5 SEC underclassmen go undrafted
A few underclassmen from the SEC might be rethinking their decisions to forego their senior seasons after not being selected in the NFL Draft.
Five early-entrants from the SEC did not get picked this weekend:
- RB Peyton Barber, Auburn (signed with Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
- OL Denver Kirkland, Arkansas (signed with Oakland Raiders)
- LB Beniquez Brown, Mississippi State (signed with Green Bay Packers)
- OL Avery Young, Auburn (signed with New Orleans Saints)
- WR Marquez North, Tennessee (signed with Los Angeles Rams)
It’s encouraging for all five players that they will get an opportunity at the next level, but as we covered in a recent feature, the odds are against undrafted early entrants playing in an NFL game.
A breakdown of the numbers from Saturday Down South’s recent feature, focusing on the 25 undrafted early entrants from 2010-2015:
Of the 25 who went undrafted, only nine have played in NFL games. Only four – Florida’s Will Hill with the Baltimore Ravens, Arkansas’ Alvin Bailey with the Seattle Seahawks, LSU’s Brad Wing with the New York Giants and Florida’s Marcus Roberson with the Los Angeles Rams – would be classified as players who have had successful NFL careers.
Will the above free-agent signees be able to buck that trend? Only time will tell.