Between the 2000 and 2008 NFL Drafts their has been a total of 91 DEs drafted in 5th,6th and 7th rounds. Of them 26 were drafted in the 5th round, 27 in the 6th and 38 in the 7th. Here is a list of those players that have had standout careers:
Aaron Kampman - #156 5th Round 2002 NFL Draft
Brett Kiesel - #242 7th Round 2002 NFL Draft
Robert Mathis - #138 5th Round 2003 NFL Draft
Trent Cole - #146 5th Round 2005 NFL Draft
Also, here are a couple of players Jaguar familiar should recognize:
Bobby McCray - #249 7th round 2004 NFL Draft
Jeremy Mincey - #191 6th Round 2006 NFL Draft (orginally drafted by New England)
James Wyche - #213 7th Round 2006 NFL Draft
What this says to me is that finding pash rushers that can be successful in the NFL late in the draft is a rarity. I will do further research on the other DEs that were drafted in the later rounds to see if there is a commonality between their careers, but as it stands, they all seem to be just other guys. As I wish Hart and Lane turn out to be fantastic players, the statistical chance of that happening is very little. But I believe they both will be with the Jaguars for a long time. What do you think?
*I wish I could have put separate polls for both of them, because it's unlikely their careers will have the same outcome.
Poll
How successful do you believe DEs Larry Hart and Austen Lane will be in the NFL?
None - will be out of the NFL in a few years (2 votes)
A little - will be journeymen their entire career (6 votes)
Moderate - will be used as a situational players until a better replacement comes along (50 votes)
A lot - will be dependable starters most of their career (30 votes)
Very - will be the next pass rushing stars (5 votes)
*Somewhere in between one of the above (21 votes)
114 total votes


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