Which undrafted free agents will make an impact in the NFL in 2022?

Western Kentucky wide receiver Jerreth Sterns

Wide receiver – Jerreth Sterns, Western Kentucky (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

While there are no injury concerns that we're not aware of, the reason(s) why Sterns went undrafted are pretty obvious – he’s a 5’7”, 180-pound receiver with sub-30 inch arms and 4.58 speed. That’s not the kind of athletic profile the NFL typically covets. However, after racking up just under 2,000 yards across his first three years at Houston Baptist, he nearly matched that production with a bonkers 2021 season, as he caught 150 passes for 1,902 yards and 17 touchdowns, with him and his quarterback Bailey Zappe transferring to Western Kentucky together. His catch radius is very limited. He doesn’t bring a whole lot as a blocker other than just getting in the way of guys, and he simply lacks that extra gear to pull away from vertical routes, but once you get past those obvious limitations, there’s a lot to like. Sterns does a tremendous job of varying his route stems, tilting the wrong way and setting up defenders, to create separation out of his breaks, which is why he was only contested on 14% of routes versus man-coverage. Against zone, he excels at working toward open space, making subtle adjustments on the fly and getting his hands around once he enters voided areas. Plus, he led the nation with 1,156 yards after the catch in 2021, thanks to his spatial awareness and a stocky lower body to slip through tackles. By giving Russell Gage a three-year, $30 million deal in free agency and having resigned Chris Godwin, along with Mike Evans, the Bucs have their starting trio in the fold, but with Godwin having torn his ACL in week 15 and not a lot of dependable targets behind those guys, Sterns could get some playing time early on. Can’t you envision him running option routes for Tom Brady and picking up first downs, similar to what he had for years in New England with Wes Welker and Julian Edelman?