The Curious Incident of Tyler Everett at Draft Time

Mega apologies to Mark Haddon and his bestselling book but what has happened to Buckeye safety Tyler Everett? I've dabbled in the draft talk recently noting potentially 6 first-rounders come Saturday, but what of Everett who has seemingly fallen off all radar screens? The Dispatch published an article today specifically about Ohio State defensive backs and Tyler barely got a mention. He's suddenly gone from a starter to invisible to forgotten.

If one tries to find some information on Everett's draft stock, well, good luck. It's as if he's looked upon as a Div. III talent masquerading as versatile player who can play both corner and safety. Never-mind the fact he did play both corner and safety for one of the best defenses in college football. The only site I could find a (free) player profile was at CNN/SI where they basically stomped on his draft chances. His 3.11 player grade checks in very low on their system register. Perhaps worse still is Everett is no where to be found on sites that rank draft eligible safeties, such as NFL Report, CBSsportline, USAToday and NFL.com. Everett can be found at The Scouts Notebook - but he's listed last at #24. (Perhaps Everett appears on some lists as a CB but I only looked at safety, the position he'd would play in the NFL.) So, are there really 23 safeties with better NFL potential?

I'm certainly no expert in this evaluation game but I know weird things when I see them. Things like Everett, apparently, not working out for scouts at Ohio State's individual Pro Day. Or how about Everett not even being acknowledged by NFL.com as a potential draftable player. Unusual and odd come to mind.

So, what's going on? There's no hiding the fact Tyler Everett battled injures. He had a knee injury several years ago that took him awhile to recover. I think many remember it sapped his speed until he fought through to full recovery. This past year we saw breathtaking displays of speed including his cheetah-like rundown of Texas WR Billy Pittman. But, perhaps it's a culmination of injuries the last of which was a severe neck/shoulder injury this past year. He returned from that too, though.

I cannot help but imagine Everett is a viable choice. I make no argument that he's a Day 1 draft guy; he's not. But, to go undrafted would be a shame. He was a productive player at Ohio State, build solidly like a safety should and he has excellent closing speed. Afterall, what player hasn't had injuries or could stand to improve technique? Everett could be the steal of the draft.