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NFL Draft 2019: 5 Most challenging positions to evaluate

By Shelbie Warr

MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 29: Deionte Thompson #14 of the Alabama Crimson Tide breaks the pass intended for Carson Meier #45 of the Oklahoma Sooners in the third quarter during the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 29: Deionte Thompson #14 of the Alabama Crimson Tide breaks the pass intended for Carson Meier #45 of the Oklahoma Sooners in the third quarter during the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

4. Secondary

These are some of the hardest spots to fill consistently on NFL rosters and one of the harder spots to allow a rookie to move into. Many times players have to be mentored and groomed to fill those kinds of spots as they are fighting against a different breed of receivers and tight ends in the league. At the college level, you see a lot of wideouts play as their coach tells them to. You don’t see a lot of flair or personality in the way these guys play. However, when you move to the NFL you get the direct opposite.

In the NFL, you get character and personality. You get guys like Odell Beckham Jr. who plays with flair and makes those wild Sports Center plays. You get guys like Amari Cooper and Antonio Brown– who are known from yards after the catch and fighting for extra yardage. You get big time receiving tight ends like Travis Kelce and Gronk who are hard to tackle and known for making plays for their quarterbacks and even though they seem to be phasing out, you get those tall wideouts like Mike Evans and Larry Fitzgerald who make big play after big play simply by being taller and stronger than opposing secondary members.

While the transition of skills is important, the biggest thing is seeing how these kids will grow up under changed rules from college to NFL. In college, the penalty for defensive pass interference is 15 yards if the foul happened more than that distance downfield. If it happened closer to the line of scrimmage, the ball goes to the spot of the foul. In the NFL, it is a spot of the foul call and that kind of call can change a drive in a hurry and you surely don’t want to be the player blamed for that.

Simply put, secondary positions are harder to scout due to the fact that there are so many differences in how the positions are played from one league to the next. Until these rookies are thrown into the fire so to speak, you won’t really know how they mesh into the NFL and if they are going to be able to keep up with all the different wideout types listed above.

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