'Too-small' Vernon Adams is biggest snub of NFL Draft

The knock on Vernon Adams was his height. But was he so short that 32 teams making 253 picks couldn’t see him?

NFL DRAFT: Selections, analysis, more

Quarterbacks probably get disproportionate attention, including during the NFL Draft, but Adams deserves the label of most notable snub this year. Fifteen quarterbacks were taken, and it’s not obvious why the former Oregon and Eastern Washington starter was less worthy than even the latest ones to go.


Another quarterback with a big name also belongs on this list. So does a massive defensive lineman with a physique that made him famous, but who was doomed by an arrest shortly before the draft.

The most notable players bypassed in the draft:

Vernon Adams, QB, Oregon: OK, he’s 5-11. He pointed out as often as he could — and so did scouts and other draft followers — that so are Russell Wilson and Drew Brees. Adams was a genuine FCS-level star at Eastern Washington, throwing for more than 10,000 yards and 110 touchdowns in three seasons. His transfer to Oregon for his final season (to replace Marcus Mariota) caused a ton of buzz. When he was healthy, he was special. He didn’t hurt himself at the Combine, and he threw three touchdown passes in the Shrine game.

But Adams’ draft hopes never got off the ground. Irony of ironies, the second overall pick played all four years at the level Adams left for his final year, Carson Wentz of North Dakota State.

UPDATE: Adams got a rookie minicamp tryout from the Seahawks, but hasn't officially signed.

MORE: NFL Draft superlatives | Winners, losers of Round 1

Shawn Oakman, DE, Baylor: The 6-8, 287-pound Oakman spent pretty much his entire final year of college splashed all over the internet, mainly from a photo of him in uniform with his ripped upper body that was turned into a meme, which was just shy of Crying MJ-level viral. His production slipped in his final season, and the scrutiny intensified in the pre-draft period. The fatal blow to his draft chances came when he was arrested on a sexual assault charge, a recurring theme involving previous players at Baylor.

If there were teams willing to spend a late pick on him to try to polish his skills, the arrest surely drove them away and might make him toxic even as a free agent.

Trevone Boykin, QB, TCU: Another explosive playmaker (more than 7,400 passing yards and 82 combined passing and rushing touchdowns in his last two seasons) who did himself no favors with an untimely arrest. Boykin’s was for a bar fight two days before the Alamo Bowl. His No. 1 receiver at TCU, Josh Doctson, went 22nd overall to Washington. Yet the man who threw to him was doubted about his quarterbacking skills and faced


speculation about changing positions in the NFL.

MORE: Day 2 picks bound for Pro Bowl | Painful draft slides

As colleague Vinnie Iyer pointed out, his talent and work with a pair of quarterback coaches should have encouraged teams to give him a chance to play his natural position. Here’s hoping he will hold out for a team that wants him to be a quarterback, until there aren’t any left.