In the NFL, it's not about where prospects come from—it's how they perform.
Small-school players may not headline the draft like Alabama, Ohio State or Oklahoma products, but teams would miss out if scouts limited their focus to big-name schools.
Indianapolis Colts linebacker Darius Leonard spent four years at South Carolina State—a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference program. Now, he's a First-Team All-Pro. The Philadelphia Eagles took tight end Dallas Goedert out of South Dakota State, and he carved a decent role in their passing attack as a rookie in 2018.
Teams have started to dig into the 2019 class.