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Marquez North seemed to be NFL bound from the day he got to Tennessee.
He caught 38 passes his freshman year and it appeared that he had an NFL future ahead of him. The year after, he saw a slight dip in production, but then missed most of his junior season due to one and off injury. North declared early for the NFL Draft despite missing almost the entire season.
To no surprise, North went undrafted. He did not have any standout factor that should have made him draftable. His production was never outstanding, he missed most of his junior season and, though he is no slouch, he is not an elite athlete. North has always been a case of "what if."
Roster Battle
North is going to really have to fight for a roster spot. The Rams have a multitude of talented options to choose from to make up the back end of their receiver depth chart. Bradley Marquez and Nelson Spruce (roster preview) are deadly competition for the 5th and/or 6th wide receiver spots. Brian Quick is an incumbent player on the roster and may have a fast pass to a 2016 roster position. Even Duke Williams and Paul McRoberts have some degree of intrigue to them.
The advantage that North has over most of his competition is athleticism. He is not a freak of nature, but he is more athletic and has more potential than all of the fringe players outside of Williams. Of course, this may just remind the team of Quick and what he should have been.
Expectations
North has the chance to prove that he is more bite than bark. His career to this point has felt unfulfilled and this is his shot to be all that he can be. He is more athletic and dynamic than most of his competition right now. The only other athletic threat, Williams, has a history of off-field problems. At the very least, he will be entertaining to keep track of and will pique the interest of some other NFL teams.
Chances of Making Final Roster (2.5/10)
More often than not, players who give the illusion that there is untapped potential do not ever reach that potential. They leave the public constantly wondering why they can't put it all together -- *glares at Brian Quick*.
There is a slim chance that the team keeps him on to try to pull that potential out of him, but the team may be fed up with projects at this point.