Secondary Sleepers
Shemar Jean-Charles – CB – Appalachian State
Shemar Jean-Charles is the second Appalachian State prospect on this list. While he was one of the most productive corners in college football last season with 17 passes broken up, his physical traits will likely push him down draft boards. One of my favorite prospects in this draft is Shakur Brown of Michigan State, but since he’ll likely go before the Chiefs’ 5th and 6th round picks, Jean-Charles is a similar player in that he makes up for his physical limitations with a nose for the football.
At just 5-10, 184 pounds. Jean-Charles is undersized and his times of 4.51 seconds in the 40-yard dash and 7.15 seconds in the three-cone drill show he has some speed/quickness limitations as well. Jean-Charles will have to be strictly a slot corner and special teams player, but in the later rounds, his feisty play style and instincts for finding the football make him worth a flyer.
Darrick Forrest – Safety – Cincinnati
If you aren’t a fan of a secondary player with good instincts but lesser physical traits like Jean-Charles ,then let me introduce you to Cincinnati safety Darrick Forrest who is pretty much the exact opposite. Forrest is a freak athlete at 5-11 and 206 pounds who ran a 4.41 40-yard dash, jumped a 39-inch vertical, and put up 21 bench press reps. He also put up over 100 tackles in 2019 and is an aggressive player in run support, coverage, and on special teams. The problem is that that aggression leads to him overpursuing plays in both coverage and in run support. If NFL coaches could get him to fix those mistakes he could be a great starting caliber safety available in the later rounds. Even if they can’t, he would still be a solid back up and strong special teams player.
So there you have it Chiefs fans. Those are my late round sleepers for the Chiefs to target in the 2021 NFL Draft. What do you think? Do you like any of these guys? Did you find some new names you hadn’t heard of before? Are there some late-round options who are flying under the radar that you like better than these players? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments below.