Morgantown, West Virginia – While no-name defensive linemen’s names throughout the late rounds of the 2021 NFL Draft, Darius Stills never received a call.
Stills, expected to be anywhere from a 4th round to a 7th round pick, shockingly was not drafted and instead signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Las Vegas Raiders.
NFL scouts and analysts are notoriously poor judges of talent, but passing on Stills for numerous other, less-talented defensive tackles showed exactly how clueless they are.
Stills was considered “undersized” by most NFL draft experts and analysts, despite being the exact same height and weight as the best defensive lineman in the NFL, Aaron Donald, at 6’1 and 284 pounds. Stills was also a 1st team All-American and was named the Defensive Lineman of the Year in the Big 12 Conference as a senior
The Cowboys selected Osa Odighizuwa, a three-year starter at UCLA who didn’t have nearly as productive of a career as Stills, in the 3rd round of the draft. In addition, he’s the same height and only four pounds lighter than Stills.
What made Odighizuwa a 3rd round pick and Stills an undrafted free agent? It simply doesn’t add up.
The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Jay Tufele, a defensive tackle from USC, who opted out of last season with the Trojans and finished his college career with 65 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. At 6’3, he is two inches taller than Stills, but is two inches as a defensive lineman really that important? Again, see Aaron Donald.
Stills concluded his college career with the Mountaineers with 85 tackles, 25.5 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, and one interception in 43 games. He was one of the best, most productive defensive tackles in the entire nation last season, and for some reason, all 31 teams passed on him and 259 players were picked instead of him.
Stills has proven many “experts” wrong throughout his football career and he will continue to do so by making a roster as a free agent in Las Vegas and going on to have a tremendous future career in the NFL.
As Stills said himself, he’s “been slept on before and look how that turned out. Time to run it back. They gon(na) feel me.”
Been Slept On Before, & Look How That Turned Out…. Time To Run It Back 🤞🏾 They Gon Feel Me
— Darius Stills (@DariusStills56) May 1, 2021
