The NFL Draft's first day gets most of the hype and for good reason-32 elite prospects are chosen. There are seven rounds, however, and value can often be found much deeper in the draft and for much cheaper. Here are three players that are unlikely to go on Day 1, but might return big value going forward.
Brett Hundley, QB (UCLA)
The vast majority of pre-draft hype regarding quarterbacks has consisted of Jameis Winston's off-field character issues, and the trade rumors surrounding the Tennessee Titans and Oregon QB Marcus Mariota. That has left Hundley, one of college's best two-way quarterbacks last season, getting very little attention.
Hundley can go anywhere from Round 2 to Round 4 per Walter Football, but his raw potential suggests first-round upside. He has great size-6'3, 227 pounds-and threw 22 touchdown passes against just five picks in 2014. He racked up 3,155 yards, completed almost 70 percent of his passes, and was dynamic in the running game. Hundley ran for 644 yards and scored 10 touchdowns. It was his second consecutive season with double-digit rushing scores.
Hundley has battled inconsistency, but he has the physical tools to succeed at the NFL level. He may need seasoning, but it would be wise for teams like the Jets or Redskins, who have uncertain futures at quarterback, to take a flier and limit their risk.
Dorial Green-Beckham, WR (Missouri)
Green-Beckham is a physical marvel-6'6, 225 pounds-that ran his 40-yard dash in 4.49 seconds. In his sophomore season at Missouri, Green-Beckham 59 passes for 883 yards and 12 touchdowns. He has all the talent to be a very high first round pick, but off-the-field concerns may knock him down all the way to the fifth round. On some boards, character issues have taken him off entirely.
He was kicked off Missouri's football team after two arrests involving marijuana, and an incident in which he allegedly pushed an 18-year-old woman down a flight of stairs. He didn't face charges because the victim failed to cooperate with police. Green-Beckham went to Oklahoma, but didn't play in 2014.
With the climate surrounding domestic violence, the stigma of his incident with the stairs will stain his stock badly. It wouldn't be a shock to see him fall very far down the draft, but if he's able to stay clear of drugs and behave, the team that takes him will have an extremely undervalued asset.
Ameer Abdullah, RB (Nebraska)
The Nebraska running back has close to no chance of being taken on Day 1, but he has been a consistent force on the Cornhuskers offense for three years. His 4.60 40-yard dash combined with a 5'9, 195-pound frame doesn't scream workhorse, but his production does.
Smaller rushers are always overlooked, but there's a place for them in the league-just ask Maurice Jones-Drew or LaDanian Tomlinson. He had four 200-plus yard rushing games in 2014, and more than doubled his touchdown total, going from nine to 19. Abdullah will probably be taken in the third round, then build his stock in training camp, and eventually be that fantasy pick everyone's buzzing about.
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