The 5 Most Successful Small-School Pass-Catchers in the NFL

Visanthe Shiancoe, Tight End

Our fifth-best small-school prospect, if you'll notice, brings a little something different to the table. Our only non-wide receiver in the top five, Visanthe Shiancoe is also the highest tight end in terms of Career Total NEP for non-FBS prospects.

Shiancoe attended the unheralded Montgomery Blair Public High School, where he was awarded all-county honors at tight end, wide receiver, and quarterback in his time there. He went largely unrecruited by college programs, however, due to his relatively thin frame in high school; he was more than six feet tall, but weighed just 190 pounds, and didn't have the speed to play wide receiver full time. He went to Morgan State University, an FCS athletic program in Baltimore, where in his four years he put on an additional 60 pounds of muscle, ending up six-foot-four and 250 pounds at the NFL Combine.

Shiancoe was drafted in the third round by the New York Giants, and he became a backup to star tight end Jeremy Shockey. Once he hit free agency in 2007, however, he signed on with the Minnesota Vikings and starred himself, putting together four consecutive seasons with at least 40.00 Total NEP from 2008 to 2011. His 11-year career was somewhat spotty, but his success is indisputable.