Late Round Gems: Roger Lewis

Austan Kas

When a player doesn’t get drafted, his dynasty stock usually falls. Roger Lewis didn’t get drafted, and his already cheap price tag got even cheaper. The 37th overall player taken in our April rookie mock drafts, Lewis has plummeted down to the 51st player off the board in May.

It makes sense. NFL teams had 253 chances, counting compensatory picks, to draft Lewis, and they passed 253 times. However, I believe it had very little to do with his on-field ability.

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I’ll be upfront: I’m pretty bullish on Lewis, especially when compared to my DLF brethren. At 6-foot, 201 pounds with 32-inch arms, he is a physically dominant receiver with great college production. I have him as my WR13 in this class while four other staff members have him unranked (not in their top 25).

Lewis has talent and ability — that’s not really a question– but he also has a checkered history.

The Road Less Traveled

Lewis was a four-star recruit who committed to Ohio State, but he reopened his recruitment due to academic issues. He committed for a second time, this pledge to Ohio. Then he was arrested and charged with two counts of rape, and the Bobcats effectively said “No thanks.” He was found not guilty of one charge and accepted a plea deal of three years probation on the other charge. Then, already on pretty thin ice, he didn’t meet the requirements of his probation.

This led to multiple teams taking Lewis off their draft boards, which partially explains why he wasn’t taken. If he didn’t have character issues, on talent alone, I think he’s easily a fourth- or fifth-round pick.

Balling Out For Bowling Green

After his Ohio State and Ohio commitments fell through, Lewis continued his tour of the state and ended up at Bowling Green, where he dominated in his two years with the Falcons. In 2014, he lit it up, totaling 73 grabs for 1,094 and seven scores. This past season, Lewis racked up 85 catches for 1,544 yards and 16 scores — and he did that despite seeing 14 fewer targets than in 2014.

Here’s his 2015 production compared to Western Michigan’s Corey Davis, who would’ve likely been one of the first wideouts take in both rookie drafts and the NFL Draft had he elected to turn pro. For those who aren’t up to date with their mid-major college football, both Lewis and Davis played in the Mid-American Conference, so the comparison is a pretty fair one.

lewis chart

Because of his circuitous route to Bowling Green, Lewis is a little old for his grade (turns 23 in November, Davis turns 22 in January), but there isn’t much separating their numbers.

OK, so I have to be hiding something, right? I mean, this dude looks like the truth.

(Possibly) A Bad Test Taker

Earlier, I said the off-field issues only “partially’ explained why he Lewis didn’t get drafted. Well, that’s because his combine performance gets some of the blame, too. His metrics on Playerprofiler.com are not pretty.

Seriously, it’s a bloodbath. Don’t even look.

Nevermind. You might as well look, because I’m going to give you the bad news. Lewis ran just a 4.57 40-yard dash, and his catch radius is in the fourth percentile. That’s barely above a T-Rex. His Agility Score bottomed out in the first percentile.

But wait, there is good news.

Lewis was reportedly dealing with a hamstring injury at the combine, and he may be telling the truth, too. He put up much better numbers at Bowling Green’s pro day, running a 4.46 40-yard dash with a 36-inch vertical and 10-foot, 5-inch broad jump.

Now that’s what I saw on film, where he looks like a monster — explosive, strong and physically dominant with good body control.

A Giant Opportunity

The New York Giants, who desperately needed to address the receiver position this off-season, especially after letting Rueben Randle go, scooped up Lewis as an undrafted free agent.

It is about as good of a landing spot as Lewis could’ve hoped for.

The Giants already have a good offense (eighth at 372 yards per game) with an established quarterback and an elite receiver. Sterling Shepard has a good chance to be the team’s second option, but the rest of the depth chart is murky, to say the least. Victor Cruz is still a big question mark, which leaves Dwayne Harris as the next best healthy wideout.

Any undrafted free agent is facing an uphill battle just to make the roster, so this summer is huge for Lewis. However, in terms of competition on the depth chart, it could be a lot worse. Also, the signing bonus New York gave him is a pretty good indication the team wanted him (and they had competition for his signature).

Summary

Prior to the combine, I thought Lewis was a lock to be taken in the NFL Draft, and I assumed his Rookie ADP would fall in the third round. The fact he went undrafted doesn’t really affect my opinion of him, but his poor combine numbers certainly would have. However, his pro day performance was substantially better and, in my mind, cancels out those ugly combine results.

Even if he’s not the athlete I thought he was, it’s not a death sentence. As we know, athletic measurables are only part of the equation, even if they’re historically a really big part of the equation for wideouts. Rashard Higgins and Tyler Boyd (Higgins/Boyd) both tested like poop, but it hasn’t crushed their value.

For me, after the first four or five receivers, this wideout class gets a little messy, which helps Lewis’ cause. He may be a bad off-field decision away from being cast aside, but I keep coming back to the on-field production. Lewis has put enough dominant play on film for me to think he’s a worthwhile investment as a third-round pick in rookie drafts, and if he can take advantage of a fortuitous landing spot, he could end up being a massive steal.

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