyes scouring the internet for rare gems.
Keep the eye on the Computer to Find the Treasure
All the scouts have extra time to put more hours into research. Instead of planning flights and coordinating workouts on the field, the key to success lies to the keenest of the eye. Make no mistake, players who succeed won’t get lucky. They demand attention. The great players find a way to get noticed, if the dream is motivated by determination. Forget the Wonderlic scores, the 40-yard dash times, and even the statistics. These hard to find gems are going to make it in the NFL. Their belief is unwavering. Here is the list of my top 25 dark horses for the 2020 NFL Draft. Some will get drafted late, and others may show up at a rookie camp. Either way, these players make their mark.
QB Kelly Bryant – Missouri
QB Bryce Perkins – Virginia
WR Zimari Manning – Tarleton St.
TE Mitchell Wilcox – South Florida
WR Darrell Mooney – Tulane
TE Jacob Breeland – Oregon
QB Nate Stanley – Iowa
RB Lamical Perine – Florida
RB Deejay Dallas – Miami
QB Deondre Francois – Hampton
RB Benny LeMay – Charlotte
RB Michael Warren II – Cincinnati
WR Josh Pearson – Jacksonville St.
WR James Proche – SMU
TE Matthew Wilkerson – Edward Waters
TE Nigel Kilby – Southern Illinois
WR Joe Reed – Virginia
TE Korab Idrizi – Boston College
G Elex Woodworth – North Texas
OT Alex Givens – Ole Miss
QB Khalil Tate – Arizona Arizona
OT Scott Frantz – Kansas St.
FB Kelton Moore – Nevada
G Cameron Clark – Charlotte
RB Darrynton Evans – Appalachian St.
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
