Lions’ Amani Oruwariye ranked among 15 most underrated draft picks

Detroit Lions fifth-rounder Amani Oruwariye, a cornerback from Penn State, is among the 15 most underrated player selected in this year’s NFL Draft, according to analysis by Pro Football Focus, via ESPN.

PFF restricted its list to players selected in the third round or later; Oruwariye was taken No. 146 overall.

“You simply can't teach 6-foot-1, 205-pound cornerbacks to flip their hips the way Oruwariye does,” says PFF’s Mike Renner. “He ran a 6.82 three-cone drill at the combine, and that athleticism very much showed up on game tape. He had the highest win rate in one-on-ones of any cornerback at the Senior Bowl.”

Also on PFF’s top-15 list was Michigan cornerback David Long (Rams, third round, No. 79); Michigan State cornerback Justin Layne (Steelers, third round, No. 83); and Eastern Michigan defensive end Maxx Crosby (Raiders, fourth round, No. 106).

“Long was arguably the best press-man cornerback in the draft,” Renner wrote of Long. “He fell a bit after he measured at under 5-foot-11, but we don't see that mattering all that much in the NFL. Long gave up just 18 catches during his entire college career at Michigan. Of those 18, only three resulted in first downs, and just one in a touchdown.”

And on Layne: “Layne is long (6-foot-1, with 33-inch arms), explosive (an 11-foot-4 broad jump), productive (12 pass breakups in 2018) and has exceptional zone instincts.”