Each year, a few draft prospects outside the top tier end up making waves and having a larger impact than anticipated.
Before reaching for the hindsight goggles, we’ve identified three offensive prospects you’ll wish your team drafted by this time next year.
OT Marcus Mbow, Purdue
An excellent athlete with fluid movement and agility, Mbow has quick feet that allow for great mirroring in pass protection. A smart line leader, he also brings potential positional versatility with career starts at both guard and tackle.
His pro comparison is Chargers tackle Rashawn Slater, a first-rounder out of Northwestern known for terrific mobility and athleticism. Mbow is a perfect tackle for teams that use a lot of zone-run concepts and take deep shotgun dropbacks consistently. Like Slater, Mbow lacks the ideal height, weight and length for an offensive tackle but makes up for it with technique, athleticism and functional strength.
WR Jayden Higgins, Iowa State
Higgins is no stranger to being overlooked. He was underrecruited and landed at Eastern Kentucky after receiving only FCS offers. He had two 1,000-yard seasons at EKU, then grabbed 87 passes for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns in his final season at Iowa State.
He’s big and tall, but he does more than specialize in being a contested-catch guy. He can climb the ladder and is a good leaper, as well as being very physical throughout the route. He gets separation through quick route breaks—especially sudden right at the route stem—throwing the defensive back off balance and giving him time to get ahead of the ball.
Higgins is a strong player who loves to fight through coverage and is creative in gaining leverage. He runs good routes on all levels of the field; there’s no gray area where he can’t separate. He catches most balls thrown to him, has exceptional ball-tracking ability and makes impressive adjustments.
RB Dylan Sampson, Tennessee
As a ballcarrier—not a receiver, where he needs more work—there are some Tiki Barber vibes when scouting Sampson’s evolution to his present-day form. Sampson spent his first two years with the Volunteers in a rotational role. While concerns about his size and lack of passing game production will likely keep him out of the top 50, his ability to be a home-run hitter with the ball in his hands shouldn’t be overlooked.
He’s an easy mover who coasts into max speed when he gets rolling downhill. He’s also an aware blocker who won’t get blindsided by pressure. His spin move was on display multiple times against Oklahoma, and defenders couldn’t figure it out. His verified track speed is evident on the field as well.
