The NFL Draft always features a ton of surprises. There are trades, reaches and players falling. At the same time, there are major busts and serious steals.
With the 2020 NFL Draft drawing closer and closer, we start to wonder who is going to fulfill all of those roles this year. That “steals” category is especially intriguing.
So with that in mind, who will be the biggest steals of the 2020 NFL Draft. Let's break it down by round and try to determine the biggest steal of each group.
Right now, we'll look at Round 7.
Since the draft has yet to happen, we need to look at the projections. Obviously I can't pretend like Joe Burrow or Chase Young will fall to the seventh round, just to make the easiest “steal of the seventh round” article of all-time.
Due to that, we're looking at players with grades around the seventh round.
With that in mind, there's one name that sticks out above all others. Texas Tech cornerback Douglas Coleman III.
Coleman III enjoyed an incredible senior season in 2019. He set a new career-high in a ton of different categories, that included tackles (63). The big one though, was interceptions.
Before last season, Coleman III had three career interceptions, one coming in each season. Then in 2019, he racked up a massive eight interceptions.
He's proven to be a ballhawk, and has solid coverage skills outside of that. At 6'1″, 200 lbs he's got a good frame, that won't let too many receivers bully him.
In fact, it seems like the only reason Coleman III is so low on NFL Draft boards is because of his late blooming.
Before 2019, he wasn't really a star defensive back. So teams might be a little wary. This could actually work in their favor though.
There are a few reasons for this. First, Coleman III played a pretty significant role in the defense all four years. He appeared in a majority of their games all four years. Although the numbers weren't always elite, he was solid. The defensive back has tons of experience due to that.
Second, Coleman III proved last season that he's growing. He's evolving and getting better. The cornerback made major improvements in his coverage, ball hawking skills and tackling. And if he continues to grow, teams might be getting a legitimate star extremely late in the draft.
A lot of teams are looking for stars at cornerback. Even the ones that aren't could use some extra depth. Due to that, Coleman III should generate a lot of interest.
If he can land with a team that gives him a chance, he will immediate pay dividends. Coleman III could carve out a special teams role immediately, and might even find his way into the starting rotation on defense for a number of teams.
With this being a seventh-round pick, it might not be obvious after year one. It might take Coleman III a little bit to carve out a real role. A few years down the road though, we could definitely be looking back and wondering how he was ever taken so late in the 2020 NFL Draft.
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