When it comes to the NFL draft, we love to debate who should go No. 1, the quarterback draft order and which teams will trade up or down. We also love draft sleepers. These are the players who will hear their names called later on Day 2 or Day 3 of the draft, but could end up being excellent pickups for the right NFL teams.
Although teams face pressure to make the right first-round selections, their real challenge comes with finding the value of each draft pool.
Rather than pick my own draft sleepers, I asked college football coaches, the guys who scouted and faced these NFL draft hopefuls, who they would pick. The result was 22 names. They provided comments (anonymously) on those they selected. For the purpose of this list, some coaches are identified by the roles they held during the 2023 season.
Let's get started.
Position rank | Overall rank
Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall
Height/Weight: 6-foot-1, 189 pounds
2023 stats: 65 receptions, 965 yards, 4 touchdowns, 14.8 YPC
ESPN draft position rank: No. 10 wide receiver
Overall rank: 44