The Footballguys staff already took a look at the veterans who lost value after the 2023 NFL Draft, so let's turn their attention to the newest crop of rookies.
We asked them to name a rookie who came out of the draft with a worse-than-expected path to production. Check out their answers.
See 10 rookies who gained value in the draft here >>>
WR Rakim Jarrett, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Kevin Coleman: Jarrett must be considered one of the biggest losers in the draft process. Many thought, based on his athleticism, he would at least get drafted early on Day 3. Instead, he slipped outside the draft and signed an undrafted free-agent contract. The former 5-star recruit had a solid performance at the combine, where he ran a 4.44-second 40-yard dash, but that still wasn't good enough to get him any draft capital. Moving forward, he will compete with Russell Gage and Trey Palmer to earn a roster spot on an offense that does not have a solid quarterback room.
WR Cedric Tillman, Cleveland Browns
Jeff Haseley: Cedric Tillman was a third-round pick for the Cleveland Browns. His size and strength will fit in well with the Browns' passing game, especially intermediate routes and plays where he can use his contested catch skills to benefit Deshaun Watson. The issue - he may not be an immediate fit with Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and the newly signed Elijah Moore ahead of him on the depth chart. That also doesn't include tight end David Njoku. Tillman could supplant Peoples-Jones in his role, but that could take some time before his involvement increases.
WR Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts
Matt Montgomery: Downs was coming into the draft with the second-highest overall wide receiver score in the combine, but the 5-foot-9, 171-pounder now sees himself in an offense that likely has either a backup quality or unproven rookie at quarterback and will be the second or third option to Michael Pittman and Alec Pierce. He will need to outplay his size to really stand out in this offense.
WR Marvin Mims, Denver Broncos
Zareh Kantzabedian: Since 2010, under Sean Payton, the New Orleans Saints ranked the top 31 in pass attempts seven times out of 416 entries. Despite that, in those seven years, the Saints produced two years of two 1000 yards wide receivers, three years of one 1000-yard wide receiver, and another year that produced zero 1000-yard receivers. Given Mims' skill set and athleticism, the nature of Payton's Air Coryell offense will allow Mims to see a considerable amount of snaps during his rookie year. The downside is that, given Tim Patrick is healthy, Mims is the WR4 to open the year for the Broncos.
QB Will Levis, Tennessee Titans
Dave Kluge: Throughout the Draft cycle, Will Levis was regularly grouped in with Bryce Young, CJ Stroud, and Anthony Richardson as the crème de la crème of the class. Those three were drafted in the top four, and Levis slid to the second round. A second-round selection is far from a death sentence. Brett Favre, Drew Brees, Derek Carr, and Jalen Hurts are just a few of many second-round quarterbacks to find NFL success. But without that elite draft capital, Levis will likely see his value fall from the top half of the first round in rookie drafts to the middle of Round 2.
Chad Parsons: With the upside being a high Round 1 selection, Levis painfully faded to Round 2. As an already flawed prospect, the odds plummet if even a back-half Round 1 quarterback, let alone Round 2. The Titans themselves did not trade up for Levis in Round 1, passed at 11 overall, and Levis was not part of their plan enough to move down from 11 overall and target him.
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