The NFL Draft's Hidden Gems

Stoney Keeley gives you the Hidden Gem Prospects of this NFL Draft

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We’re a little over a week away from the 2023 NFL Draft, and while I can’t help but look forward to May, when I might actually get my life back from the stranglehold this event has had over it, there’s a part of me that just can’t stop watching prospects. It’s an obsession and a curse. I see a stray tweet about Luke Haggard, and I’m scrambling to scrounge up some Indiana tape to figure it out. I don’t know why I’m wired this way…maybe it’s the chase. You know it if you’re a collector - the thrill of the hunt…combing through store shelves to find that one item, hidden in plain sight, that your collection has been missing. 

There’s an art to finding the hidden gems in a draft class, and when you hit on one, it’s the same feeling as finding a Chase Funko Pop in the wild. I’m addicted to it…so much so that I’m searching the bowels of the internet for some Sidy Sow tape when I haven’t even written an eval of Nolan Smith yet. Fuck me, I know. What are we even doing here?

Nonetheless, hardly anyone ever reads this shit on SoBros Network - I can take a 2,000-word deep dive into the film of a prospect and nobody bats an eye. The SoBros audience just wants their Krystal reviews and news on whether or not Costco is coming to Mount Juliet. And, don’t get me wrong - I’m happy to give it to ‘em. But, I felt like this sort of deep cut work was better suited for a more diehard football audience. So, I thought I’d call up my buddy Zach and ask him if he’d want to run it on Stacking The Inbox (STI, for short - Zach loves that acronym), and here we are.

As for my criteria for how I define a prospect as a hidden gem, well, like most of my work, there’s no real formula to it. If you subscribe to my Patreon, you already know that I don’t grade prospects. I quite literally just watch them and then write a paragraph or two about what I saw. It’s the same sort of deal here, a lot of the eye test. First general rule of thumb, though, is that they have to be a bit undervalued, projected to be drafted in the later rounds if at all. I try to find guys who have a specific skill set that could translate to the NFL in the right situation. I try to find guys who have demonstrably good attitudes, and I am a downright sucker for a player with a fiery, competitive spirit. Maybe the traits push them down draft boards, but some combination of these things gives me something to latch onto and think “hey, there’s actually a pretty clear path to success here.” So, without further ado, here are my 11 hidden gems from this year’s draft class.

My 2023 Class of NFL Draft Hidden Gems

IOL Jake Andrews, Troy (7th) - I first noticed Andrews at the 2023 Reese’s Senior Bowl, where I felt like every time I looked up, he was scrapping with someone. He was running the drills with an evident mentality of “if I’m going down, you’re going down with me.” It was easy to see a strong competitive spirit in him, and ultimately, that’s one of the things you want in a late-round flier or UDFA addition. His size was an issue at times (6’3” 305lbs)  - I noticed him getting blown up on plays here and there by powerful interior defensive linemen who could hammer him before he could get his feet set. But, I liked how quick his hands were, how he kept his feet moving when engaged in a block, and how he was able to win against guys who were bigger than him by latching onto them and wrestling them away from the play. That same tendency showed up on the tape when I watched him take on Army. While he’s not the best athlete, he’s serviceable enough, and he’s also a deeply experienced starter at center. 

Most of his drill numbers from the Scouting Combine were on the average-to-below-average side of the interior offensive line class. But, he’s a guy that I think you add if you want to bolster the competition among your centers. Specifically for the Titans, I’d love to see them add Andrews to the center competition as an UDFA if they can get him there. Right now, Aaron Brewer figures to be the starter, with Corey Levin second behind him. But, are either of those guys the long term answer? Maybe, but shit…I don’t really know! Let me frame it like this - Brewer and Levin may be enough to alleviate the need to the point where the Titans should not invest a draft pick in a center while also not being enough to confidently project the cast-in-cement starter for the next four years. Andrews is the type of player who can push both guys to be better, while improving himself, and has the attitude to surprise at the next level.

• Have the Titans shown interest? Not that has been reported

• Why is he being slept on? Level of competition concerns, his size and stature, average-at-best athleticism

WR Grant DuBose, Charlotte (UDFA) - You have to go on the pre-draft process pretty heavily with DuBose. He was simultaneously a fun and a frustrating prospect to watch at the Senior Bowl. On one hand, he ran some really nice routes and beat some really talented defensive backs in 1:1s. On the other, he struggled to routinely haul in receptions at the point of the catch. Part of that was the shitty quarterback play at the Senior Bowl. Part of that was an inability to win those battles. What’s frustrating is that you see those traffic jam catches go his way on the tape - it’s just different doing it against competition that will be playing on Sundays. 

He had a solid Relative Athletic Score of 8.11, which was better than Josh Downs, Zay Flowers, and *barfs* Jordan Addison. And, you definitely see a smooth, fluid quality to his game. He seamlessly breaks off his routes, and he’s shifty with the ball in his hands. But, make no mistake about it…he is raw. He was working retail in 2021 before Charlotte quarterback James Foster convinced him to try out for the football team. If you can build on the promising things about DuBose’s skill set, you definitely have a guy who could sneak onto a roster, and if he continues to grow, could be a solid WR3-WR4 option.

• Have the Titans shown interest? Not that has been reported

• Why is he being slept on? Inexperience