1. Desmond King, Los Angeles Chargers
Drafted: Round 5, Pick 151
Position: Cornerback
Season Statistics: 16 games played, 76 tackles, 4.0 sacks, 1 interceptions, 5 passes defended, 1 defensive touchdown
Pro Football Focus Grade: 86.5
If you’re looking for pure bang for your back, then the Los Angeles Chargers found the biggest steal of the 2017 NFL Draft. Five cornerbacks were selected in the first round, and another five were drafted at some point during Round 2.
In total, 20 different cornerbacks were drafted before Desmond King at the 2017 NFL Draft—and that’s what makes him the biggest steal of the event.
Hunt and Kamara are better players, but King pieced together a borderline elite season as a fifth-round draft pick. It’s not just that he and other players at his position fell down the board; cornerbacks were a hot commodity, and he still fell to No. 151.
The former Jim Thorpe Award winner made teams pay for that gaffe, as he put together one of the best rookie seasons by a cornerback in quite some time.
Amongst cornerbacks, King ranked fifth in tackles in the run game, third in stops, and No. 1 in stop percentage. He ranked in the top 15 amongst cornerbacks in slot cover snaps per target (7.0) and yards per cover snap (0.98), and ranked No. 17 in cover snaps per reception.
Throw in the fact that King didn’t allow a single touchdown in slot coverage, and he’s as great of value as one could ask for in the fifth round.
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From a 2017 NFL Draft to remember, the steals were some of the best players in this class.