2018 NFL Draft: 5 Notable Prospects Missing From the Combine
Thomas Owens, WR, Florida International
An unfortunate knee injury cost Owens the final four games of his senior season at FIU. However, it only took nine games for him to put up personal-bests that included 59 receptions and 887 receiving yards. He actually led the Golden Panthers in catches, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns all three years he spent in Conference USA.
News on Owens is scarce, so not much is known about the current status of his knee. There's also very little buzz about him from the traditional scouting community. Even the armchair tape evaluator is very limited when it comes to finding YouTube highlights of TO.
However, he really pops in analytical models. For starters, he was first among all 2018 draft-eligible wide receivers in yards per route run (YPRR), a predictive metric made popular by Pro Football Focus. Simply put, YPRR is the number of yards recorded divided by the total snaps where the receiver participated in a route.
Owens also appears in an interesting spot on Anthony Amico's 2018 WR Prospect Model at RotoViz. Among all wide receivers used in the model that entered the draft since 2016, Owens has the fifth-best Adjusted Dominator Rating. He also carries an extremely young breakout age when compared to the field.
One scouting service has taken notice of Owens, though. So we'll just have to wait and see if an NFL team -- likely one that's analytically inclined -- gives him a chance as either a late-round draft pick or as a priority free agent.
