TexasTerror
April 3rd, 2007, 06:38 PM
Matt D talks about the strength of FCS defensive backs in making their way into the NFL draft while also ranking the top 25 prospects for this coming year's draft...
Extra Point - Draft success should continue for FCS defensive backs
By Matt Dougherty, FCS Editor
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - While concerns of stepping up from a "small school" will always hover over the NFL draft prospects for FCS players, NFL teams are becoming more and more comfortable with putting stock in the abilities of the top talent from the Football Championship Subdivision.
That much is clear after 10 FCS players were drafted in the first three rounds (the first day) of the NFL Draft in the past two seasons. Only 10 FCS players were picked on the first day from 2001-04, so NFL teams are clearly enjoying the significant contributions from players from the FCS level.
That trend is encouraging across the board, but it’s not a new sentiment for defensive backs. FCS defensive backs have earned high selections, and justified those picks, since the turn of the century. Defensive backs garnered eight of the 20 FCS first day selections in the past six seasons, and at least one DB has been selected in the first three rounds each time. Rashean Mathis earned the highest selection from the group in 2003 (No. 39 to the Jacksonville Jaguars), and the Buck Buchanan Award winner has made his suitors look good with 20 career interceptions, including eight in a Pro Bowl campaign in 2006. Five defensive backs were picked on day one in the past three seasons alone, with Green Bay’s Nick Collins joining Mathis as a former Bethune-Cookman product that is thriving in an NFL defensive backfield.
http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=/cfoot2/news/AGN4071510.htm
Extra Point - Draft success should continue for FCS defensive backs
By Matt Dougherty, FCS Editor
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - While concerns of stepping up from a "small school" will always hover over the NFL draft prospects for FCS players, NFL teams are becoming more and more comfortable with putting stock in the abilities of the top talent from the Football Championship Subdivision.
That much is clear after 10 FCS players were drafted in the first three rounds (the first day) of the NFL Draft in the past two seasons. Only 10 FCS players were picked on the first day from 2001-04, so NFL teams are clearly enjoying the significant contributions from players from the FCS level.
That trend is encouraging across the board, but it’s not a new sentiment for defensive backs. FCS defensive backs have earned high selections, and justified those picks, since the turn of the century. Defensive backs garnered eight of the 20 FCS first day selections in the past six seasons, and at least one DB has been selected in the first three rounds each time. Rashean Mathis earned the highest selection from the group in 2003 (No. 39 to the Jacksonville Jaguars), and the Buck Buchanan Award winner has made his suitors look good with 20 career interceptions, including eight in a Pro Bowl campaign in 2006. Five defensive backs were picked on day one in the past three seasons alone, with Green Bay’s Nick Collins joining Mathis as a former Bethune-Cookman product that is thriving in an NFL defensive backfield.
http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=/cfoot2/news/AGN4071510.htm