Draft Sleepers - The Deeper the Better

[BigAl2526]

I just saw a 7 round mock that projected Buffalo to take Jeff Caldwell in round 6.  He is a 6'5" WR who weighs 216 lbs and runs a 4.31 40.  With measurables like that one would wonder why he's projected so late.  Why so late?  Well, he took up football late, as a high school senior.  Before that, he was like 5'8" and took a huge growth spurt.  With little football in high school, no big-time college program was going to recruit him, so he ended up playing for a small school nobody's ever heard of, transferring to Cincinnati for his senior year.  His production went way down.  Despite his size, he's not good with contested catches.  His route tree is very undeveloped.   My reaction to that is, how could parts of his game not be undeveloped?  This is not a guy who is going to come in and do anything his first year in the league.  This is a guy you bury in your depth chart or maybe stick him on your PS and spend time coaching up.  If he's on your 53 man squad, you give him a couple reps on simple deep routes during the season.  Maybe year two you can give him a little more.  Maybe by year three he might be a #3 or #4 receiver.  If he be coached up on his route running and his confidence grows with time and experience, the Bills could end up with a dangerous receiver.  That's not certain, of course, but the kind of upside those insane measurables give Caldwell, a 6th round pick seems worth it.

 

So, who's your deep sleeper?

 

[AlBUNDY4TDS]

That's what she said!

[Starr Almighty]

From what I've read about the quality of this draft. I think we will all be in a deep sleep during the draft 

[BigAl2526]

2 hours ago, Starr Almighty said:

From what I've read about the quality of this draft. I think we will all be in a deep sleep during the draft 

My understanding is that this year's draft is woefully deficient in top end talent, but very deep in players who can contribute and develop.  So, sleep through round 1 if you like, but you might want to pay attention in later rounds. 

[gonzo1105]

My deep sleeper that I’ve mentioned a couple of times is Tanner Arkin a TE from Illinois. One of the best blocking Tight Ends in the draft. No combine, only invited to the American bowl. Won’t find much on him. Would love for him to get the chance to take the Gilliam role 

[MrEpsYtown]

Max Tomczak, nephew of Mike. 6-0, 195. 

 

He also had a 6.70 three cone which would have been best at the combine. 
 

 

 

[Big Turk]

"The deeper the better".

 

That's what she said... 🤣

Edited April 10 by Big Turk

[BillsShredder83]

7 hours ago, BigAl2526 said:

I just saw a 7 round mock that projected Buffalo to take Jeff Caldwell in round 6.  He is a 6'5" WR who weighs 216 lbs and runs a 4.31 40.  With measurables like that one would wonder why he's projected so late.  Why so late?  Well, he took up football late, as a high school senior.  Before that, he was like 5'8" and took a huge growth spurt.  With little football in high school, no big-time college program was going to recruit him, so he ended up playing for a small school nobody's ever heard of, transferring to Cincinnati for his senior year.  His production went way down.  Despite his size, he's not good with contested catches.  His route tree is very undeveloped.   My reaction to that is, how could parts of his game not be undeveloped?  This is not a guy who is going to come in and do anything his first year in the league.  This is a guy you bury in your depth chart or maybe stick him on your PS and spend time coaching up.  If he's on your 53 man squad, you give him a couple reps on simple deep routes during the season.  Maybe year two you can give him a little more.  Maybe by year three he might be a #3 or #4 receiver.  If he be coached up on his route running and his confidence grows with time and experience, the Bills could end up with a dangerous receiver.  That's not certain, of course, but the kind of upside those insane measurables give Caldwell, a 6th round pick seems worth it.

 

So, who's your deep sleeper?

 

Eric Gentry - USC. Dude is a super skinny 6'7" LB.  Absurd length/speed/range profile.... 100th percentile arm span.  He's got a good nose for the ball, but he's a multi year project:

Priority 1a= Dude needs an NFL weight room, and to eat everything not bolted to the floor. Needs 15-25lbs of quality mass

 

Get this kid beefed up and up to NFL speed and I see a seriously disruptive player. Hes a smart kid from what I've seen.  Imagine his big stupid arms up in the air of passing lanes. Good luck beating him to the corner.  He's a very flawed prospect, but late rd flyer from me.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Red Murdock - I dunno if he's a "sleeper" - but Univ of Buffalo's very own .  That place has been Linebacker U as of late, and he's the best one to come from the bunch!  17 Forced Fumbles in his last 3 years of ball.  Thats a crazy knack for not only taking the ball, but continually putting himself in the right spot to even have a  chance at them.  I dunno who the LB Coaches or scouts are over there, but UB is churning out some real nice NFL Caliber LB's.

 

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Khalil-Murdock-LB-Buffalo

 

Heres a summary of his scouting report... yes I cherry picked the positives, were talking about sleepers:

 

"Coordinators looking for a linebacker who fills gaps, triggers downhill, and understands run fits will find a player who executes those assignments with physicality and consistency. The forced fumble production isn't circumstantial - it's rooted in technique and film study that should translate to the next level."

 

"This is a developmental prospect who maximizes his tools through preparation and effort. The NCAA fumble record came from countless hours studying ball carrier tendencies and perfecting strip techniques, not from fortunate bounces. A team that selects him on Day 3 gets a player who contributes immediately on special teams and gradually earns defensive snaps as he adjusts to NFL speed"

 

[Buffalo716]

2 hours ago, BillsShredder83 said:

Eric Gentry - USC. Dude is a super skinny 6'7" LB.  Absurd length/speed/range profile.... 100th percentile arm span.  He's got a good nose for the ball, but he's a multi year project:

Priority 1a= Dude needs an NFL weight room, and to eat everything not bolted to the floor. Needs 15-25lbs of quality mass

 

Get this kid beefed up and up to NFL speed and I see a seriously disruptive player. Hes a smart kid from what I've seen.  Imagine his big stupid arms up in the air of passing lanes. Good luck beating him to the corner.  He's a very flawed prospect, but late rd flyer from me.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Red Murdock - I dunno if he's a "sleeper" - but Univ of Buffalo's very own .  That place has been Linebacker U as of late, and he's the best one to come from the bunch!  17 Forced Fumbles in his last 3 years of ball.  Thats a crazy knack for not only taking the ball, but continually putting himself in the right spot to even have a  chance at them.  I dunno who the LB Coaches or scouts are over there, but UB is churning out some real nice NFL Caliber LB's.

 

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Khalil-Murdock-LB-Buffalo

 

Heres a summary of his scouting report... yes I cherry picked the positives, were talking about sleepers:

 

"Coordinators looking for a linebacker who fills gaps, triggers downhill, and understands run fits will find a player who executes those assignments with physicality and consistency. The forced fumble production isn't circumstantial - it's rooted in technique and film study that should translate to the next level."

 

"This is a developmental prospect who maximizes his tools through preparation and effort. The NCAA fumble record came from countless hours studying ball carrier tendencies and perfecting strip techniques, not from fortunate bounces. A team that selects him on Day 3 gets a player who contributes immediately on special teams and gradually earns defensive snaps as he adjusts to NFL speed"

 

Linebacker u for the Mac or some smaller schools for sure 

 

Obviously the big boys put out much more linebackers to the NFL but it's a great pipeline 

 

They have a knack for bringing in guys undersized and letting them grow over two three four years.. they bring in 215 220 lb linebackers.. and they've always had a great strength and conditioning program where they could put on weight 

 

Khalil Mack Came in 210 lb... So I did come here to say red 

 

He's got a better knack for the ball then Buffalo Joe .. he has better size than dolac 

 

He's been nothing but great for the program

 

 

[estro613]

Mason Reiger, Edge, Wisconsin

 

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/mason-reiger/32005245-4940-8593-54c3-c06da91ee616

 

 

[cle23]

Cole Payton - QB - North Dakota State

 

I'm guessing he goes in the 4th or 5th, but he's a dual threat developmental prospect worth taking a chance on of you can let him sit for a season,  probably 2.

[BigAl2526]

3 hours ago, estro613 said:

Mason Reiger, Edge, Wisconsin

 

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/mason-reiger/32005245-4940-8593-54c3-c06da91ee616

 

 

His timed speed isn't great, but according to film watchers, he's very fast.  Needs to be coached up in some areas of his game, but has pretty high upside for a mid to late round prospect.

 

J Michael Sturdevant is another WR with speed and size in this draft.  There is really quite a surprising number of them.

Edited April 13 by BigAl2526

[MrEpsYtown]

I’ve seen some chatter about this guy:

 

 

[BillsShredder83]

47 minutes ago, MrEpsYtown said:

I’ve seen some chatter about this guy:

 

 

PFF has him ranking 1st or 2nd in every pass rushing metric as well.  Obv being at Central Mich brings a context, that hes not doing this in a power4 conference, but interesting kid no doubt

[T master]

On 4/10/2026 at 12:33 PM, BigAl2526 said:

I just saw a 7 round mock that projected Buffalo to take Jeff Caldwell in round 6.  He is a 6'5" WR who weighs 216 lbs and runs a 4.31 40.  With measurables like that one would wonder why he's projected so late.  Why so late?  Well, he took up football late, as a high school senior.  Before that, he was like 5'8" and took a huge growth spurt.  With little football in high school, no big-time college program was going to recruit him, so he ended up playing for a small school nobody's ever heard of, transferring to Cincinnati for his senior year.  His production went way down.  Despite his size, he's not good with contested catches.  His route tree is very undeveloped.   My reaction to that is, how could parts of his game not be undeveloped?  This is not a guy who is going to come in and do anything his first year in the league.  This is a guy you bury in your depth chart or maybe stick him on your PS and spend time coaching up.  If he's on your 53 man squad, you give him a couple reps on simple deep routes during the season.  Maybe year two you can give him a little more.  Maybe by year three he might be a #3 or #4 receiver.  If he be coached up on his route running and his confidence grows with time and experience, the Bills could end up with a dangerous receiver.  That's not certain, of course, but the kind of upside those insane measurables give Caldwell, a 6th round pick seems worth it.

 

So, who's your deep sleeper?

 

Seems the Bills do this with a lot of their taller WR's, they have had quite a few over the recent past that never even get on the field just look at Shavers he

s been on the PS for the last 3+ seasons then when given a chance he produces yet others have moved on to other teams & never even got a in game chance to prove if they are any good .

 

In the recent past Isiah Hodgins, Justin Shorter, & others that have been brought in & now are gone that were 6' 4 " that could have had some impact but were never really given a real chance to prove them selves, at the very least these guys could be used as goal line personal .

 

Hodgins went on to be pretty productive in NY, Shavers has stuck & IMHO should be given a bigger role in this offense just because when ever given a chance he comes through . 

 

So I'm not sure if this guy will be just a body or someone they feel has potential to develop but if they do bring him in I would hope they utilize him . My pick which I hope is earlier is Brazzel out of Tenn. he has speed, size & production & I feel could really be a good prospect for Josh .

[colin]

the wisconsin and central michigan edge rushers are exactly who i'd want the bills to pick.  there are jarred allen, maxx crosby, mathis type guys out there who never get too much attention because they big fish in small ponds, but they are natural pass rushers and have big time impacts in the nfl.

[13 Seconds to Mars]

On 4/10/2026 at 1:33 PM, BigAl2526 said:

I just saw a 7 round mock that projected Buffalo to take Jeff Caldwell in round 6.  He is a 6'5" WR who weighs 216 lbs and runs a 4.31 40.  With measurables like that one would wonder why he's projected so late.  Why so late?  Well, he took up football late, as a high school senior.  Before that, he was like 5'8" and took a huge growth spurt.  With little football in high school, no big-time college program was going to recruit him, so he ended up playing for a small school nobody's ever heard of, transferring to Cincinnati for his senior year.  His production went way down.  Despite his size, he's not good with contested catches.  His route tree is very undeveloped.   My reaction to that is, how could parts of his game not be undeveloped?  This is not a guy who is going to come in and do anything his first year in the league.  This is a guy you bury in your depth chart or maybe stick him on your PS and spend time coaching up.  If he's on your 53 man squad, you give him a couple reps on simple deep routes during the season.  Maybe year two you can give him a little more.  Maybe by year three he might be a #3 or #4 receiver.  If he be coached up on his route running and his confidence grows with time and experience, the Bills could end up with a dangerous receiver.  That's not certain, of course, but the kind of upside those insane measurables give Caldwell, a 6th round pick seems worth it.

 

So, who's your deep sleeper?

 

This area of the draft is Beane’s bread and butter. I’m going to go with UB’s own Red Murdock. Nasty at forcing fumbles which I think they must emphasize heavily at UB. Good size, consistent production, sound instincts, and a whopping 40 career TFL.

 

Murdock is going to be a steal in the latter rounds. I think Beane nabs him and I will most definitely dig this post back up to say “I told you so!” 

On 4/10/2026 at 9:54 PM, BillsShredder83 said:

Red Murdock - I dunno if he's a "sleeper" - but Univ of Buffalo's very own .  That place has been Linebacker U as of late, and he's the best one to come from the bunch!  17 Forced Fumbles in his last 3 years of ball.  Thats a crazy knack for not only taking the ball, but continually putting himself in the right spot to even have a  chance at them.  I dunno who the LB Coaches or scouts are over there, but UB is churning out some real nice NFL Caliber LB's.

 

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Khalil-Murdock-LB-Buffalo

 

Heres a summary of his scouting report... yes I cherry picked the positives, were talking about sleepers:

 

"Coordinators looking for a linebacker who fills gaps, triggers downhill, and understands run fits will find a player who executes those assignments with physicality and consistency. The forced fumble production isn't circumstantial - it's rooted in technique and film study that should translate to the next level."

 

"This is a developmental prospect who maximizes his tools through preparation and effort. The NCAA fumble record came from countless hours studying ball carrier tendencies and perfecting strip techniques, not from fortunate bounces. A team that selects him on Day 3 gets a player who contributes immediately on special teams and gradually earns defensive snaps as he adjusts to NFL speed"

 

This was the first player that came to mind. We are in 100% agreement. I hope he can pick up where Milano left off minus the injuries. 

Edited April 14 by 13 Seconds to Mars

[BarleyNY]

Markel Bell, OT, da U. Day three player who can likely develop into a quality starter at LT. Would be someone I’d look at developing to take over for Dawkins in time. 

 

On a non-Bills note, I’d take a round 7 flyer on QB Jack Strand from Moorhead State if my team was going to need a QB in a couple seasons. Seems like he could at least be a quality back up in the NFL. The talent is there but he needs to develop anticipation. Very raw but Joe Flacco-esque in his play IMO. I see that @cle23 already mentioned Cole Payton from ND State, who is the other developmental QB prospect I like. Though he might take a third or fourth round pick to get. 

Edited April 14 by BarleyNY

[billsfan89]

22 minutes ago, BarleyNY said:

Markel Bell, OT, da U. Day three player who can likely develop into a quality starter at LT. Would be someone I’d look at developing to take over for Dawkins in time. 

 

On a non-Bills note, I’d take a round 7 flyer on QB Jack Strand from Moorhead State if my team was going to need a QB in a couple seasons. Seems like he could at least be a quality back up in the NFL. The talent is there but he needs to develop anticipation. Very raw but Joe Flacco-esque in his play IMO. I see that @cle23 already mentioned Cole Payton from ND State, who is the other developmental QB prospect I like. Though he might take a third or fourth round pick to get. 

 

I really would like to see Bell be drafted somewhere in the 165-182. With Ryan Van Demark gone and Grable seemingly being promoted to the swing tackle there's room for a developmental prospect. Bell is 6 foot 9 plus 346 pounds and has been a two year starter for a successful Miami and posted a really good pass blocking grade. He's a freakish prospect. The issues with him seem to be that he wasn't the best run blocker and I think there are concerns about how his size can hold up. 

 

I think he is probably going to need a year or two to develop but I think he could make for a good LT. I would also wonder how many players around his size (6 foot 9 pushing 350 pounds) make it in the NFL as average or better starters and how frequently do they get hurt compared to smaller players? 

[Sierra Foothills]

2 hours ago, 13 Seconds to Mars said:

This area of the draft is Beane’s bread and butter. I’m going to go with UB’s own Red Murdock. Nasty at forcing fumbles which I think they must emphasize heavily at UB. Good size, consistent production, sound instincts, and a whopping 40 career TFL.

 

Murdock is going to be a steal in the latter rounds. I think Beane nabs him and I will most definitely dig this post back up to say “I told you so!” 

This was the first player that came to mind. We are in 100% agreement. I hope he can pick up where Milano left off minus the injuries. 

 

I really wanted the Bills to get Shaun Dolac last year and was annoyed that they didn't.

 

Personally getting Murdock would atone for that.

 

13 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

Bell is 6 foot 9 plus 346 pounds and has been a two year starter for a successful Miami and posted a really good pass blocking grade. He's a freakish prospect. The issues with him seem to be that he wasn't the best run blocker and I think there are concerns about how his size can hold up. 

 

I think he is probably going to need a year or two to develop but I think he could make for a good LT. I would also wonder how many players around his size (6 foot 9 pushing 350 pounds) make it in the NFL as average or better starters and how frequently do they get hurt compared to smaller players? 

 

The sample size is minuscule... you're talking about a population that Spencer Brown is too short to meet.

 

The only football player 6'9" that I recall is Jonathan Ogden who played 13 years in the NFL and was a first-ballot HOFer.