Five surprise picks from the final four rounds of the 2014 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall:
Thomas goes before McCarron, Murray
We wondered all week which of the developmental quarterbacks would go first and while most thought AJ McCarron would be off the board on Day 2, it was Logan Thomas who made the big jump and surprised people. The Arizona Cardinals have plenty of work to do in terms of getting him ready to play in the NFL but, as Mike Mayock liked to say, "somebody is going to try to put Humpty Dumpty back together again." That somebody is Cardinals coach Bruce Arians, and he certainly is getting one of the most physically impressive signal-callers in the draft. After a long drop, McCarron finally found a home with the Cincinnati Bengals and that might be a better fit than people think. Aaron Murray was selected one spot before McCarron by the Kansas City Chiefs. The most hyped prospect in the 2014 NFL Draft, Tom Savage wound up with a team many thought he would wind up with but just two rounds later.
Sam finds a home with Rams
As the draft hit the home stretch in the seventh round, there was growing concern that Michael Sam would not get drafted as the first openly gay player in the league. Jeff Fisher wouldn't let that happen, however, and the closest NFL team to his Missouri Tigers made the emotional call to take Sam with the 249th overall pick. The scenes broadcast with Sam receiving the news were priceless and Fisher emphasized that the team would be getting a good football player above all else. A historic day for the NFL, the Rams and especially for Sam.
Undrafted players
You could put together a great college football team with some of the highly rated players that went undrafted. Among the notable names? Antonio Richarson, Anthony Johnson, Kelcy Quarles, Jackson Jeffcoat, Adrian Hubbard, Marcus Roberson, Colt Lyerla, Shayne Skov, Max Bullough and more. That's an amazing collection of talent that didn't get drafted for various reasons and truly illustrates the depth of the 2014 class.
All about value picks
There were a number of players who some considered to be second-day players who had to wait a bit longer to hear their names called. Among the great value picks in the later rounds were Bashaud Breeland to the Washington Redskins, Bruce Ellington to the San Francisco 49ers, Justin Ellis to the Oakland Raiders, Aaron Colvin and Telvin Smith to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Ka'Deem Carey to the Chicago Bears, Cameron Fleming to the New England Patriots and Devin Street to the Dallas Cowboys.
Absence of Texas and Big 12
Concordia (Minn.), Marist and Saginaw Valley State each had a player selected in the draft while mighty Texas did not. Canada produced more NFL draft picks than the Longhorns. Those notes are not only a reflection on the powerhouse program in the Big 12, but the entire league. Yes, the Big 12 is awfully young and will have a number of starters who will be taken in future drafts, but it is shocking to see the conference with a record low number of picks (just 17). Say what you want about Mack Brown, but the Longhorns failing to have a draft pick for the first time since 1937 is on him and his staff.
Follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter @BryanDFischer.
