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Seemingly every year, some prospect who every mock drafter and pundit had as a top pick will slide. They'll all react with shock and inevitably praise the team that does eventually draft the guy as getting a great "value."
In reality though, guys probably don't slide very much in the draft. At least in relation to where they are on the draft boards of actual NFL teams, which often differ from those of draftniks. So who may surprise everyone this year? Pete Schrager has a possible candidate.
Wrote about this at the Owners meetings and am hearing it more this week. Teams aren't as high on Milliner as the pundits.
— P. Schrager (@PSchrags) April 20, 2013
Could it be that Milliner's status as the top CB and a top 10 pick, which has been more or less consensus for the past 3 months, was never really a view held by NFL teams? Also, what would even constitute a surprising slide for Milliner? If he goes out of the top 10? Top 15?
And who else could be a surprising slide? Star Lotulelei, Geno Smith, Dion Jordan & Bjoern Werner could be a few possibilities.
My favorite all time draft slide was former Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn, who sat in the draft room pouting every time he wasn't selected. That said, NFL Network, somewhat unfairly, decided to completely overdramatize Quinn's "slide" and make the big story of the their draft coverage. Quinn, who many draftniks forecasted to be a top 12 pick, went #22 to the Browns. And he was a bust.