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Value can be found in any round, but when a third-day pick becomes a starter, team leader or even a Pro Bowler, that's doing the NFL Draft right.
Here are nine picks from nine teams that could make everyone quickly forget they weren't selected until Day 3.
How Day fell to the fourth round is a question that will be asked for years. Day had a highly productive college career at Notre Dame (alleviating any concerns about competition level) because of his explosiveness, technique and athleticism. He's had injury concerns, sure, and he's not exactly a prototype size and shape, but you know who his NFL comparison is? Aaron Donald. The Jaguars didn't overthink it and continued their winning draft by getting the second-best defensive tackle in the class.
Boehm is a big, tough center who could be a plug-and-play starter at a major position of need for the Cardinals. Boehm was arguably the second-best center in the class behind Alabama's Ryan Kelly, who went in the first round.
Martinez was a divisive prospect, as he lacks the supreme athleticism that most teams are looking for from linebackers these days. Martinez is no flash, just production. He will play inside for the Packers, and while teams might have knocked him for his limitations, he has the capabilities to be a three-down Mike at the NFL level as he was elite in coverage and a sure tackler in the run game.
At the least, Dixon is an immediate impact player for the Ravens on third down because of his elite pass-catching ability. But Dixon was a workhorse for one of the best mid-major offenses in college football and produced in every possible way. Given the Ravens' lack of depth at running back, Dixon could well be the team's every-down back in 2016.
Much like Dixon, Booker joins a not-so-great running back core in his new home, and could — or rather should — make an immediate impact. Booker might be the best running back on the Broncos roster today.
Ioannidis fills the biggest need for Washington and provides a tremendous amount of value in the fifth round. He produced at Temple and in any other draft would have been a second-day pick. But because of the depth of DT talent in this year's class, he slipped to the fifth round. Waiting allowed Washington to get big-time players in Josh Doctson and Su'a Cravens.
Brown gets to the quarterback. It's an unimpeachable fact. He was a three-time All-MAC player and the 2015 MAC Defensive Player of the Year. He had 48 pressures and 12 sacks in 2015 — numbers that were better than Khalil Mack's against highly similar competition. He might need a year or two to develop into a three-down backer, but he should be a third-down pass-rush specialist and a special teams ace for the Chargers' first game this season.
Why teams wouldn't be interested in a 6-foot-2 wide receiver who can run a 4.4-second 40-yard dash with what might be the best hands in the draft (only three drops on 98 targets) is beyond comprehension. Lucien has received comps to Stefon Diggs, but 25 wide receivers were drafted ahead of him. This guy has a chance to not just make the Patriots roster, but also to make an impact as a rookie.
At Arizona, against Pac-12 competition, Wright was one of the best players in college football, finishing No. 9 in Heisman Trophy voting in 2014 after recording 164 tackles with 31 for loss. He played only three games last year because of injury, but he still had 23 tackles and two sacks. He might not be the best athlete at the linebacker position, but you can't teach instincts, and few players in this draft showed better instincts than Wright. Still, for whatever reason, he went in the seventh round with the fourth-to-last pick of the draft. That's value.
