Meet a trio of Day 2 rookies who will dominate in 2021
Alim McNeill, Benjamin St-Juste and Asante Samuel. Don’t know the names of these NFL rookies yet? You will.
Outside of the 32 first-round selections from April’s draft, many of the NFL’s 300 rookies are virtual unknowns to most fans. Throughout the next four months, big roles and splash plays will highlight their greatness, showing what a steal they were for the team which believed in them.
In one instance, it’s a Canadian kid coming stateside to chase a dream. In another, it’s a son following the footsteps of his father. In a third, it’s the ability to adapt and leave a first love behind. So on and so forth.
This year, 259 players were selected in the NFL Draft.
Get to know three who should have been selected far higher than they were.
Football is just one of the things that makes Alim McNeill special
Everybody needs a Dream. Detroit found one.
By day, Alim McNeill is a rookie for the Detroit Lions who has the front office buzzing. By night, he becomes Dream, his artist stage name under which he produces and performs rap music. The moniker is derived from a high school coach who nicknamed him Alim The Dream, something which stuck with him through college.
As a kid, McNeill was drawn to the music scene by his father who performed as a DJ. It started as rapping beats in his childhood home, and while the 21-year-old calls it a hobby, it’s also a serious passion.
If you listen to McNeill’s tracks, though, there’s something that stands out.
“I don’t curse in any of my music,” McNeill told FanSided in an exclusive interview over the phone. “Some of my old teachers listen to my music and their kids listen. … No curse words or any bad meanings.”
As for his athletic prowess, McNeill was a two-sport star at Sanderson High School in Raleigh, N.C. only four years ago.
At 292 pounds, McNeill was a standout, All-Conference corner outfielder with a cannon for an arm in the spring. Come fall, he became a running back and MIKE linebacker, earning recognition as a four-star recruit before signing with the hometown N.C. State Wolfpack.
“Baseball was my first sport,” said McNeill, who is repped by Jayme Moten and Mike McCartney of Priority Sports. “I put so many hours into it, I wish I could tally up how many hours I spent in the batting cage with my dad.”
However, recruitment had a twist. McNeill and his nearly 300-pound frame would be getting into a three-point stance as a defensive tackle. It was an adjustment for the 92nd-ranked recruit in the nation but made easier after his performance at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
On that January day, McNeill shined along the front, playing on a stage shared by such future NFL picks as Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II and Jaylen Waddle, and Penn State’s Micah Parsons among others.
“That’s what I was looking for and it actually worked,” McNeill said of gaining confidence in the transition.
His subsequent three years with the Wolfpack were fantastic, landing him First-Team All-ACC and Second-Team All-America in 2020 before being chosen with the No. 72 overall pick by the Detroit Lions. It came as a surprise, with McNeill and Detroit only having a single Zoom meeting in the pre-draft process.
In the months since, McNeill has done his best impression as a sponge. He’s been asking questions of every veteran in the locker room, regardless of postion. Case in point? Center Frank Ragnow, who has been with the Lions for three years after being a first-round pick in 2018. Ragnow has relayed to McNeill how he attempts to defeat defenders, giving the rookie a sense of what to expect.
Meanwhile, stars in his room such as Trey Flowers and Michael Brockers have been teaching McNeill how to play certain types of blocks, understanding leverages. It’s a crash course for the youngster, who is expected to play significant snaps come his debut against the San Francisco 49ers.
“I try to treat every day like it’s the same 100 yards, just a different situation,” McNeill said. “I try not to think this is the NFL and worry who I’m playing against. … Just be coachable and do what I do.”
Speaking of coaches, McNeill has a unique one in first-year man Dan Campbell. Campbell, infamous for his caffeine habits and thoughts of biting kneecaps, is unorthodox. Yet he’s also relatable, and that could serve both coach and team well through what is a learning, rebuilding phase in Motown.
“Coach Campbell is who he is,” McNeill said. “He doesn’t front for the media or for us. He was a player so he knows how it goes. … He’s really passionate and we feed off that. I couldn’t ask for a better situation. Coach Campbell is great.”
This summer has only reinforced Detroit’s belief in McNeill. The rookie has exceeded all expectations, including those of Lions defensive line coach Todd Wash, per the Lions Wire:
“He’s better than I thought when we drafted him, to be honest. I think we would all say that. We knew he was a heck of a run defender. He’s stout at the point, but he’s a lot better athlete than he showed on tape, which for us was unbelievable. He’s not just an A-gap to A-gap player, so if he can continue to get better—we got to keep a thumb on him—I think he can be an exceptional nose guard in this league in time.”
Primed for a sizable role in the defense, McNeill feels ready. He has since the team’s first day of pads in August when the North Carolina native walked off the field feeling as though he could play at this level.
For McNeill, it’s a dream come true.
Benjamin St-Juste will adjust to NFL life quickly
Benjamin St-Juste has always been a quick study. Just look at his last five years.
St-Juste, a Montreal native who came to the United States on a football scholarship with the University of Michigan, hasn’t had a traditional road. From a hockey hotbed in Canada, St-Juste emerged as a football prospect with NFL ambitions.
First step? Learn the English language.
St-Juste did just that and then some. After transferring to Minnesota following two years with the Wolverines (and a degree), he earned an additional Master’s Degree in Sports Management, graduating with a 3.75 GPA. Months afterward, the lanky 6-foot-3, 200-pound corner was selected in two drafts, going No. 74 overall to the Washington Football Team, while also being taken in the Canadian Football League’s sixth round (No. 52) by the Toronto Argonauts.
Signing with Washington, the 24-year-old St-Juste has been a camp sensation in the nation’s capital.
A long corner with great technical skills, St-Juste has been thriving. While his play has impressed, it’s largely due to his off-field habits. Having learned a new language as a teenager, the playbook is far from daunting. After all, it’s another language and a far more limited one.
“Learning a language and going to another country to study and play football and do it in two and a half years, and getting two degrees, it speaks to my work ethic and how much I want to be great on and off the field,” St-Juste said. When I’m presented with an obstacle and something new to learn, I do it and maximize my opportunity. It speaks to how quick I learn things and make my way as a rookie up to first-string. But I have more work to do, that’s my mentality.”
And yet in the NFL, careers and fates are decided on the proverbial razor’s edge. During the draft, St-Juste sat patiently, watching as the names clicked by throughout Day 2.
At one point, he believed his name was about to be called.
“For me talking to my agents and based on what I did, I knew I was solidified as a top-100 pick, I just didn’t know when, early or late,” remembered St-Juste, who is also repped by McCartney and Moten. “We had a team in mind, me and my agent, they were supposed to pick me and took another corner. After that, I had no idea which team it would be.
“… Being Washington, it was a surprise. We talked once or twice in the process in the beginning but never after that. Apparently, I left a good impression. From what I’ve heard from the staff, they didn’t think I would be there at No. 74. They jumped the gun because they had a few offers for trades, guys trying to get me.”
With the season approaching, St-Juste has settled in nicely, moving into a downtown D.C. apartment with his fiancé. In the locker room, the former Golden Gopher is flanked by Kendall Fuller and star safety Landon Collins, allowing him to soak up teaching moments. On the field, he’s been a dynamic playmaker, learning from Fuller and free-agent acquisition William Jackson III in myriad ways.
“It comes to understanding what the other players around you are doing and understanding what they’re doing, so you understand where your help is coming from, where your nickel and safety are coming from,” St-Juste said of their tutelage.
While St-Juste tries to incorporate some of Richard Sherman, Marlon Humphrey and Darrelle Revis into his game, he pushed back on the notion of being the next version of them. In a confident manner, he explained while those players have provided lessons in their play, imitating them isn’t the plan.
“Those guys, I picked up a bit of their respective games to create mine. I started playing a Benjamin St-Juste type of style. I’m not trying to play anybody else’s trying style, I’m bringing my own flavor and identity to it.”
Away from the facility, St-Juste has a varied interest set. Want to talk fashion, talk cars? He’s your guy, especially if you’re into a modified Audi RS 7, his big purchase after being selected. On a day off, there’s a good chance you’ll find St-Juste at a car show or rally, dreaming about his ultimate get, the Porsche 911 GT2 RS.
And once he pulls into the parking garage, perhaps a mafia flick? Good Fellas and Casino are always on standby. St-Juste is a walking Rolodex of rides, movies and clothes. Soon he’ll be ready to recite the playbook, and in multiple languages.
For St-Juste, whether it’s two degrees, football or saving for a Porsche, it’s all in the preparation.
Asante Samuel Jr. is ready to level up
Asante Samuel Jr. isn’t worried about NFL receivers. Just ask Antonio Brown.
Last year, Brown was working out during the offseason in Florida. He lined up across from a college kid preparing for his junior year, also looking to get some work in while facing a receiver destined for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It became intense, with Samuel refusing to stand down.
“I was going out there and I didn’t care if he was an NFL receiver at the time, I wanted to show I could stick with elite receivers,” Samuel told FanSided in March. “And me and Antonio Brown got into it, but it was all love. I always have that dog mentality. You can be the best receiver in the world or second-string on a high school team, I don’t care. I want to show you I’m the best.”
In training camp this summer with the Los Angeles Chargers — who spent their second-round pick on him — the same dog mentality has shown up. He has continuously asked to guard receiver Keenan Allen in practice, arguably the best route-runner the game has.
During the lead-up to the 2021 Draft, Samuel showed why he’s valuable beyond his film. The son of former star New England Patriots corner, Asante Sr., focused on what he could control. In the draft process, Samuel wowed front offices with his intellect and acumen, with sources saying his football IQ was phenomenal in meetings.
Still, Samuel heard the skeptics. Mostly, he heard about his size being an issue at 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds. Regardless, his tape shows a versatile corner who can play a multitude of techniques and schemes, something which undoubtedly helped him become a top-50 pick.
As a freshman, the Florida native played press-man coverage for the Seminoles before going into off-man and zone coverages over his remaining two seasons in Tallahassee. The result is do-it-all versatility, something also seen in Chris Harris Jr., the elder in Los Angeles’ secondary.
For Samuel, it’s hard to imagine the NFL being too big for him.
After shining at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale — the same factory which produced edge rusher Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa and Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Damon Arnette of the Las Vegas Raiders, he joined a traditional powerhouse that has churned out excellent corners over the decades, from Deion Sanders to Jalen Ramsey.
Come Week 1, three Day 2 rookies will take the field for their respective clubs. Little national fanfare, no media acclaim. Yet all project to be difference-makers from the jump.
On Sunday, all begin their ascent to make sure their names are unforgettable.