USA TODAY released a list of eleven players who could be steals in the 2020 NFL Draft. The draft is set to take place Thursday, April 23rd to Saturday, April 25th and will happen remotely for the first time in its history.
The list has one player per position that some teams could easily overlook, while others could be getting a major steal.
The list that had just eleven players featured two Georgia players on it.
The first of the Dawgs players listed as a steal is at the safety position with former Georgia standout JR Reed.
Reed had a spectacular career playing in Athens, tallying up 199 tackles, 5 interceptions, 3 fumble recoveries and 2 touchdowns. Reed stands at 6-1, 195 lbs giving him a good sized NFL frame. The son of 12-year NFL player Jake Reed spoke to Draft Wire about what NFL teams will get if they draft him.
“They’re gonna get a leader, on and off the field. They’re gonna get a versatile safety that can play multiple positions. I can come down in the box, I can play in the middle of the field and I can cover the tight end or anybody really.” said Reed. “They’re gonna get a franchise safety. The term franchise gets thrown around a lot with the quarterbacks. Just like the franchise quarterback is supposed to be around for a long time, I’m a franchise safety that’s gonna be around for a long time.”
The second of the Dawgs players listed as a steal is at the kicker position with Rodrigo Blankenship.
Blankenship finished his career at Georgia hitting 80/97 field goal attempts (82.5%) and scoring 440 points for the Dawgs. Believe it or not, Hot Rod is the highest-scoring player in Georgia football history and will be a perfect fit to be an NFL team’s franchise kicker for years to come. Kickers really are undervalued in the NFL these days and Blankenship could be a huge steal for some teams in need of a decent kicker.
It is pretty impressive that two out of eleven of the players listed to be steals in the 2020 draft are Georgia players. Miami was another school to feature two players as steals on the list.
It may be a couple of rounds in, but whoever takes JR Reed or Rodrigo Blankenship are going to have some serious talent in their hands.