Every year, one of my least favorite debates about the NFL draft is what constitutes a "sleeper." Is it where the prospect went to school? Is it where he will get drafted? Is it about how well known he is or isn't? Quite frankly, the sleeper police need to find better things to do.
What follows is a list of Pro Football Focus' favorite 2020 NFL draft sleepers -- 12 prospects who, for whatever reason, haven't generated a ton of hype but are still high on PFF's NFL draft Big Board. We'll go in order of where they appear in our overall rankings, starting with the No. 26 prospect on our board and ending with No. 175:
Curtis Weaver, EDGE, Boise State
Position ranking: 3
Overall ranking: 26
Weaver was tasked with playing a weak slate of offensive tackles in the Mountain West, so all he could do was dominate the man across from him -- and he did just that for the past two seasons.
Weaver became the first player since Myles Garrett to earn back-to-back single-season pass-rushing grades over 92.0. His exceptional hand usage combined with better bend than you'd expect got him consistently in the opposing quarterback's lap. He doesn't have the burst or the build that "looks the part" -- he's 6-foot-2, 265 pounds -- but he simply outproduced every edge rusher not named Chase Young in this class.
Jonah Jackson, OG, Ohio State
Position ranking: 2
Overall ranking: 40
I get why you wouldn't be high on a guard like Jackson, as his body type and overall athletic profile don't scream "upside." What his tape shows, though, is a broken record in pass protection. And that's a good thing.
He ends more pass-pro reps at the line of scrimmage than any other guard in the draft class. The way he gets his hands to the defensive tackle's strike zone snap after snap is a thing of beauty. At the Senior Bowl, Jackson won 58% of his reps in the one-on-ones despite splitting his time among all three interior positions. Jackson, a graduate transfer who played at Rutgers, also allowed all of 17 pressures on 858 pass-blocking snaps between Ohio State (left guard) and Rutgers (right guard) the past two seasons.
Geno Stone, S, Iowa
Position ranking: 6
Overall ranking: 53
Stone is never going to be confused for Isaiah Simmons at safety. However, his instincts are on par with any other defender in this draft class. The way he trusts his reads is unlike any safety prospect in recent memory. Against USC, he broke on a hitch route from Michael Pittman Jr., dove at the catch point and failed to break the pass up ... because the quarterback never threw the ball. It was a crazy play, but the even crazier thing is that he doesn't have that many misreads on his tape, despite putting up some plays like that. It's why he has earned coverage grades of 84.5 and 89.8 the past two seasons.
Reassuring things further is the fact Iowa has had a fairly strong track record of safety/slot types translating to the NFL of late, with players like Micah Hyde, Desmond King and Amani Hooker all serving as examples.
Take a look back at some of the highlights that make former Iowa safety Geno Stone a desirable player in this year's NFL draft.
Ben Bartch, OT, St. John's (Minnesota)
Position ranking: 6
Overall ranking: 56
While we here at PFF preach sample sizes, I'll be honest when I say there was one rep at the Senior Bowl that completely sold me on Bartch as a legit NFL prospect. For context, his competition at St. John's (Minnesota) was rough. We graded all his snaps from the 2019 season, and he finished with a ridiculous 97.3 pass-blocking grade on the season. So, going into Mobile, Alabama, it probably goes without saying that he had never seen anything close to the caliber of athlete he was about to see.
On his second rep of the one-on-ones, though, he was lined up across from one of the draft's most explosive edge defenders, Florida's Jabari Zuniga. The 264-pound pass-rusher, who ran a 4.64-second 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine, went to a bull-rush move against Bartch, and the Division III tackle throttled Zuniga in his tracks. You could have easily excused a rough week of practices for Bartch at the Senior Bowl because of the jump in competition, but the opposite happened. He ended the week with the highest pass-rushing win rate of any tackle in the one-on-ones, and he shot up our board as a result.
WR K.J. Hill, Ohio State
Position ranking: 15
Overall ranking: 73
Hill can consistently beat man coverage from the slot, and that's not a projection, either. His route running is already at an NFL level on the underneath and intermediate route trees. While he doesn't possess great speed (4.6 40 at the combine), doesn't have a big catch radius and is likely stuck in the slot, he'll still be a productive NFL receiver for a team that uses a lot of three-receiver sets. He won all but one of his routes in the one-on-ones during the Senior Bowl practices, and his ability to get off the line of scrimmage is already incredibly advanced.
Amik Robertson, CB, Louisiana Tech
Position ranking: 12
Overall ranking: 75
While Robertson checked in at 5-foot-8 at the combine, I'd be willing to bet he'd have been well over 6 feet if they'd counted the massive chip on his shoulder. Often the smallest player on the field, Robertson plays every game like he's the bully. Physical at the line, fearless as a tackler and with some jawing mixed in, Robertson's playing style is easy to fall in love with. Robertson earned a 91.2 coverage grade last season, and his 14 career picks is the most of any corner in the draft class. While Robertson won't be holding up at outside corner quite as he did in college, I want him somewhere on my defense.
Kenny Robinson Jr., S, West Virginia/St. Louis Battlehawks
Position ranking: 9
Overall ranking: 90
The forgotten man in this year's safety class, Robinson entered the transfer portal after leaving West Virginia last offseason. Instead of transferring, though, he took his talents to the XFL, where he often roamed the deep middle for the Battlehawks before the league halted operations last month.
Robinson has been a certified ball hawk throughout his career. While that term gets overused this time of year, it certainly applies to a guy who has racked up nine picks in 28 career games between college and the XFL. He sees plays develop from the back end at an elite level and plays fearless football.
Trevis Gipson, EDGE, Tulsa
Position ranking: 10
Overall ranking: 92
I'm sure you've seen the term "raw" attached to a ton of prospects in this draft class already, but Gipson deserves it. He simply didn't show a lot of pass-rushing moves outside of his rip to the edge at Tulsa. Not all "raw" prospects are created equal, however. We here at PFF love the guys who have a way to go developmentally yet still have produced at an elite level in our grading system -- the thought process being, if they're already good football players with room for technical improvement, imagine what they'll be when they, you know, improve.
Gipson earned an 89.7 pass-rushing grade at Tulsa last season despite frequently lining up out of his ideal position as a 3-4 defensive end and not having much of a pass-rush plan. Combine that with ideal length and good bend, and Gibson has the tools to get the job done in the NFL if his pass-rushing moves develop.
Antonio Gibson, RB, Memphis
Position ranking: 6
Overall ranking: 97
It's easy to see why Gibson isn't much of a household name in this running back or wide receiver class. In his entire career, Gibson touched the ball only 77 times in Memphis' offense (33 carries, 44 catches). On those touches, however, he averaged 11.2 yards per carry, 19.0 yards per reception and he broke 33 combined tackles. His tape at Memphis looked like someone's high school tape with how frequently defenders bounced off him as he headed to the end zone. He then went to the combine and clocked a ridiculous 4.39-second 40 at 228 pounds. Those are rare physical attributes that can be put to good use at either running back or receiver in just about any offense in the NFL.
Danny Pinter, OL, Ball State
Position ranking: 13
Overall ranking: 125
In contrast to Ben Bartch -- the other notable tight end-to-tackle convert in this class -- Pinter made the move from tight end to tackle only a couple of years ago. While that lack of strength was evident in his first season, this past season Pinter earned an elite 91.2 overall grade. He maintained a good deal of that tight-end athleticism and had one of the best all-around combines of any offensive lineman in attendance. He's probably a guard in the NFL, but with his athleticism and continued improvement he would be a perfect fit for a zone scheme.
Josh Love, QB, San Jose State
Position ranking: 9
Overall ranking: 140
At only 6-foot, 200 pounds, don't be surprised if Love sits at home for seven rounds without hearing his name called. Watch him light up Arkansas for over 400 yards this past season, though, and you probably won't be surprised if he makes his way onto an NFL roster.
Love improved dramatically throughout his career at San Jose State, and he dominated down the stretch when his top wide receiver, Tre Walker, returned from injury. He plays with a fearlessness in the pocket that is rare for a college quarterback. He converted pressure to sacks at the lowest rate in the country last season (9.0%) while also earning a 68.6 passing grade when under pressure (ninth best in the country). With an arm that has more than enough zip at the next level, Love deserves at least a shot.
Teair Tart, DT, Florida International
Position ranking: 16
Overall ranking: 175
I'll forgive you if you say you didn't watch FIU play last season. Even if you did, I'll forgive you if you say you didn't notice Tart. For whatever reason, the defensive tackle played fewer than half of FIU's snaps, even when he was healthy. Why he didn't play more is a mystery to me, as his 90.7 run-defense grade and 84.1 pass-rushing grade blew the rest of the Panthers' defensive line out the water.
That said, if you watched the NFLPA Bowl and missed Tart, you just weren't paying attention. Tart turned in a dominant performance with a sack, a hurry and two run stops, and he earned the highest grade of any defensive lineman in attendance. He's still a Day 3 guy for PFF, but he belongs on an NFL field.