With the 2018 NFL Draft in the books, we take a look back at some of the most high-profile undrafted free agents like Iowa State’s Allen Lazard.
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Iowa State football looked to change its draft fortunes with two solid prospects coming out for the 2018 NFL Draft, converted quarterback-to-linebacker Joel Lanning and star wide receiver Allen Lazard. The 2018 NFL Draft should have been better to these Cyclone football alumni than it was, but both Lazard and Lanning went undrafted.
Both landing spots for Lanning and Lazard were nice. Lanning was signed as an undrafted free agent to the Dallas Cowboys, where he’ll get to play alongside fellow rookie linebacker from the Boise State Broncos Leighton Vander Esch.
Meanwhile, Lazard’s destination is the reigning AFC South Champions and nearly conference champions altogether in the Jacksonville Jaguars. More so than most other teams around the NFL, the Jags are really trying to reload their receiving corps after the departures of former Penn State product Allen Robinson and former Miami Hurricanes star Allen Hurns.
Jacksonville also picked up a very talented LSU Tigers wide receiver, D.J. Chark, in the second round. It’s possible that Lazard and Chark become two of the better young pass catchers for the Jags by the end of the 2018 season. However, Lazard definitely needs to put in the work during the off-season to show why he should be a part of Jacksonville’s roster.
Since apparently his strong body of work during his career in Ames, IA, didn’t prove his worth to the NFL, Lazard needs to carry that much more of a chip on his shoulder from here on out. He’s got the size and hands required to succeed at the next level, and he had a tremendous season for Iowa State in 2017.
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Jacksonville might have ended up with the best undrafted free agent when it’s all said and done this year. Lazard was a gem find outside of the seven rounds of the 2018 NFL Draft. It shouldn’t be too long before the rest of the NFL teams that passed on him realize that.