Nick Bosa? Rashan Gary? Dwayne Haskins?

Which B1G player will be the first to come off the board in this year’s draft?

That question won’t be answered today. We also don’t know which B1G player will be the best late-round steal a few years from now.

But a question we do have the answer to today is which B1G players were the best Day 3 steals of the last 5 years (2014-18):

5. Adrian Amos, Penn State S

Year, Round, Pick — 2015, 5th, No. 142

Team — Bears

Yo Adriaaaaaan! You did it!

I’m sure that’s the first time that the former Penn State star heard that.

The fifth-round pick has been a key force in the Bears’ dominant defense the last few years, and especially in 2018. Starting opposite All-Pro Eddie Jackson, Amos had 73 tackles, 9 passes defended, 2 interceptions and 2 sacks. Amos graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 8 safety in 2018, which was a banner year for the Chicago defense.

The Bears developed a nice recent habit of snagging key, late-round starters like Amos. The fifth-round pick already started in 56 games and is now fixing to get paid with his rookie contract up. The question is if the Bears will be outbid to keep him around.

Whatever the case, the Bears will always be grateful that Amos slipped from a possible second-round slot all the way to the fifth round.

4. Jordan Howard, Indiana RB

Year, Round, Pick — 2016, 5th, No. 150

Team — Bears

See, I told you the Bears have had some late-round studs recently. Howard’s late selection was surprising for those of us who watched his lone season at Indiana. When healthy, he was easily the second-best running back in the conference behind only Ezekiel Elliott. Howard’s bruising style probably hurt his draft stock a bit.

But what a return the Bears got in the fifth round. He made the Pro Bowl as a rookie and kicked off his career with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. His role took a bit of a step back this past season in Matt Nagy’s offense with Pro Bowl tailback and fellow late-round steal Tarik Cohen taking on more responsibility, but still.

Look at all of the tailbacks who went ahead of Howard in 2016:

  • Ezekiel Elliott
  • Derrick Henry
  • Kenyan Drake
  • C.J. Prosise
  • Tyler Ervin
  • Kenneth Dixon
  • Devontae Booker
  • DeAndre Washington
  • Paul Perkins

Elliott is the only running back who’s been better than Howard, and he was of course picked No. 4 overall by the Cowboys. To get the second-best running back in the draft 146 picks later — and as the 10th running back selected — was a major victory for the Bears.

3. Joe Schobert, Wisconsin LB

Year, Round, Pick — 2016, 4th, No. 99

Team — Browns

Schobert barely qualifies to make this list because he was the first pick of Day 3 back in 2016. But to his credit, the former Wisconsin All-American showed why he should’ve been picked far sooner than that.

In 2017, Schobert made a trip to the Pro Bowl and he earned a tie for the NFL lead in tackles (144). Even though his numbers weren’t as good in 2018 because he dealt with a hamstring injury, Schobert was still the leader of the Browns’ defense. The switch to middle linebacker allowed him to do what he does best — cover in space.

Now, Schobert is due for a sizable extension as arguably the most valuable player on Cleveland’s defense. That’s saying a lot considering Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward were both picked by the Browns in the top 5 and made Pro Bowls in their first 2 seasons in the league. Schobert provided the Browns incredible value, and he really hasn’t looked back since breaking out as an All-American back in 2015.

2. Desmond King, Iowa CB

Year, Round, Pick — 2017, 5th, No. 151

Team — Chargers

Baffled. Stunned. Confused.

That was my reaction to watching King slip all the way to the fifth round in the 2017 NFL Draft. I’m sure Iowa fans could relate. King was the same dude who won the Jim Thorpe Award as a junior and was the best ball-hawking defensive back in college football for 2 years.

So needless to say, it wasn’t a surprise when King made every NFL team besides the Chargers look foolish in 2018.

In just his second season in the league, King was an Associated Press first-team All-Pro cornerback and second-team returner. Pro Football Focus graded King as the second-best cornerback in 2018 after he picked off 3 passes and recovered 2 fumbles. The former Iowa All-American was a safe bet to out-perform his draft slot, which was in question because some viewed him as a tweener and not a true shutdown corner.

Yeah, about that.

1. George Kittle, Iowa TE

Year, Round, Pick — 2017, 5th, No. 146

Team — 49ers

Speaking of Hawkeyes who were selected wayyyyyy later than they should’ve been, remember when Kittle was open ALL THE TIME at Iowa? Turns out, the guy is a pretty good route-runner. For whatever reason, though, Kittle was picked behind the likes of these fellow tight ends in 2017:

  • O.J. Howard
  • Evan Engram
  • David Njoku
  • Gerald Everett
  • Adam Shaheen
  • Jonnu Smith
  • Michael Roberts
  • Jake Butt

Eeeeeeeeeeeek. I’ll let you guess how many guys on that list recorded 1,000-yard seasons (it’s 0). Now I’ll let you guess which person on that list set the single-season record for receiving yards in a season by a tight end.

Trick question. It’s Kittle.

The knock on Kittle coming out of Iowa was that his production was never that of an elite pass-catching tight end. What many might’ve not realized was that Kittle was part of a loaded group of tight ends at Iowa and he was banged up his senior year. But when he was on the field and part of the passing game, Kittle was a monster.

Now, he’s probably the second-best tight end in the NFL behind Travis Kelce. Coming off his breakout season that earned him second-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors, the 25-year-old tight end could be due for another step up with the return of Jimmy Garoppolo.

At a position that’s become such a premium in the NFL, there aren’t too many better Day 3 steals in recent memory than Kittle.