Why Undrafted?: Craig Loston, S, LSU
By Charlie Campbell, @draftcampbell
LSU has been one of the leading programs in the nation for producing NFL talent the past few seasons. The school had the most players selected in the 2014 NFL Draft of any school in the country. One prospect who looked like a safe bet to be drafted was safety Craig Loston.
Loston earned a starting spot in 2012 to help replace Tyrann Mathieu. Loston had a solid debut next to Eric Reid, but wasn’t anything close to the play-maker that Mathieu had been. Loston was improved in 2013 and finished his senior season playing his best football. He followed that up with a strong performance at the Senior Bowl where he showed more man-coverage skills than he displayed in college. Sources with teams that were in the market for a safety told WalterFootball.com that Loston was receiving some second-day consideration. One organization that drafted a safety on Thursday night said it preferred Loston over Deone Bucannon, who went to Arizona in the first round.
Why then did Loston go undrafted? Well, sources have said the reason Loston went undrafted was due to failing the medical checkup. Teams are concerned about Loston’s health and his ability to withstand the physicality of playing safety in the NFL. Many teams removed him from their boards because of the medical exam.
After going undrafted, Loston signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars, which was a good choice. The organziation has an open competition at safety next to Jonathan Cyprien, but the 2013 second-round pick had some struggles as a rookie and isn’t a long-term lock. The Jaguars are in need of improved safety play, and Loston is a nice fit in Gus Bradley’s defense. If Loston can stay healthy, he could prove to be a steal for Jacksonville.
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