Las Vegas Raiders: Ten 2021 NFL Draft Sleepers to know

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Tay Gowan (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /

Las Vegas Raiders: Ten 2021 NFL Draft Sleepers to know

Tay Gowan: Cornerback, UCF

Consensus Ranking: #211

UCF will have multiple defensive backs taken early on in the draft, with guys like Richie Grant and Aaron Robinson projected to go on day two. But a forgotten player in that secondary is Tay Gowan, who opted out of the 2020 season.

Gowan transferred from JUCO to UCF in 2019, and in his one year as a starter, he showed a ton of promise. Good size at 6’1 with 4.4 speed, Gowan proved the uptick in the competition was not an issue, and he displayed good ball skills (8 PDs and 2 Ints). He is a player who could theoretically transition well to the cover three scheme Las Vegas will run given his length and ball skills.

Play strength will be an issue for Gowan early on as he only weighs 185 pounds, but he will have time to work on that. But as he gets more comfortable with NFL-level physicality, he has the skill set to be a starter in the league.

We talked about secondary depth before, and this is just another player with actual ability that can compete for the 2-deep.

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