One of the surprising moves that shouldn’t have been surprising took place on Friday.
Oklahoma’s Parnell Motley was one of the best cover corners in the Big 12 in 2019. After a tumultuous first two years of starting in 2017 and ’18, Motley found a groove under new defensive coordinator Alex Grinch and cornerbacks coach Roy Manning.
The Sooners kept him on an island, and he shutdown many of the best receivers in the Big 12.
Parnell Motley shut down every single receiver he matched up with last season.
He held 7 of his 15 matchups (inlcuding Jalen Reagor, Denzel Mims, and Biletnikoff winner Ja’Marr Chase) to 0 catches.
Motley’s lockdown season visualized: pic.twitter.com/g0V9ftb0KD
— Steven Plaisance II (@stevenplai) April 13, 2020
The Oklahoma corner wasn’t invited to the 2020 NFL Combine, nor did he get drafted. Motley was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent. Now, he’s made the Buccaneers 53-man roster as a rookie undrafted free agent.
I’m told that UDFA cornerback Parnell Motley has been informed that he made the 53-man roster.
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) September 4, 2020
Motley had picked off Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady multiple times throughout Tampa Bay’s preseason training camp and was talked about by head coach Bruce Arians more times than not. It should be no surprise that he made the roster, but in reality, it is.
All three graduating or early-NFL Draft entrants (Motley, Neville Gallimore and Kenneth Murray) have made their 53-man NFL rosters ahead of the 2020 roster.
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