Claiborne, as I've mentioned in his thread, utterly shut down his side of the field against Baylor, who had one of the highest rated passing offenses in the game. He was widely regarded as at least a third day draft pick. He may not have the measurables, but he has the talent for absolute sure.
I'm looking purely at potential for Ferguson. ASPB was a running offense, and he didn't get a lot of opportunities. But guys like him don't come around often. And he has experience playing special teams. Even if he doesn't make it on the roster, they're not exactly going to let a guy with his potential slip away. The wide receivers from Givens down are no guarantee to make this roster, and yes, that includes Sasser.
Any time a linebacker gets five picks, over 100 tackles, flashes 4.5 speed at 6'3", 240 lbs., and gets All-America consideration, you have to take notice, no matter what school he's at. I'm not saying that Malone's going to play for sure, but I'm saying that he has a chance to be a special teams demon. Hager will likely win the spot as the fifth linebacker, but he's still a seventh round pick.
Longacre has incredible career stats and was the Defensive Player of the Year and a unanimous All-American. And with three defensive ends probably moving on after this year, a defensive end like him has a good chance to stick on the practice squad.
And you know as well as I do that undrafted free agents who are completely unheralded (Quinton Pointer, for example) can come out of nowhere to make a team. You know that not even draft picks are guarantees (as seen by four of our draft picks last year in Gilbert, Van Dyk, Bryant, and Sam and Aaron Brown in 2012.) You know just how much rosters turn over even in the course of one year. That doesn't even include extenuating circumstances (suspensions, trades, surprise releases, etc.).
That's why I see some of these guys making the roster. Position versatility, production on the field, potential, all of it matters.
