Arizona Cardinals 2019 NFL Draft: 10 small school heroes you need to know

Xavier Ubosi – WR, Alabama Birmingham

A JUCO prospect turned UAB deep-threat phenom, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Xavier Ubosi is another late-rising player in the draft. But at 25 years old, don’t expect his name to be called early on.

At the UAB pro day, Ubosi recorded a 4.50 second 40-yard-dash, 33.5-inch vertical jump, 127-inch broad jump, and 14 bench-press reps, which may have helped his rising stock. However, that stock is likely rising because of his excellent senior year in his Ubosi put up 35 receptions for 837 yards and nine touchdowns.

Despite being a long-stride runner, Ubosi is rather quick in his vertical breaks but didn’t show much of that at UAB as he was often put out as a fade/go route ace. He knows how to beat cornerbacks with leverage and is physical in his separation-beating. Ubosi is a deep-threat receiver through and through, he not only possesses the body to do so, but he’s also shown good ball-tracking on tape and has secure hands.

Ultimately, Ubosi strikes me as a very similar product to Travis Fulgham. He’s a big-bodied physical receiver that wins in vertical situations. Per Pro Football Focus, he was eighth in the class in deep pass yards with 548. He’s also an outstanding run-blocker and knows how to win leverage with his frame.

But Ubosi has some kinks to work out. His route-tree isn’t developed, and he’s not going to be a contested catch ace. At 25 years old, teams will be skeptical on spending time to develop him, but he’s known to be a hard worker and has the frame to be a nice red-zone option. He may not start until year three, but he projects to be good depth with some upside as an outside receiver.

Round projection: 6th-7th round, he’s an impressive receiver but he’s limited and is 25 years old. If the Cardinals want some depth at the end of the draft, Ubosi would be a good option and would provide them with a need at outside receiver/field stretcher.