NFL Draft: 5 Sleepers That Could Become Stars

3. Marcus Lattimore- RB - South Carolina

Marcus wouldn't be on this list if he hadn't suffered one of the worst knee injuries of all time. He was a surefire top 3 pick a year ago. Today, he is a sleeper, maybe un-drafted. But, the doubts are fair. His leg was held together by a zipper. I usually like those on my jackets, not my legs. A player he compared to pre-knee injury was Adrian Peterson. He was big, shifty, strong and lightening fast. He was the 5-tool player that you want on your team and hate when he lines up against you. I should know, my beloved Georgia Bulldawgs received some butt-whoopins' from him. Many now want to know if he will be like Adrian after the injury. That's the multi-million dollar question. And, please, don't put the same expectations on him just because Adrian came back and nearly set the all-time record. It just is not fair. When a team decides to gamble on him we will all watch on. You know the story, they will know the story and Marcus knows the story. If you gamble on him and he is 75-80%, he may be a good player. Not great, but, good. If Marcus comes back above 90% you may have a superstar on your team. You won't know for at least a year from now, his injury requires many more months of healing. The mental issue also plays into this. When he straps up and goes to cut left again, will he fall down and not have the same ground-shaking intensity in his plant foot, or will he shove that leg into the ground and cut on a dime for a 50 yard sprint with DBs? That is what we all want to see (Yes,even a Dawg fan). The gamble cannot be made in the first 3 rounds, I wouldn't feel safe in the 4th or even the 5th. But he has been graded anywhere from fourth round to un-drafted. It is going to take a team with no immediate need at the running back position. The 49ers are the ultimate fit it would appear. They have running backs on the practice team that could start for some teams. They also have a surplus of picks, with 9 picks from rounds 4-7. This would be an ideal spot, they also have Frank Gore who is no stranger to knee injuries. Teams like the Atlanta Falcons may be willing to pick him, Steven Jackson is at the back-end, but, they don't have an immediate need. Also a team like Denver may sneak him in, they need a more immediate solution because their backs aren't setting the world on fire as of right now. Either way, we all want to see him comeback and bring excitement to Sundays as he once did on Saturdays.