Judging by John Lynch’s history of day 3 picks, he’ll go all in on athletes

Who will be this years version of George Kittle? Geno Atkins? Kam Chancellor? Every year there is a couple of gems that fall during the draft for whatever reason, whether injury, size, or lack of position, and end up turning into a stud at the next level. Here are four players that will likely be selected on Saturday of the draft, but outperform the majority of players selected ahead of them.

Bet on athletes

Ben Banogu, Edge, TCU

One thing that I’m a big proponent of late in the draft is betting on athletes. Kittle had injury concerns, but he was a superb athlete. TCU’s edge rusher Ben Banogu is a freaky athlete. At 6-foot-3, 250 pounds, Banogu ran a 4.62 40-yard dash, had a 40” vertical jump, an 11-foot-1 inches broad jump, a 7.02 3-cone drill, and a 4.27 20yard short shuttle. Those numbers are insane.

Banogu is expected to fall out of the first three rounds. He isn’t technically sound, and when he doesn’t have momentum built up, he’s not overly powerful. When you watch him, he’s not only an obvious athlete, but he plays so hard. That counts for something. Players that usually play their tail off with Banogu’s type of athleticism are the guys you bet on.

Antoine Wesley, WR, Texas Tech

Wesley is 6-foot-4 with one year of production. 88 catches, 1410 yards, and nine touchdowns. That’s a heck of a season. Wesley had an interesting combine. 37” vertical with a 7.07 3-cone drill. Wesley ran a 4.65 at his Pro Day.

Back in the day this guy named Bill Walsh wrote a piece called “Indy, tests, and How I Evaluate them.” Walsh referenced why Jerry Rice’s play speed was so good by looking at both his 3-cone drill and vertical. The takeaway was that Rice was indeed explosive and he was able to get separation because Rice didn’t have to slow down. When you watch Wesley, you see that. You see Wesley getting separation because he is able to cut and stop without any extra steps or wasted movements.

The gangly receiver is a big play machine. He caught 13 of his 29 targets that were over 20 yards. He also has very good hands and plays to his size. Wesley will need some refinement, but he’s a player you take a chance on and develop.

If you look at the San Francisco 49ers last couple of drafts, they’ve gone after plus athletes on Day 3. That’s how it should be. This year should be no different.