By now we all know that NFL general managers earn their paychecks by their success in the later rounds of the draft and uncovering those hidden gems that can push a team over the top. With the bulk of the scouting just getting underway and many names being brought to the forefront who weren’t exactly on the tip of anyone’s tongues when the collegiate season started, this new segment called Under the Radar will explore just what scouts find attractive about certain prospects who may be available beyond the glamour rounds of the draft.

Akwasi Owusu-Ansah may sound like something worthy of a ‘gesundheit’ or ‘bless you’, but in fact Owusu-Ansah is an emerging cornerback from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Owusa-Ansah has some of the coveted qualities by NFL GM’s from his elite size at 6’0” 207lbs. to his 4.47 40 yard dash time at the NFL Scouting Combine, this kid will bring a lot to his future NFL home. One of the most impressive things you will notice when watching film of him is that he really sits on routes with tremendous technique and baits quarterbacks into throwing in his direction. His football IQ is off the charts and will make him even more valuable when digesting the complex schemes at the next level.

Coming from such a small school, level of competition questions are bound to be the number one detractor from Owusu-Ansah’s stock. He does lack the instinct to come down into the box and defend against the run as well making tackling look awkward and often non-existent so improvement will be necessary in that area of his game. Many point to his dip in production from 8 interceptions in 2008 to just 2 in 2009 as a bad thing, but really teams never threw his direction after seeing what he was capable of in the previous season. As if any additional value was needed to justify his Under the Radar status, Owusu-Ansah is an incredibly dangerous return man as well returning 6 punts or kicks for touchdown during his college career so his special teams prowess adds substantially to his intrigue at some point during round number three.

A number of names will be called during April’s NFL Draft that are seemingly from out of left field, but don’t let Akwasi Owusu-Ansah’s be one of them. Keep looking out for more Under the Radar players shooting up draft boards or quietly lurking in the depth of this class that could make a huge impact over the coming years on Sundays.

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