Not every late-round pick in the NFL draft is created equal. In fact, many late-rounders have yet to perform at a high level even in college and are purely athletic players with upside. Sometimes, though, you'll see very productive college players with more than enough tools to succeed at the NFL level fall in the draft for one reason or another.
We identified 10 such prospects in the 2020 NFL draft whose Pro Football Focus grades and college stats suggest they will end up being steals for the lucky -- and smart -- teams that drafted them.
Pick 67. Detroit Lions: Julian Okwara, Edge, Notre Dame
PFF's draft rank: 28
A broken leg toward the end of last season torpedoed any sort of first-round hype, but it's doubtful he'd have slipped out of the top 50 picks had he turned up to the scouting combine at 100 percent. Pass-rushers like Okwara usually get overdrafted, not underdrafted. And he is one of the most explosive edge rushers in the entire draft class.
At only 252 pounds, Okwara has bull-rush pressures on tape against 350-pound Georgia tackle Isaiah Wilson and 370-pound Louisville behemoth Mekhi Becton -- both of whom were first-rounders. Okwara was sixth in the country with 61 pressures as a junior and followed it up with a 90.4 pass-rushing grade last season. The Lions get an edge rusher who is not only productive but also has the perfect versatility for their scheme.
72. Arizona Cardinals: Josh Jones, OT, Houston
PFF's draft rank: 14
We've never seen a better non-Power 5 tackle at Pro Football Focus. Seriously. His 93.4 overall grade last season shattered the previous PFF record, and he allowed all of two pressures for the entire season. Teams chased offensive tackles with more perceived "upside" early in the draft, but Jones simply dominated every player he faced last season. That was the case even in the week of practices at the Senior Bowl, where he earned the highest grade in the pass-blocking one-on-ones.
Expect Jones' career path to follow that of former Western Michigan offensive tackle Taylor Moton. Similarly, Moton dominated both in his senior season and at the Senior Bowl before falling to the end of the second round. Now he has had back-to-back seasons with top-15 pass-blocking grades. Jones looks like a starter from day one at guard or tackle for Arizona with a Moton-esque future ahead.
89. Minnesota Vikings: Cameron Dantzler, CB, Mississippi State
PFF's draft rank: 50
Dantzler got roasted for posting a pre-draft workout video showing him running a supposed 4.38 40-yard dash after clocking in at 4.64 at the combine. Analysis of the posted video showed that time to be fraudulent, much closer to the 4.5 range. His tape never showed a "slow" corner, though, as he stuck with Alabama's and LSU's receiving corps to the tune of three allowed catches from six targets for a mere 21 yards across those two games.
What the tape did show was an extremely skinny corner -- one who was nowhere near the 188 pounds he weighed at the combine. It was reported that even at that slight weight for a 6-foot-2 corner, Dantzler had the highest body fat percentage of any cornerback at the combine. Now, though, Dantzler gets the benefit of an NFL weight room and nothing other than weight training to focus on year-round. If he can put on the requisite muscle, Dantzler is far better than a late third-rounder. With as many losses as the Vikings suffered at corner this offseason, that's good news for Minnesota.
105. New Orleans Saints: Adam Trautman, TE, Dayton
PFF's draft rank: 105
As far as pure receiving ability goes, there might not be a better tight end in the draft class. Trautman is a sudden route-runner who adjusts to off-target passes with ease and dropped only two of 72 catchable passes this past season. After he racked up 916 yards, 14 touchdowns and 12 broken tackles in 2019, our only concern with Trautman was his speed -- he ran a 4.80 at the combine -- but he's set to join quarterback Drew Brees at a point where the downfield passing game is an afterthought. The Dayton tight end will be able to consistently generate windows underneath, and that's all Brees really needs.
Check out highlights from former Dayton tight end Adam Trautman.
127. Philadelphia Eagles: K'Von Wallace, S, Clemson
PFF's draft rank: 60
After losing Malcolm Jenkins in free agency, the Eagles were so desperately in need of safety help this offseason that they had already moved cornerback Jalen Mills back there. They didn't address the position until the fourth round, but when they did, they selected a defensive back with a similarly versatile skill set to that of Jenkins. The Clemson safety took more than half of his snaps in the slot last season and earned an 89.7 coverage grade, breaking up eight passes and picking off two.
What Eagles fans will love even more is his tackling, where he's arguably the best of any safety in this class. At 5-foot-11 and 206 pounds, Wallace has missed only 13 tackles on 159 attempts over the past three seasons. With his ability to line up just about anywhere, expect Wallace to see the field early in his Philly career.
138. Las Vegas Raiders: Amik Robertson, CB, Louisiana Tech
PFF's draft rank: 75
Robertson not only brings the physicality that GM Mike Mayock loves, but he also affords the Raiders the flexibility to move high-priced free-agent signing Lamarcus Joyner back to safety. Joyner was a disaster manning the slot for the Raiders last season, as he allowed a passer rating of 110.8 in his coverage and earned a PFF coverage grade of 42.8.
The 5-foot-8, 187-pound Robertson is much more suited for that role with his instincts. He had 28 pass breakups and nine picks over the past two seasons for Louisiana Tech -- the highest combined total of anyone in the country. That's playmaking you just can't coach.
161. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tyler Johnson, WR, Minnesota
PFF's draft rank: 48
Johnson was one of the most NFL-ready prospects from a route-running and release perspective. Despite middling physical tools, he finished top-10 nationally in yards per route run in each of the past two seasons because of his ability to get off the line and run routes at a high level.
That skill set translates well to the slot, where Johnson spent 661 of his 817 snaps last season. It also translates well to the routes Tom Brady loves to throw. The future Hall of Fame quarterback has gotten an unfair "dink and dunk" label over the course of his career, but it's because he's elite with his ball placement underneath over the middle of the field, which leads to more yards after the catch for his receivers. Johnson's ability to make plays in those tight windows will fit in nicely, as he hauled in 17 of his 26 contested-catch opportunities last season.
215. Cincinnati Bengals: Markus Bailey, ILB, Purdue
PFF's draft rank: 153
Bailey's ACL injury last season -- the second such injury of his career -- is the obvious reason he was still on the board in the seventh round. But after drafting two linebackers ahead of him, Cincinnati shouldn't be surprised if Bailey turns out to be the best of the bunch.
He was a four-year starter at Purdue and earned above-average coverage grades every year despite often playing the "overhang" role that saw him covering the slot. He still put up 50-plus defensive stops for three straight seasons while playing in that role. After taking shots on athletic projects at linebacker in recent drafts, the Bengals finally coveted production this year.
217. San Francisco 49ers: Jauan Jennings, WR, Tennessee
PFF's draft rank: 70
The 49ers are building an offense full of YAC monsters out in the Bay Area. They already had the league leaders in broken tackles at receiver (Deebo Samuel, 18) and tight end (George Kittle, 20) on the roster. Then they added the player who finished second in the draft class in terms of yards after the catch per reception (Brandon Aiyuk, 10.9) before taking college football's leader in broken tackles in the seventh.
Jennings broke 30 tackles on only 59 catches last season. Defensive backs bounced off his legs repeatedly, and his fall to the seventh round had more to do with off-field issues than on-field production. While he lacks the top-end speed to be productive downfield in the league, Jennings doesn't have to be that in Kyle Shanahan's offense.
219. Baltimore Ravens: Geno Stone, S, Iowa
PFF's draft rank: 53
Stone doesn't have prototypical physical tools by any means. At 5-foot-10 and 207 pounds, Stone lacks the length (29¼-inch arms) and speed (4.62 in the 40-yard dash) that most evaluators look for in the NFL. Those two things were also never an issue on his college tape. Stone was college football's highest-graded safety as a true sophomore and junior over the past two seasons.
This isn't quite the same as Amik Robertson getting his hands on a ton of passes in Conference USA; Stone did it in the Big Ten and allowed only 209 yards on 47 targets over that span. His instincts are second-to-none in this class, and he goes to a defense in Baltimore that lets defensive backs like him thrive.