NFL Draft 2017: 10 sleepers to watch

7. Keion Adams, Western Michigan

Pass rushers are almost like quarterbacks: You need good ones to be good and there aren’t enough good ones on the planet to go around.

For that reason, finding potential edge rushers later in the draft is a quick way to jump-start a defense.

Adams is a speed rusher who wins with athleticism. That also means he loses that way occasionally by working so hard to the outside that he opens up wide running lanes.

For a 4-3 team that asks their defensive ends to primarily get at the quarterback and not worry about much else, Adams can be a disruptive rotational/situational player.

For a 3-4 team that wants to try Adams at outside linebacker, his frame (6-foot-2, 245 pounds), speed, and footwork (former basketball player) make him an intriguing prospect who’s likely to still be on the board into the fourth or fifth round.

8. Derek Rivers, Youngstown State

Consistent, productive, and unproven. That’s what happens when you star at a smaller school in a lower division like Youngstown State.

Nailing which of these smaller school players will excel at the NFL level is tough. But the payoff can be huge.

Rivers has the size (6-foot-4, 250 pounds) and speed (4.6 40-yard dash) to be a menace on the edge in the NFL. But more than that he has the rare pass rushing skills (quick, strong hands, terrific lean and bend) to be considered as a first round pick in this draft.

Back in 2012, the Seahawks took an underrated Bruce Irvin with the 15th-overall pick. It was considered a reach. Irvin, now with the Raiders, has become a proven pass-rusher in the NFL with 29 sacks in 53 starts. Rivers reminds me a lot of Irvin. A heck of a lot. And someone who can get after the quarterback shouldn’t be sitting on the board long.