Profile Of UDFA CB Evan Oglesby
While Eric King and Marvin Ward look like the two most likely CB candidates to compete for a roster spot on the Bills this season, Eric Oglesby, CB from North Alabama, who was signed as a UDFA, is someone who could challenge those two for a roster spot and looks like he would be a strong candidate to make the practice squad.
Several draft sites that include players from small schools had Oglesby rated in the same group of CB draft prospects as both King and Ward. Some actually had him ranked higher than one or both of them. For the most part, the knock on Oglesby was that he did not play against top level competition in college and needs to work on his technique--which would make him a prime prospect for the PS. Here's what a couple of draft sites had to say about Oglesby:
From Draft Showcase:
EVAN OGLESBY
Cornerback
North Alabama
Senior
6'0 | 180 | 4.47* *unofficial 40 time
HOME TOWN: Taccoa, GA
HIGH SCHOOL: Stephens County
QUICK STRENGTHS: Athleticism, Ball Skills
QUICK WEAKNESSES: Strength, level of competition
NFL COMPARISONS: Athletic but raw corner similar to Pittsburgh's Ike Taylor
BIO:
A starter since his true freshman season, Oglesby has been one of UNA's most consistent players. As a junior, he was first team All Gulf South conference and an honorable mention All-American at D2football.com.
ANALYSIS:
Oglesby is a very fluid athlete with physical skills that could allow him to succeed at the next level. He has good enough speed and quickness to stay with receivers and is smooth coming in and out of his backpedal. He tends to rely too much on his athleticism though. He has good ball skills and is capable of making big plays after the interception. He is on the thin side and doesn't play a physical game. He will need to add strength.
OVERALL:
Oglesby is an athletic prospect who could help on special teams as well. He needs a great deal of technical work and needs to add strength but he is a natural player. Oglesby could be a late round pick, but he's more likely a free agent type.
ConDraft liked Oglesby the most of any site and actually had him their 21st rated prospect at CB, well ahead of a number of CBs who were drafted:
21. CB Evan Oglesby, 6-0 180, SR, North Alabama
Evan is a super talented defensive back that was selected as a Division II 2003 First team All-America defensive back by The Football Gazette. The other corner selected for that honor was CB Ricardo Colclough, who was a second round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers. So he is in pretty good company. Oglesby has another year to fine-tune his technique and with further development he has a shot to stand out at the senior bowl like Colclough did. Not only is Evan great in coverage but he is a great tackler also which will help him in the eyes of pro scouts, he led his team in tackles with 56. But he isn’t a slouch in coverage either and he made quarterbacks pay dearly last year by snagging 7 interceptions. Evan Oglesby also has excellent numbers, he has a 4.42 40-yard dash, 34 inch vertical jump and 315 pound bench press. Unless you follow Division II you probably won’t hear much about this guy, but NFL scouts are already calling around asking about him.
Based on his size, speed and these scouting reports, Oglesby sounds like the kind of raw player with a lot of upside that may or may not be able to compete for a roster spot as a rookie, but could develop into a player who can contribute to the team after a year on the PS. While he might end up being just camp fodder, he strikes me as the kind of player that might be worth keeping an eye on, as a PS player, with the Bills facing the possibility of losing at least one CB to free agency after this season.
