DG146 - Part 2

Part 2 of dread gallery #146 features the rookies for teams in the AFC North, NFC North, and AFC South. We'll begin with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

I doubt that the Steelers' front office saw my Week 21 dread news report back in February; but with the players they drafted, you might think they did. I gave the Steelers a C- grade for their dreads in 2012, the only team in the division worse than an A-. But that grade is sure to be a lot better in 2013 because of the 9 players they drafted, five (!) have dreads.
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1. Jarvis Jones' dreads made a great showing at Georgia's pro day on Mar. 21, but apparently Jarvis Jones the player did not. Expected to be the first player with dreads drafted, Jones' stock plunged after he didn't run as fast as the scouts wanted him to, and he ended up not being selected until the Steelers took him with the 17th pick in the 1st round.

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2. Jarvis Jones makes sure he gets a helmet that fits right - always of the utmost importance to anyone with dreads - on May 2, one day before his first practice at rookie minicamp.
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3. Jarvis Jones tries to defeat a block during his first practice on May 3. Jones, a 6-foot-2, 245-pound LB, led Division 1-FBS last year with 24.5 TFL, including 14.5 sacks, during his junior season at Georgia.
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4. Jones has a word with Steelers' defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau during practice on May 4. No doubt LeBeau is delighted to see Jarvis wearing the gold and black and plans on him being a disruptive force to opposing offenses in the years ahead.
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5. After beginning their draft with Jones, the Steelers ended their draft by taking former Samford DE Nicholas Williams, a 6-4, 309-pounder, in round 7. Williams is one of 3 players with dreads from the FCS's Southern Conference to be drafted.













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6. There were 7 safeties with dreads selected in the draft - the most of any position - including Shamarko Thomas from Syracuse by the Steelers in round 4.
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7. In round 5 the Steelers picked former Illinois DB Terry Hawthorne, one of four CBs to be drafted.
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8. No, the Steelers did not forget to add some dreads to their offense, picking WR Markus Wheaton in round 3. Wheaton had a tremendous senior season at Oregon State with 91 catches for 1,244 yards. There were no touchdowns scored by anybody with dreads for Pittsburgh last season. You can bet Markus is planning on making sure that never happens again.
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9. The only other player with dreads drafted by an AFC North team was former Arkansas WR Cobi Hamilton. The last time the Cincinnati Bengals drafted a WR from the SEC they got a fairly decent player by the name of A.J. Green. But Green was picked near the very beginning of the draft in 2011, while Hamilton was taken in round 6. Hamilton, like Markus Wheaton, made my all-America with dreads team after having a fantastic senior year. I thought he would get picked earlier than the 6th round; so maybe the Bengals got themselves a steal.
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10. The Bengals also signed a couple of FA with dreads after the draft, including former Minnesota CB Troy Stoudermire, shown here during mandatory minicamp on June 12. With the Gophers Stoudermire was more notable for his work as a kick returner than as a CB.
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11. Last season the Bengals struck gold with two undrafted LBs - Vontaze Burfict and Emmanuel Lamur - and hope to do the same this year with former Southern Illinois LB Jayson DiManche, who had 16.5 sacks in his final three seasons with the Salukis.
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12. The Baltimore Ravens lost the sickest dreads on their team during the offseason when Dannell Ellerbe signed with the Dolphins and Torrey Smith cut his dreads off. So hopefully FA Rogers Gaines, a 6-7, 334-pound OT from Tennessee State is good enough to make the team.

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13. Marlon Brown, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound WR, almost certainly would have been drafted had he not torn his ACL during Georgia's Week 10 game last November; so he'll have to take the FA route to the NFL.
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14. While recovering from his knee injury, Marlon Brown missed Georgia's pro day and the Ravens' rookie minicamp; so there aren't a lot of photos of him. Here Marlon, along with the rest of the Ravens' reserve WRs, wait to get reps during mandatory mincamp on June 13. By the way, on the far left, #15 is LaQuan Williams, who missed the playoffs last season due to a hamstring injury.
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15. If he plans on making the team, FA CB Moe Lee (from Utah) is going to have to cover better than this, as WR Jacoby Jones makes a catch in front of him during minicamp on June 11.
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16. FA S Kenronte Walker stretches during his first practice with the Cleveland Browns on May 10. Walker was the SEC defensive player of the week during Week 3 last September after making a couple of big plays late in Missouri's victory over Arizona State.
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17. Kenronte Walker uses his unfair height advantage here on June 18, during a football camp held by the Browns' rookies. Don't be fooled, K-Ron, it's going to be a lot tougher than this in training camp.
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18. FA WR Dominique Croom's stats improved over the previous season every year during his career at Central Arkansas. 8 of his 19 career TD catches came in 2012. But he's not in the Southland Conference anymore; and it's going to be difficult for the 6-2, 190-pounder to make the Browns' final opening day roster. 
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19. FA CB Abdul Kanneh, the frontrunner for the best dreads in the 2013 rookie class, works on improving his hands as he tries to catch fastballs launched by a machine during OTA practice on May 16. We've never seen these dreads before in this blog because Kanneh played his last two college seasons at Division 2 school New Mexico Highlands. Kanneh nearly wasted his athletic talent thanks to self-inflicted problems, but got his act together in time to get a shot at making an NFL roster.

http://www.northernvasports.com/prince_william/potomac-graduate-abdul-kanneh-gets-second-chance/article_7e50b192-9c85-11e2-a63e-0019bb30f31a.html

http://www.nmhucowboys.com/news/2012/12/28/FB_1228122836.aspx

Go get em, Abdul. I'm really looking forward to seeing your dreads on Sundays this fall.
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20. Every team in the NFC North drafted at least one player with dreads. After using their early 1st-round pick on DE Ezekiel Ansah, the Detroit Lions took another DE in round 4 - 6-foot-8, 267-pound Devin Taylor from South Carolina.
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21. Also hoping to improve their O-line, the Lions signed 6-6, 321-pound OT LaAdrian Waddle from Texas Tech as a FA. The Lions didn't draft any OTs, so Waddle (facing 1st-round pick Ansah in right photo) figures to get a long look in camp.








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22. In need of linebackers, the Chicago Bears took former Rutgers star Khaseem Greene in the 4th round, after picking former Florida LB Jon Bostic (#57) in round 2. Hopefully they'll be good enough to be on the field together on Sundays, as they were here in rookie minicamp on May 10.
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23. If you play for the Bears' D, you need to be able to score. Khaseem Greene shows he knows how to handle the ball a little bit during OTA practice on May 14. Greene was the 2012 Big East defensive player of the year, but was the 3rd of three players with dreads drafted from the Big East, behind Sio Moore and Shamarko Thomas.
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The Green Bay Packers have their usual horde of rookies with dreads. Joining the 10 veterans with dreads already on the roster in camp will be four newcomers.
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24. The first RB with dreads drafted, but surprisingly the fourth RB drafted overall, former Alabama star Eddie Lacy was selected by the Packers with their pick near the end of the 2nd round. It's hard to believe RBs Montee Ball and Le'Veon Bell got picked before Lacy.
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25. More photos of Eddie Lacy? No! This is RB Angelo Pease, signed as a FA from Kansas State. We didn't see these dreads during his two seasons at K-State not only because he didn't play much (he rushed for a 2-year total of 477 yards and 2 TD) but also because KSU is one of those teams (like Alabama) where you can't have your dreads hanging far out of your helmet. Pease was impressive during rookie minicamp but needs to be impressive now if he has any hope of making the team. With Pease and Lacy joining Alex Green and DuJuan Harris, Green Bay currently has 4 RBs with sick dreads on their roster. 
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26. As usual, the SEC was the conference with the most players with dreads drafted. Former Mississippi State DT Josh Boyd was one of 12 SEC players with dreads drafted, taken by the Packers in round 5.



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27. When I posted my all-America with dreads team, I said that former Texas A&M C Patrick Lewis was "not considered a serious NFL prospect." Hopefully Lewis will prove me wrong after signing with the Packers as a FA. 
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28. FA WR Tyrone Walker made the dread stars list 7 times last season during his senior year at Illinois State. During that senior year, Walker erased Laurent Robinson's name from the school's record book and put his there, finishing his career with 250 receptions for 3,565 yards and 32 TD. He wasn't drafted because he doesn't have great speed. Probably the Packers will try to put him on their practice squad. But if he's impressive enough during the preseason, another team might pick him up just before the regular season begins.
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29. During the days leading up to the draft, it was pretty much common knowledge that the Minnesota Vikings were hoping to draft former Tennessee WR Cordarrelle Patterson - the feature story in my draft preview - with one of their two picks late in the 1st round. But when ex-dread DT Shariff Floyd, expected to be picked in the top 10, fell all the way to the 23rd pick and was taken by the Vikings, it looked like Patterson would drop into the 2nd round. But then right before the end of the 1st round the Vikings showed just how much they wanted Patterson, trading four picks later in the draft (including picks in the 2nd and 3rd round) to acquire another 1st-round pick. And with that pick (29th overall) they got Cordarrelle. Having traded star WR Percy Harvin, Patterson - with similar skills to Harvin - seems to be the perfect player to replace him.
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30. Cordarrelle Patterson works with the awesome dreads of CB Bobby Felder in a drill during his first NFL practice on May 3. Felder, who was a rookie last season, didn't make my list of players with the longest dreads in the league only because he spent all of 2012 on the practice squad. 
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31. Patterson is swarmed by the Twin Cities media after finishing his first practice in a Vikings uniform.
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32. On day two of rookie minicamp on May 4, Cordarrelle Patterson gets smacked in the head by the Vikings' other 1st-round pick (25th overall), CB Xavier Rhodes, as he tries to release from the line of scrimmage and run his route. If this were a regular season game, Rhodes would be penalized for illegal hands to the face .....
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33. ...... And this would be illegal hands to the dreads! There were no captions with these photos from the Vikings website; but I'm guessing Rhodes was instructed to intentionally foul Patterson just to see how effective Cordarrelle is (or not) getting his release against press coverage.
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34. Cordarrelle Patterson meets with another newcomer, star WR Greg Jennings, who elected to come over to the Vikings after not re-signing with the Packers. "No matter whatever else happens in the rest of the games, CP, we absolutely got to beat Green Bay. Understand?"
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35. After Arizona took Jonathan Cooper in the 1st round, there was only one other guard drafted; and he was Cooper's teammate at North Carolina - 6-6, 329-pound Travis Bond, picked by the Vikings early in round 7. 
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36.  Unless your name is Adrian Peterson, being a RB with the Vikings means you're not going to get very many carries; but FA RB Jerodis Williams, who scored 33 TD in his career at Furman, is also a standout kickoff returner (he made 2nd team on my all-America with dreads team last year, behind 1st-teamer Cordarrelle Patterson); so maybe he can make the team as a special teams player.  
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37. Also trying to make the Vikings' roster as a FA is former Kentucky DE Collins Ukwu, who gained 58 pounds during his five seasons at UK after starting out as a 200-pound weakling. Ukwu had 8 career sacks for the Wildcats, 4 of which came in 2012.
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The four teams in the AFC South seemed to be having a competition to see who would draft the most players with dreads. 11 of the 36 players with dreads drafted went to AFC South teams. Each team picked at least two.
I sat and watched the ticker in disbelief as the Houston Texans, who used to never touch anybody with dreads, drafted a player with dreads in the 1st round, and another in the 2nd round, and another in the 3rd round!!
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38. In my final college dread news report for 2012, I mentioned something about former Clemson WR DeAndre Hopkins being drafted by the right team. Well, Hopkins was drafted by the right team - the Texans - and in the 1st round (27th overall) no less.
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39. Pass a little bit off target? No problem; DeAndre Hopkins is talented enough to catch with one hand, although I can't verify if he made this catch or not during an OTA practice in early June. There's a starting WR spot available opposite Andre Johnson in the Texans' lineup, and DeAndre is expected to fill it. Let's hope he's as good as the Texans want him to be.
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40. WR Keshawn Martin (taking a drink during a break on May 21), drafted by the Texans last year, scored the first TD by a Texans player with dreads in ages when he took one to the house in Week 11. Now with him and DeAndre Hopkins on the same team, there should be many more touchdowns to come by players with dreads in Houston in the years ahead.
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41. The school with the most players with dreads selected in the 2013 draft was, to the surprise of no one, South Carolina. Four Gamecocks were drafted, including S D.J. Swearinger by the Texans in the 2nd round. D.J. was a 1st team selection on my all-America with dreads team last season.



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42. D.J. Swearinger starts off practice the right way during an OTA practice in June. Like Hopkins, Swearinger is likely to be on the field often during his rookie season.
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43. It's been unprecedented until this year and likely will never happen again, but this draft had three offensive lineman with dreads from the same school drafted. Now I could believe three DBs from the same team; but three O-lineman? No way. But this year, yes way! Jonathan Cooper went to the Cardinals in round 1, Travis Bond went to the Vikings in round 7, and the Texans picked former North Carolina OT Brennan Williams in round 3. 
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44. There's one other rookie with dreads in Texans' minicamp, former Kansas State LB Justin Tuggle, who has been a QB for most of his playing days until switching to defense near the end of his junior season. He had 3 sacks last season. Justin's father was a star LB for many years with the Falcons, so the bloodlines are there. Having not played much at LB in college, Justin was not drafted. But who knows. Maybe with the Texans he'll find out he's talented enough to play on Sundays.
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45. Former Nebraska S Daimion Stafford was in the running for the most colorful dreads at the Combine as the DBs worked out on Feb. 26. Three players with dreads from the Big 10 were drafted, and Stafford was the last of the three .....
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46. ..... picked by the Tennessee Titans in the 7th round and shown here working against 3rd-round pick, CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson, during rookie minicamp on May 10.
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47. An astonishing total of 8 defensive players from LSU were taken in this year's draft. The only one with dreads is DE Lavar Edwards, the Titans' 5th round pick. Edwards had 10.5 career sacks with the Tigers.
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48. Nigel Nicholas, a 6-3, 251-pound DE, tries to show the scouts he has the speed to be an effective pass rusher during Oklahoma State pro day on Mar. 12. Nicholas had 9 career sacks for the Cowboys, including 4 in 2012. Apparently Nigel didn't show enough quickness to get drafted, but did sign with the Titans as a FA.
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49. CB George Baker had a very ordinary career for the South Florida Bulls, not making the starting lineup until his senior season and finishing with 2 career INT. But there's nothing ordinary about 4.28-second speed in the 40-yard dash, which is what Baker ran on USF pro day. That kind of speed gets you at least a shot in camp, and George's shot will be with the Titans after signing as a FA.
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50. There were two players with dreads wearing #73 at the Indianapolis Colts' rookie minicamp. In the blue jersey was G Robert Griffin, drafted by the N.Y. Jets last year and now with the Colts. And the #73 with the shorter dreads is former Tennessee-Martin DT Montori Hughes, a 6-foot-4, 335-pounder, who was picked by the Colts in the 5th round this year. Hughes is the only player with dreads selected from the OVC and one of six from all FCS schools. 
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51. When you're the last player selected in the draft, you win the now famous "Mr. Irrelevant" award. But in the house of dread, if you're a TE with sick dreads, you are very relevant. Former South Carolina TE Justice Cunningham was the 254th - and last - player picked in the draft. Honestly though, he should have been picked higher. He's not one of these new-wave athletic and speedy tight ends becoming more prevalent in the league. But except for being a little slow, he's really a good player. And come opening day, I'm not hoping, I'm expecting him to be in uniform with the Colts when they host the Raiders.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/colts/2013/06/19/justice-cunningham-mr-irrelevant-chandler-harnish/2438141/
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52. Also hoping to be with the Colts on opening day is FA CB Dax Swanson, from FCS powerhouse Sam Houston State. Honestly, I did not know he had dreads (they're too short to be seen with his helmet on) until I saw a picture of him at rookie minicamp. This is a photo of him running his 40 at the Combine, where you get a good look at the dreads.
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The Jacksonville Jaguars must have known I was going to be angry with them for not even trying to re-sign aging CB Rashean Mathis; so they offered me an olive branch by adding 6 rookies with dreads to their roster.
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53. The Jaguars made former FIU S Johnathan Cyprien the first player taken in the 2nd round of the draft, a good move because he was expected to be drafted in the 1st round.
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54. With Jonathan Cyprien joining veteran Dwight Lowery, the Jaguars might have two safeties with dreads in the starting lineup when they host the Chiefs on opening day.
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55. The Jaguars added more dreads to their secondary early in the 7th round, selecting CB Demetrius McCray, who led the Southern Conference in INT in both his junior and senior seasons at Appalachian State.
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56. After giving up on Austen Lane (who is now with the Chiefs), the Jaguars will try to develop another DE prospect with dreads after signing former Western Michigan star Paul Hazel as a FA. Hazel had 17.5 career sacks during his 4 seasons at WMU.
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The Jaguars also have three offensive rookies with dreads in camp, none of whom is a stranger to the end zone.
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57. After having his dreads reduced something awful at the Senior Bowl, former Michigan QB Denard Robinson was one of the few players who really let his dreads flow at the Combine. Not a good enough passer to be a QB prospect for the NFL, Robinson worked out with the WRs at the Combine and was drafted by the Jaguars in the 5th round. 
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58. Denard Robinson drops a pass during his first practice with the Jaguars during rookie minicamp on May 3. Robinson has played at QB almost exclusively during high school and college, so he's not used to catching passes. I see the Jaguars have assigned him jersey #29, so I guess they're planning to use him more as a RB than a WR. 
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59. Denard Robinson missed the final two days of rookie minicamp, instead making one last appearance at the Big House alongside current Michigan QB Devin Gardner for graduation ceremonies on May 4. An impressive feat for both, especially Gardner, who graduated in just 3 and a half years: http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2013/05/photos_denard_robinson_devin_g.html
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60. Back in Jacksonville for an OTA practice on May 13, Robinson shows he can catch, at least some of the time. We all know that Denard has blazing speed and a great ability to make defenders miss. The trick for the Jaguars' coaching staff will be to somehow find a way to get him the ball in the open field. Remember, the Jaguars had one of the worst offenses in the league last season.
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61. And speaking of making defenders miss, there weren't many who did it better on Saturdays last year than former South Carolina WR Ace Sanders, the Jaguars' 4th-round pick. Sanders was one of 7 WRs with dreads drafted this year. If the Jaguars' defense can get off the field, look for Ace to be the man returning the punts. 
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62. The Jaguars got another playmaker when they signed former Arizona State WR Jamal Miles as a FA. Miles (5-10, 180 pounds) is taller than the 5-foot-7 Sanders but is a similar player - great kick returner and very elusive after the catch. After an excellent junior season at ASU, Jamal didn't play as much as a senior due to the coaching change and new offensive system. That's the main reason he went undrafted.
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63. Ace Sanders (#18) tries to show Jamal Miles a thing or two during an OTA practice on May 13. I'd really love to see them both make the team. But unless they're both fantastic during the preseason the Jaguars are likely to keep one and not the other.  
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64. Ace Sanders walks off with star RB Maurice Jones-Drew after practice at mandatory minicamp on June 11. Says MJD, "Now that I've got my dreads back, with me, you, and Denard and Jamal, we're going to lead the league in touchdowns by players with dreads." That would be nice; but it will happen only if the Jaguars get better play from their QB than they have the past couple seasons.
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In closing, here are a couple of rookies with great dreads who are not currently on any team's roster. Hopefully we'll see them at some point later in the season.
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65. Former Mount Union WR Chris Denton, whom I featured when I did my dread all-America team, makes a catch at Buccaneers rookie minicamp on May 4. Denton got a quick look with both the Dolphins and Bucs, but neither signed him to a contract.
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66. Redskins 4th round pick Phillip Thomas reaches to try to strip the ball from former South Carolina RB Kenny Miles during rookie minicamp on May 4. While Thomas is likely to be on the field on opening day, Miles is hoping for a shot with another team. Neither one of these had the best dreads at the camp .....
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67. ..... The best dreads were sticking out of the helmet of former Arkansas State WR Josh Jarboe. After his tryout, the Redskins did not sign him; and I don't know if he has tried out with any other team. If Josh ever makes it to the NFL, his life story might some day be told in a motion picture. But for now it was told in a fascinating article from the New York Times (link below) back in April that you really should take the time to read (if you haven't already).
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/07/sports/football/josh-jarboe-looks-to-continue-his-revival-in-the-nfl.html?pagewanted=all&_r-2&
Good luck, Josh; and please keep trying. Don't give up on football just yet.
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68. WR Lennel Elmore hid his dreads during his senior season at South Carolina State, keeping them folded up under his helmet on game days rather than risk getting them grabbed on every play. But as you can see, they're just as long as ever, as he works out at SCSU pro day on Mar. 28. Unfortunately Elmore, who was nicknamed "Superman" in high school, has not signed with any NFL team. So unless he somehow becomes a much better player, you'll probably have to go to some indoor or minor league football game somewhere if you want to see these dreads next season.
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Of the 73 rookies I pictured in DG130 (featuring the 2012 class of rookies with dreads), 36 appeared in at least one regular season game. Not bad, but I'm greedy. I want to see at least 60% of this year's rookies in action in 2013. I'm counting on you, fellas.