NFL history is full of superstar player who were selected in the sixth round of the NFL Draft.
From Tom Brady, to Antonio Brown, to Terrell Davis, franchises have found players who dominated the league for years after they were overlooked.
Not every draft class has that kind of superstar waiting that late, but sometimes there's a hidden gem of a player. Steelers fans are hoping it's Quincy Roche of Miami this year, who Keith Butler admitted the Steelers thought would be gone by the third or fourth rounds.
Pitt fans saw two Panthers get selected in the sixth in Damar Hamlin to the Bills and Jaylen Twyman to the Vikings. Both were expected to go in the same range as Roche in the middle rounds, but were still available late on the third day of the NFL Draft.
Twyman, a 6-foot-2 290 lbs. defensive tackle from Washington, D.C. opted out of the season for safety reasons and declared for the NFL Draft after recording 10.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, and being named an All-American by at least six selectors in 2019. When he finally was selected, it created this emotional moment:
.@JaylenTwyman just became your favorite Viking ♥️ pic.twitter.com/V0LASZVtqp
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) May 2, 2021
Twyman displayed real pass rushing skills and dominant strength against good ACC opponents in 2019 and has maintained that strength. Although he didn't do well in agility drills, his 40 bench press reps at his pro day even impressed Aaron Donald, who was in attendance.
Interior pass rushers are extremely valuable in today's NFL. He also has a good chance at getting significant snaps, as the Vikings have no established starters on the roster at defensive tackle with Dalvin Tomlinson and Michael Pierce coming from different teams and James Lynch being a second-year player with only three tackles.
If Twyman's strength shows up in camp, I could see him quickly making a name for himself in the NFC North.
YOUR TAKE: Does Jaylen Twyman become a sixth round steal?
