By Charlie Campbell, @draftcampbell
Two years ago, we started a series of articles on why certain prospects went undrafted. In this series, I reach out to sources with NFL teams to find out why their organizations passed on drafting a given player, and/or, what were the reasons for other teams to pass on that prospect. We got a lot of positive reader feedback about the series, so we decided to expand in the genre to investigate why some prospects slid in the draft. Last year, we started the “Why the Slide?” series, and this year it is back along with “Why Undrafted?” Feel free to email me requests for “Why the Slide?” and “Why Undrafted?” at [email protected]. I can’t promise to get to all of them, but I will do my best and definitely respond.
Throughout the lead up to the 2016 NFL Draft it was common place to see Mississippi State linebacker Beniquez Brown projected to be a mid-round pick. Brown had an impressive season for the Bulldogs in 2015 and was a tough defender in the middle of their defense. He totaled 99 tackles with 11 for a loss, four sacks, two passes broken up and an interception. Many thought that Brown would end up being a mid-round pick.
In speaking with teams, they say that Brown didn’t grade out as a draft pick for them. The reason for that was they felt he was a quality college player who was just okay for the NFL. Sources say that on his tape he was a solid player, but they had him as a free agent. They thought he would be a quality free agent signing, but not enough teams saw Brown as worthy of a draft pick, and therefore, he went unselected.
After going undrafted, Brown signed with the Green Bay Packers. That is a good choice and a bad choice. On the positive side, the Packers have a huge need for inside linebacker talent, abd Brown could immediately factor into the competition. Aside from needing long-term starters, Green Bay also could use depth at linebacker, so Brown could be in play to be a backup as well. However on the negative side, Brown signed with a team that spent two draft picks on players who play the same position. Thus, Green Bay already has Kyler Fackrell and Blake Martinez ahead of Brown. Plus, the Packers have 2015 draft pick Jake Ryan and veteran Sam Barrington returning. With those veterans and new draft picks, Brown will probably have to hope to earn a spot on the practice squad and serve as inside linebacker depth for Green Bay.
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