This series was created a number of years ago in response to questions about why certain well-known prospects went unselected in NFL drafts. For these articles, 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. The positive response to “Why Undrafted” and questions from readers about why prospects were drafted lower than the media expectations led us to create the parallel series “Why the Slide?”
Both series are back this year. 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 will respond to the email.
If it weren’t for Jaxson Dart having a meltdown performance against Florida, Ole Miss would have made it into the college football playoffs, and one of the strengths of their team was a talented defensive line. Tackle Walter Nolen went in the top-20, Princely Umanmielen went on day two, and many thought teammate Jared Ivey would be a mid-round pick. In 2024, Ivey had 42 tackles with seven sacks and two forced fumbles. At 6-foot-6, 274 pounds, Ivey has good size for the NFL as well. Thus, it was a surprise when he went undrafted.
Sources from multiple teams say that character issues were a problem that really hurt Ivey. On top of the character, sources say that Ivey was lazy on the field and off of it. That translated to poor training habits and a bad body. It also led to a bad pro day workout, and while Ivey had flashes of brilliance in games, they were too few and far between.
After going undrafted, Ivey signed with the Seahawks, and that was a mixed landing spot. On the positive side, Seattle did not draft a defensive lineman in the early rounds, and they have always been willing to give a late-round pick or undrafted player a fair shot under general manager John Schneider. That philosophy has led to some huge diamonds in the rough emerging in Seattle, like Richard Sherman, Doug Baldwin, and Riq Woolen, among others. Ivey will get a fair shot in Seattle.
On the negative side, Schneider has built up a lot of solid depth on the defensive line. They have established starting veterans in Leonard Williams, Demarcus Lawrence, and Boye Mafe. They also have interior veterans like Byron Murphy, Jarran Reed, and Johnathan Hankins. Ivey is going to be in a tough competition for a roster spot with players like Derick Hall, Rylie Mills, Brandon Pili, Quinton Bohanna, and more. Ivey’s best hope could be to impress enough to earn a spot on a practice squad and try to develop into a rotational backup from there. After going undrafted, Ivey will have to work hard and seize every opportunity to carve out an NFL career.
2026 NFL Mock Draft - May 20
NFL Power Rankings - May 16
Fantasy Football Rankings - May 10
NFL Picks - Feb. 9
