Hall of Fame sportswriter Ray Didinger may be retired, but it does not mean he is retiring from poring over college film and talking to his numerous NFL sources to find out who can be sleepers in this coming NFL Draft. Last year, the prestigious Francis “Reds” Bagnell Award winner had on his yearly list 5’10½,” 232-pound Cincinnati linebacker Ivan Pace Jr., who went on as an undrafted free agent to have a very productive year for the Minnesota Vikings, 5’10,” 201-pound Tulane tailback Tyjae Spears, who is second on the Tennessee Titans’ depth chart, 6’3,” 284-pound Texas defensive tackle Moro Ojomo, who wound up being drafted in the seventh round by the Eagles, and 5’5,” 180-pound Kansas State tailback Deuce Vaughn, who made the Dallas Cowboys.
No one would ever question Didinger’s meticulous research and he was once again gracious enough recently to speak with Bleeding Green Nation about five sleepers the Eagles and other NFL teams could look at in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft.
Jonah Elliss, Utah, edge rusher, 6’2,’’ 248 pounds
“Elliss comes from a football family. His father Luther played 10 years in the NFL and his sons [including former Eagles linebacker Christian and current Eagles defensive lineman Noah] have played in the NFL. All his older brothers played in the NFL, and he is the youngest. I spoke about Ivan Pace last year, and he made the NFL all-Rookie team as the only undrafted free agent. He was the NFC Defensive Player of the Week one week. What I loved about Pace was his effort. He played with such tremendous effort. It just jumps off the screen. It is the same thing about Elliss. You can’t take your eyes off of Elliss. They play different positions. Pace is a pure linebacker and Jonah Elliss is going to be an edge rusher, but the one thing that they have in common is that they play so hard every single down. Elliss’ size is probably the reason why he will not get drafted real high, but he plays so much bigger than his size. He is a very disruptive player. Even if he is not sacking the quarterback, he is making the quarterback move around the pocket. He makes plays on the edges, stalking guys on the outside. Because he has been around the game so long, he is a step ahead of everyone, because he understands the game so well. Once the ball is snapped, he is a heat-seeking missile going after the quarterback. He probably would not fit in every system, because of his size, but he would certainly fit in team’s subpackages. I like a guy who plays with great energy, plays fast and plays every snap. The fact that he grew up around the game and now has the opportunity to play in the NFL, you will get a high-effort, high-character guy.”
Malik Washington, Virginia, WR, 5’8½,” 191 pounds
“Washington started his college career at Northwestern and played only one year as a graduate student at Virginia, where he proceeded to set the school record for receptions (110) and receiving yards (1,426 receiving yards/13.0 per catch) in a season. He is purely a slot receiver, but in my view, he is an ideal slot receiver. He is small, but he carries 190 pounds and he has a running back body. As a result, he gets a lot of yards after the catch by making people miss and he also breaks tackles. He plays bigger than he measures. Watching tape of him, he has the two qualities that you have to have to be a good NFL receiver and value in the slot: He is always open and he catches everything thrown to him. If he touched it, he caught it. He gets open, gets separation, and gives his quarterback a target where he is going to catch the ball. I spoke to some people about him and told them that I really like Washington. They told me he was too small. Well, okay, not everyone is going to be in love with a 5-8 player in the NFL, but a 5-8 player can contribute. I think Washington is one of them. As much 11 personnel that the NFL plays today (1 tight end, 3 wide receivers), that is just where the game has gone now, it makes slot receivers more and more productive in the right offense. Slot receivers are getting volume catches and making plays. I think this guy is the ideal slot. One of the stats that validated my observations was the 83% catch rate for passes thrown to him. Those are check down numbers, but for a guy playing receiver, for him to get that open, that speaks to the player he is. He is a player his coaches will love, and his quarterback will trust him right away. Everyone says how highly intelligent he is, and it makes sense, having gone to Northwestern and Virginia. I think he will be a good return man. With the new NFL rules, returners are valued. He will not get drafted high, because he is 5-8. That is the way things work in the NFL. But I thin he will be a Day 2 pick and really help whatever team gets him.”
Mason McCormick, South Dakota State, G, 6’4,’’ 309 pounds
“McCormick was weighed at around 310 and measured at 6-4. He was a four-year starter and played over 3,300 snaps in college. He played in 57-straight games, which tells you how tough and durable he is. He is a real tenacious player. He fires out of his stance, knocks people off the ball and is a very good drive blocker. You can just tell he is someone who really loves to play football. What I look at in all players is how they play against the best competition. That is fair to say about McCormick, who played his best games against his best opponents. He has a Jon Runyan-esque quality about him, a certain nastiness where he plays to the whistle and he finishes plays. Because he is a small-college player, there are still some rough edges to his game. He could use his hands better. He could be better at figuring out blocking angles. His footwork is not as smooth as it could be. That effects his balance sometimes. But these to me are all fixable, and a team that has a really good offensive line coach, like the Eagles have in Jeff Stoutland, you pick this guy up and you turn him over to Stoutland. By year two in the NFL, he would be ready to start in the NFL. He has the kind of frame where he can gain another 20 pounds. He is not an immediate starter, but he can be an eventual starter in the NFL pretty quick. I think he could possibly be a tackle, but he played purely guard at South Dakota State, but he is big enough, and from what I can tell, he can be a swing guy, with the idea to develop him where he can play tackle in a pinch. The Eagles lost Jason Kelce, Sua Opeta and Jack Driscoll. They are thin on the offensive line. They need a few depth players.”
Ben Sinnott, Kansas State, TE, 6’4,’’ 250 pounds
“Every year I always pick a Kansas State guy, and Sinnott is it this year. I have just had good luck with Kansas State guys, starting with Darren Sproles. Sinnott was recruited to play ice hockey out of high school, and he got some college offers to play ice hockey. But he had no offers to play football. He wanted to play football, so he walked on at Kansas State and made the team. He developed into a really good player. Some people in the NFL may look at him as being maybe a little small. He is around 6-4 and people in the NFL like their tight ends around 6-5. What I like about him is that you can play him inside as a willing blocker, and he also has some decent speed, so you can flex him out a little. Kansas State also flexed him as a fullback. He gives you some scheme versatility. He seemed to get better and better as a player. His improvement from last year to this year was significant. He looks like a guy who has really worked on his game. He is certainly an NFL player, at least in my view. He caught the ball well and if he makes an NFL team, being able to move him around is an advantage. I think he has a future in the NFL. He won’t be drafted high because of his size. But he can make an NFL team as a good special team player and back-up tight end.”
Qwan’tez Stiggers, CFL/Toronto Argonauts, CB, 6-foot, 197 pounds
“I always like to have someone who is really off the gird, and you can’t get much more off the grid than Stiggers. He is a cornerback who did not play college football. He ran a 4.77 in the 40. He played arena football for a couple of years, and then walked on to a CFL tryout, where he made the Toronto Argonauts. He wound up being the CFL Rookie of the Year. He then played in the East West Shrine Game, where I saw him. I didn’t know anything about him, but thought he played well. I did some research, and to me, if you can play cornerback in the CFL, with all that ground to cover, a guy like that is worth a look. To be honest, he won’t get picked before the seventh round and he may not get picked at all. He may wind up being an undrafted free agent. I think every NFL team knows who he is. He will be invited to a training camp. When you talk about sleepers, it is Stiggers. Granted, I know there is a big difference between covering CFL receivers and NFL receivers, but he showed in the East-West game he was not afraid to come up and tackle someone.”
Joseph Santoliquito is a hall of fame, award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who has written feature stories for SI.com, ESPN.com, NFL.com, MLB.com, Deadspin and The Philadelphia Inquirer/Daily News. In 2006, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for a special project piece for ESPN.com called “Love at First Beep.” He is most noted for his award-winning ESPN.com feature on high school wrestler A.J. Detwiler in February 2006, which appeared on SportsCenter. In 2015, he was elected president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
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