We’ve had the Workout Warrior, and the Draft Bust–so this week, we turn to the positive draft results–and probably one of my favorite guys to look for in the draft.
This week is the Draft Day Steal, aka Steal of the Draft or SoD (thanks to the self proclaimed SoD from 2003, Onterrio “Don’t Call Me ‘The Original Whizzanator'” Smith).
There are at least two kinds of draft day steals. The first are guys who slip to a pick lower than some expected, whether due to injury, poor combine or workout results, or occasionally some late breaking news about “character issues,” causing the Mel Kiper’s of the world to proclaim that the team who grabbed him “Got a Steal.” Sometimes these guys pan out, sometimes they show why they slipped as far as they did.
The more interesting draft day steals in my eyes are the guys who usually can’t be labeled as steals the day of the draft–guys taken in the late rounds, who come in and turn heads in training camp. (Or develop into All-Pros after a couple years).
Probably the best recent example of the latter type of steal is the player who’s card was selected for the week:
New Orleans Saints WR Marques Colston
Colston was a 6’4″ 231 pound WR at Division I-AA Hofstra, finishing his career in 2005 by making the All-Atlantic 10 first team with 70 receptions for 976 yards and five TDs.
He attended the NFL Combine in 2006, and posted a 4.50 40-yard dash ad 37″ vertical, but due to his size and catching ability, many projected him as a TE in the pros, and many predicted he would go undrafted.
The Saints took Colston in the 7th round, with the 252nd pick overall–out of 255 selections (taken after him were DE Dave Tollefson, S Vickiel Vaughn, and WR Kevin McMahan). Five WR were taken in the 7th round before Colston, including two of the three picks immediately before he was taken.
Colston came into training camp, won a starting job when the Saints traded Donte Stallworth, was offensive rookie of the month in his second month, finished the season with 70 receptions for 1,038 yards after missing a few games with an ankle injury, and finished 3rd in Offensive Rookie of the Year. He also avoided a Sophomore slump, with a team record 98 catches in 2007, along with a team record tying 11 TDs. He holds the NFL record for most receptions in a players first two seasons.
The card selected for the week is a 2007 Leaf Rookies & Stars Longetivity Meterials Sapphire, with a gold jersey patch, serial numbered #026/100. The card books for $12.
I got the card from a retail box, one of two retail boxes of Leaf Rookies & Stars I picked up out of curiosity about the price–$49.99. I would have probably gotten more, as they’re pretty nice looking cards, but frankly, those boxes weren’t worth the price.
