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Biggest Steals in the Later Rounds of the NFL Draft

3 NFL Draft steals who landed in perfect situations to make immediate impact as rookies

Cooper Girolamo
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By Cooper Girolamo

While most fans are really only concerned with who their team drafts in the first round or two of the NFL Draft, every year there are quite a few players who end up being massive steals in the later rounds of the draft. This year there are some later round players who were selected by the perfect team who have a chance to make an immediate impact for their team.

Ollie Gordon II, Miami Dolphins

The first player that found the perfect fit in the later round of the draft is former Oklahoma State running back Gordon. Coming into this past season he was regarded as the top running back in this year’s class and a first round prospect. In his sophomore season with the Cowboys, he posted 1,700 yards and 21 touchdowns on the ground, finishing seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting and becoming an All-American. He had immense hype heading into 2024, but he was arrested for a suspected DUI prior to the season and had a very disappointing season only putting up 900 yards and 13 touchdowns. This caused him to slip from a first round player to falling to the sixth round where the Miami Dolphins picked him.

Head coach Mike McDaniel has an inept ability to use his weapons in perfect and unique ways. He is now able to pair Gordon’s bowling-ball type of running with Devon Achane’s speed and catching prowess. That duo could be deadly mixed with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle on the outside as receivers. If Gordon is able to channel his sophomore season self and add that to the Dolphins offense, it may become impossible to stop them from going down and scoring touchdowns every drive.

Chirs Paul Jr., Los Angeles Rams

The former Ole Miss linebacker was selected in the fifth round by the Los Angeles Rams. He was ranked as the 83rd-best player in the draft by Pro Football Focus. He is a great coverage linebacker, constantly matching up against teams’ running backs and tight ends in the pass game. He is also a great tackler. 

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With linebacker not being at the top of many teams’ draft boards and with Paul having great change of direction quickness or overall speed he fell substantially down draft boards. With head coach Sean McVay being great at utilizing talent and with this up-and-coming young Rams defense, Paul could slide into the rotation and make an impact from day one.

Xavier Watts, Atlanta Falcons

Watts, the former safety from Notre Dame, was selected in the late third round to the Atlanta Falcons. Ranked as the No. 3 safety on most experts’ boards, he slipped further than many people mocked. 

He has fantastic ball skills, great hands and flies all over the field. With the Falcons finally addressing their defense in this year’s draft, Watts can slide in and compete from day one. His biggest weakness is his change of direction ability, but defensive-minded head coach, Raheem Morris, should be able to help fix that and turn him into one of the league’s best young safeties.

While there are plenty of later round guys who will make great impacts on the team’s that drafted them, I believe these three guys were major steals and will make impacts from the first game of the season. 

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