In order to even make it to a Super Bowl, NFL teams have to have good enough regular seasons to make the playoffs and then run the gauntlet of playoff football in January. Of course, health is a key factor for most Super Bowl teams, as is the spark from getting hot at the right time. Some luck plays into it as well, but the best teams in the NFL know how to make their own luck, and that usually starts in the NFL Draft.
Teams that have the power to make Super Bowl runs are usually deep teams filled with talent all the way up and down the depth chart. Sure, star first-round picks and big-time free agents have a way of swinging the championship momentum in a team’s favor. But when push comes to shove, it’s what an organization can do in the outside of the first round (including undrafted free agents and non-marquee free agents) that ultimately gives it the depth and firepower to make it to the biggest stage in football.
Both the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons have found a few diamonds in the rough that have led them to Super Bowl LI. They’ll be starring on the field this Sunday, and one or two of them may even make the pivotal impact play that will win it all for their team.
It all started with a coach, scout or GM with an eye for talent, and the willingness to take chance.
Jalen Collins, cornerback, Atlanta Falcons (Round 2, Pick 42, 2015 NFL Draft)
Some of Atlanta’s biggest stars — Julio Jones, Matt Ryan, and Vic Beasley, for example — were first-round draft picks, and the Falcons have also done a nice job in free agency. Wideout Mohamed Sanu is a good example of that.
On Sunday, though, a mid-second round draft is expected to play a huge role in the form of cornerback Jalen Collins — a cornerback who was largely an afterthought (though he shouldn’t have been) in the 2015 NFL draft.
Collins, out of LSU, appeared to be a first-round draft pick before falling behind players like Trae Waynes (11th overall to the Vikings), Kevin Johnson (16th overall to the Texans), Marcus Peters (18th overall to the Chiefs) and Byron Jones (27th overall to the Cowboys).
That was a very deep draft for corners, and Atlanta benefited as a result.
Peters was well worth his hype for Kansas City (14 interceptions in two seasons) and Waynes has been good for the Vikings, but do you think Houston and Dallas would like a do-over to go with Collins instead of their respective corners? Perhaps.
Johnson has notched 79 tackles and an interception in two seasons for the Texans, with only 25 tackles and no interceptions this past season. Jones came away with 88 tackles, one forced fumble and an interception for the Cowboys this season. But Collins notched two interceptions in only eight games (he’s been dealing with injury), and he’s come up big in the playoffs with four tackles against Seattle and a forced fumble/recovery against Green Bay in the NFC Championship game.
Collins will play a huge role for Atlanta in the Super Bowl as the Falcons try to shut down Tom Brady. Not bad for the fifth cornerback taken in his draft. Not bad at all.
Julian Edelman, wide receiver, New Enland Patriots (Round 7, Pick 232, 2009 NFL Draft)
If it seems like Julian Edelman has been fooling defenses playing pitch and catch with Tom Brady over the middle for forever, it’s because it has been forever.
He’s been with New England since being drafted in 2009 with pick No. 232 out of Kent State. Now in his eighth season with the team, he’s caught well over 400 footballs for 4,540 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Edelman has been incredible this season for the Patriots, and Atlanta’s going to need to stop him if it has any shot of walking away with the Lombardi trophy. He’s caught 98 passes for 1,106 yards and three touchdowns.
The touchdown total may seem underwhelming but consider his role. The Patriots use him to move the sticks, and he’s been great at that. Edelman is averaging 11.3 yards per catch and he’s picked up 55 1st downs for New England this season.
He almost went undrafted, but instead, he’s yet another reminder of why New England is such a dynasty in today’s NFL.
Devonta Freeman, running back, Atlanta Falcons (Round 4, Pick 103, 2014 NFL Draft)
Atlanta is going to need a heavy dose of its run game to keep Tom Brady and the Patriots’ offense on the sideline. Devonta Freeman is expected to be a big part of that. He does split some time with Tevin Coleman (who deserves a shoutout here for being a third-round draft pick out of Indiana in 2015), but it’s Freeman who really makes the Falcons’ running game click.
On just 227 carries, Freeman notched 1,079 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also caught 54 passes for 462 yards and two scores, averaging 8.6 yards per reception.
Freeman, who played college ball at Florida State, was the seventh running back taken in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Bishop Sankey (Titans), Jeremy Hill (Bengals), Carlos Hyde (49ers), Charles Sims (Bucs), Tre Mason (Rams), Terrance West (Browns), Jerick McKinnon (Vikings) and Dri Archer (Steelers), were all taken before him.
A strong case can be made that the Falcons got the best running back out of that bunch with pick No. 103.
LeGarrette Blount, running back, New England Patriots (undrafted, 2010)
Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount obviously had a ton of talent heading into the NFL, but he had some character concerns. He punched a player after a game in 2009 (Byron Hout of Boise State) and was suspended by Oregon coach Chip Kelly. At first, it was for the season, but he did make it back at the end of the year to play a role for the Ducks on their quest to the Rose Bowl.
Still, his apparent anger issues (and obvious temper) kept any teams from taken a chance on him in the NFL draft. This was despite the 1,002 yards and 17 touchdowns he put up for Oregon in 2008, and despite the fact that he’s a big (250 pounds), tough, angry runner who was made to run over NFL defenses.
The Titans signed Blount as a rookie free agent, but he was released just five months later and picked up by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers off waivers. He stayed in Tampa Bay for three seasons, notching 1,939 yards and 13 touchdowns while steadily seeing his carries decrease, and he was finally traded to New England for a seventh overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft.
Blount played the 2013 season with the Patriots, picking up 772 yards and seven touchdowns. He was then signed as an unrestricted free agent in 2014 by the Pittsburgh Steelers but played only 11 games in Pittsburgh before being released.
New England took one more chance on Blount and it has paid off in a big way.
He rushed for 703 yards and six touchdowns in 2015. This season, he’s rushed for 1,161 yards off the strength of 299 carries and he’s one of the Patriots’ key players. Blount has found the end zone 18 times this season, and there’s a great chance he finds it at least one more time in the Super Bowl.
Levine Toilolo, tight end, Atlanta Falcons (Round 4, Pick 133, 2013 NFL Draft)
Levine Toilolo isn’t a huge name to know heading into the Super Bowl. But for the Falcons, he plays a pretty big role.
Atlanta was a top five rushing team in the NFL this season, putting up 120.5 yards per game and 20 touchdowns on the ground in the regular season. That doesn’t even count the 200 yards and three touchdowns the Falcons gained in the playoffs.
And yes, Freeman and Coleman have been huge for the Falcons’ run game and the threat of Ryan, Jones and the passing game keeps defenses from loading the box. But Toilolo has played a huge for the the Falcons’ rush offense as well, and it’s a role that’s very undervalued by the average fan.
He’s known as a run-blocking tight end, and he’s helped set the edge all season for the Falcons. And if Atlanta wants the rushing attack to work in the Super Bowl, he’s going to have to do the same thing against New England’s defense.
As a plus, it’s not like Toilolo doesn’t play on passing downs, either. At 6-foot-8, 265 pounds he’s a huge target for Ryan, and he turned his frame into 13 receptions for 264 yards and two touchdowns for Atlanta this season.
“I feel like every catch (Toilolo) has had this year has been an explosive play for us, and that’s huge,” Ryan told reporters covering the Super Bowl, according to Vic Tafur of sfgate.com. “He’s outstanding in the run game. He’s kind of the end-setter for us in the run game, does a great job of getting things going.”
In his four-year Atlanta career, Toilolo has notched 62 catches for 601 yards and six touchdowns.
Tom Brady, quarterback, New England Patriots (Round 6, Pick 199, 2000 NFL Draft)
What’s there to say that hasn’t already been said about Tom Brady?
He’s possibly the greatest quarterback of all time, and a win over Atlanta in the Super Bowl would solidify that. He’s already won four, and he needs one more to pass Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana (four each) on the all-time list of quarterbacks who have won the most Super Bowls.
Brady is a legend. He’s clutch, he’s a leader and he’s even a pop culture icon.
He’s everything you expect a star quarterback to be, and then some.
He was drafted with the 199th pick in the 2000 draft by the Patriots.
There were 31 other teams who had a chance to have Tom Brady on their roster. Only the Patriots were wise enough to pick him up and give him the chance to become who he is today.