Odds of WR Sage Surratt Making Lions' 2021 Roster
From being projected as a mid-round draft pick to going undrafted. That's the story of wide receiver Sage Surratt.
The Lions swooped in and picked him up immediately after the 2021 NFL Draft came to a close -- and for good reason.
The Wake Forest product produced 65 catches for 1,006 yards and 11 touchdowns in nine games in 2019.
He opted out of the 2020 season over concerns with the coronavirus pandemic. However, leading up to the 2021 draft, it was still believed he'd be drafted, based off the productive campaign he had put together a year prior.
Fast-forward to now, and he has a chance to make the Lions' 53-man roster coming out of training camp later this summer.
The reason why: Detroit's depleted receivers room.
Gone are big-play wideouts Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr., and in are receivers with less of a proven track record for consistent production (i.e. free-agent additions Tyrell Williams and Breshad Perriman).
It provides the 6-foot-2.5, 215-pound Surratt with a legitimate shot to sneak on to the Lions' WRs depth chart, even as an undrafted free agent.
If he does make the team, it's expected that he'll compete with not only Williams and Perriman for playing time, but also Detroit's 2020 fifth-round pick Quintez Cephus and Amon-Ra St. Brown, the organization's first of two '21 fourth-round picks.
Victor Bolden, a one-time undrafted free agent, like Surratt, could also find his way on to the Lions' season-opening roster.
After Bolden, there's also the likes of veteran Geronimo Allison, recent free-agent pickup Chad Hansen and fellow 2021 undrafted free agent Javon McKinley, among other receivers, that could prevent Surratt from making Detroit's roster going into Week 1 of the regular season.
Here's what The Draft Network's Joe Marino had to say about Surratt prior to this year's draft:
"Surratt is a physical receiver with terrific ball skills. He excels at winning in contested situations by creating leverage, positioning his frame, and then allowing his size and ball skills to take over. The concern with Surratt is a modest athletic profile where separation quickness and long speed are missing, which limits his ceiling at the next level. For a team in search of a big-bodied target that can win down the field, Surratt is an ideal target, but there are some limitations in what he can and cannot do on the field."
I'll give the former Demon Deacons receiver a 15 percent chance of making the roster coming out of training camp.
© Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
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