National Football League

Finding the Fits: 10 Day 3 picks set to click in the NFL

Updated May. 2, 2022 2:08 a.m. ET

By Rob Rang
FOX Sports NFL Draft Analyst

As the salary cap gets increasingly out of control in the NFL, the ability to find Day 3 bargains in the draft has become even more critical to maintaining a competitive roster.

There are Day 3 bargains every year, but the 2022 NFL Draft was especially loaded with talent due to the NCAA granting players an extra year of eligibility because of the pandemic. As such, the talent pool this year was quite literally larger than in the past. Therefore, every team in the league should have at least a player or two drafted in Rounds 4-7 on Saturday who should make the roster. Some clubs will have a handful with some future stars.

I’ll be breaking down each club’s full draft haul over the coming days, taking a division-by-division approach to fully flesh out the talent, but first, let's provide an immediate reaction and highlight my 10 favorite picks of Day 3.

Fourth round, No. 106 overall: Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Cade Otton, TE, Washington

As Rob Gronkowski mulls returning for another season in the NFL, the Buccaneers nabbed a similarly sure-handed replacement with the first overall selection on Day 3 in Otton, arguably the best all-around tight end in this year’s class. While Otton is not the physically dominant player that "Gronk" has proven over his stellar career, he is a quality route-runner with soft hands and enough size (6-foot-5, 245 pounds) and strength to hold up as an inline blocker, making his transition to the pro game that much smoother.

Otton’s production tailed off in 2021 due to his own injury (ankle surgery) and poor play by Washington’s offense, but that actually worked out in Tampa Bay’s favor as he would not have been available at this point in the draft, otherwise. Tom Brady knows a thing or two about being a Day 3 steal and his accuracy will help Otton unlock the potential only hinted at in college.

Fourth round, No. 107 overall: Houston Texans — Dameon Pierce, RB, Florida

Perhaps the hardest running tailback in this year’s draft, Pierce was a favorite of draft analysts all over the country, and he is likely to be listed by many as a Day 3 steal. That is because his potential as a lead back couldn’t have been more obvious at Florida, and yet he leaves "The Swamp" with only 329 career carries. By comparison, fellow Day 3 steal Tyler Allgeier (listed lower in this article) had 276 attempts in 2021 alone.

Lovie Smith may be Houston’s new head coach, but he’s as old-school as it gets. He would love to lean on one true bell-cow runner. And let’s face it, the Texans’ current depth chart at running back (Marlon Mack, Rex Burkhead, Royce Freeman and Dare Ogunbowale) is hardly a who’s who of NFL rushing champions. A fierce downhill runner, pass protector and quality receiver whose game projects even better at the NFL level than college, Pierce has a chance to be one of the real steals of this year’s draft.

Fourth round, No. 121 overall: New England Patriots — Jack Jones, CB, Arizona State

It isn’t often that a cornerback with Jones’ loose hips and greasy knees makes it out of the top 100 selections, but leave it to Bill Belichick and the Patriots to nab one when it happens. Jones turned heads wherever he played, going back to his time at USC as a five-star recruit, Arizona State and at the East-West Shrine Bowl. Along with his quickness, Jones is tenacious, playing the game like a rat terrier on the hunt. New England has proven masterful at unearthing middle and late round steals in the secondary and Jones will fit right in.

Fourth round, 132 overall: Green Bay Packers — Romeo Doubs, WR, Nevada

To be clear, no rookie wide receiver is going to make Packers fans (or Aaron Rodgers) forget Davante Adams, but I love Green Bay’s selections of Christian Watson (North Dakota State) and Doubs, the latter of which would have earned a significantly higher pick had he been able to fully work out for scouts prior to the draft. Like Adams at Fresno State, Doubs dominated the Mountain West, hauling in 20 touchdowns over the past two seasons, winning with a combination of speed, body control and sticky hands.

There are numerous grabs on tape in which Doubs catches the back half of the football, showing excellent hand-eye coordination to pluck it outside his frame. And, like Watson, Doubs excelled outdoors, so there won’t be the transition to Lambeau Field that some receivers might face. One of the best at tracking balls over his shoulder, Doubs is going to prove a steal.

Fourth round, No. 136 overall: Cincinnati Bengals — Cordell Volson, OG, North Dakota State

While on the topic of dominant prospects from NDSU, why not turn our attention to the offensive line? The Bengals found a future starting guard in the late fourth round in Volson, the best blocker from this year’s East-West Shrine Bowl. Protecting Joe Burrow, of course, should be priority No. 1 in Cincinnati and one might think that was not the case based on this year’s draft class, as Volson was the only offensive lineman selected by Cincinnati — albeit after the club signed a trio of veterans in free agency in La’el Collins, Alex Cappa and Ted Karras. Volson was one of my favorite sleepers in this draft class, and while I expect those veterans to play well, he offers the positional versatility and grit to step up if needed.

Fouth round, No. 143 overall: Tennessee Titans — Chigoziem Okonknwo, TE, Maryland

Titans fans missing former "undersized" but highly athletic tight ends like Delanie Walker and Jonnu Smith should rejoice with the club’s selection of the similarly-built and athletic Okonkwo, who led all athletes at his position with a staggering 40-yard dash of 4.52 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine after measuring in at 6-foot-3, 243 pounds. While lacking the bulk most teams want at tight end, when featuring a dynamic downhill runner like Derrick Henry, a classic "move" tight end creates all sorts of matchup problems for defenses and Okonkwo offers that, exploding this past season for 52 catches for 447 yards and five scores before turning heads at the East-West Shrine Bowl.

Okonkwo is not likely to overtake free agent addition Austin Hooper as Tennessee’s top target at tight end in 2022, but don’t be surprised when he ultimately outplays his draft slot, just as Walker (175th overall in 2006) and Smith (100th overall, 2017) did previously.

Fifth round, No. 151 overall: Atlanta Falcons — Tyler Allgeier, RB, BYU

Veteran Cordarrelle Patterson rushed for a career-high 618 yards and six touchdowns as the Falcons’ surprise featured runner a year ago but head coach Arthur Smith acknowledged that the uniquely talented runner and receiver will be on the move more in 2022, opening up the possibility for another back to seize playing time. Enter Allgeier, a player who would have earned a much higher selection if he only possessed greater top-end speed. The 5-foot-11, 224-pound Allgeier was clocked at 4.60 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, but he plays faster than that and has everything else a team could want in a feature back, including prototypical size, balance through contact and a keen nose for the end zone, tying for the national lead in 2021 with 23 rushing touchdowns in just 13 games.

Smith, of course, signed with Atlanta after serving as offensive coordinator in Tennessee where he boasted the game’s preeminent workhouse in Henry, and he knows a bell-cow running back when he sees one. Don’t be surprised when Allgeier challenges for that role early in his NFL career, perhaps even as a rookie.

Fifth round, No. 153 overall: Seattle Seahawks — Tariq Woolen, CB, Texas-San Antonio

It remains to be seen if Woolen can develop the same grit as a tackler that was such an underrated element of Richard Sherman’s game, but it is easy to see some parallels between the two angular and athletic cornerbacks, whose college careers began at wide receiver and were capped by impressive weeks at the Senior Bowl. Dating back to his days at USC, Pete Carroll has always prioritized glitzy athletes and they simply do not come more toolsy than Woolen, whose electric 4.26-second 40-yard dash time and 42" vertical jump at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds was arguably the most impressive performance at this year’s NFL Scouting Combine. And don’t think that Woolen is "just" a workout warrior. He turned heads with his body control and ascending instincts in coverage at the Senior Bowl, just as Sherman did back in 2011.

Sixth round, No. 201 overall: Arizona Cardinals — Keaontay Ingram, RB, USC

The Cardinals laughed all the way to the bank a year ago with James Conner, who served as the perfect battering ram to complement Kliff Kingsbury’s up-tempo passing attack. The former Pittsburgh Steeler bulldozed his way into the endzone 15 times in just 15 games, finishing tied for second in all the NFL (with New England’s Damien Harris) in rushing touchdowns and hauling in three more as a receiver. The depth behind him took a hit, however, with Chase Edmonds taking his talents to Miami. Ingram is neither the grinder between the tackles as Conner, nor is he a classic "air back" like Edmonds. What he may very well prove to be, however, is a quality combination of the two. He showed next-level playmaking ability at Texas, USC and the East-West Shrine Bowl, recording an eye-popping 3,393 combined rushing and receiving yards with 22 touchdowns scored against elite competition. He will not only make the Cardinals roster, he could prove a grand larceny type steal should the Cardinals ever call upon him to handle fulltime duties.

Seventh round, No. 237 overall: Detroit Lions — Chase Lucas, CB, Arizona State

Seventh rounders making NFL clubs are a rarity, but I’m very confident that Lucas will not only do that, but he is going to earn a second NFL contract. A former four-star recruit who started 49 games in the pass-happy Pac-12, Lucas only slipped to the seventh round because he is older than most prospects, turning 25 in March. Say what you will about his age, Lucas offers a young man’s agility and acceleration, clocking in at 4.48 seconds in the 40-yard dash and posting a 38" vertical jump at the NFL Scouting Combine, and he was a Day 1 difference-maker for the Sun Devils. For a club searching for grit and playmakers on defense, Lucas is going to prove the Lions smart for ignoring the birth certificate and instead focusing on the game tape.

One of the most recognized names in the industry, Rob Rang has been covering the NFL Draft for more than 20 years, with work at FOX Sports, Sports Illustrated, CBS Sports, USA Today, Yahoo, NFL.com and NFLDraftScout.com, among others.