AJ Derby Drafted By New England Patriots In 6th Round

What an incredible story. AJ Derby comes to Arkansas as a backup quarterback and his tenure under center in 2013 is, let's say, forgettable. However, in the middle of spring practice in 2014 he agreed to make the switch to tight end and never looked back.

Derby is 6'5" 255 pounds and was a matchup nightmare for several teams throughout the year before a late injury cut his season short. He caught 22 passes in 11 games for 303 yards and 3 touchdowns.

His biggest play was definitely this catch and run for a touchdown against Alabama, as he outran the Tide defense down the sideline and gave Arkansas the lead.

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It's hard not to think Derby's potential as a tight end is off the charts considering how little time he's actually spent at the position. The quarterback-to-tight end transfer might remind some of Oklahoma's Blake Bell, but Bell spent more than double the amount of time as a tight end as Derby has.

Derby was a 4* recruit as an athlete out of high school and signed with Iowa. With the high rating, hopes were high among Hawkeye fans but he was never able to get everything together as a quarterback. He came to Arkansas shortly after Bret Bielema became the coach.