Sometimes, I can’t help but wonder if NFL teams are missing the boat.

The recent free-agent signings of Slippery Rock University wide receiver Devin Goda by the Baltimore Ravens and cornerback Andre Freeman by the Steelers raised my eyebrow in that regard.

Goda is one of the best receivers to ever come out of The Rock. While a high school player at Elizabeth-Forward, he was recruited by the likes of Pitt and West Virginia before low SAT scores caused such schools to back off.

That didn’t cause a drop off in Goda’s talent on the football field.

He is a big receiver with enough speed to get downfield, runs precise routes, can get the ball in a crowd and rarely drops a pass.

Isn’t that what NFL teams are looking for?

Yet Goda was passed on in the draft. That may work out for him, as he was able to sign with a Ravens team that’s a bit thin at his position.

Still, if this guy had gone on to Pitt or West Virginia and put up any kind of credible numbers, the guess here is he would have been drafted.

Freeman is a lock-down corner who was assigned the opponent’s best receiver on a weekly basis.

Not only was that receiver held in check most Saturdays, the ball was rarely even thrown that way.

Freeman has lightning speed and is a physical cornerback, one who loves to aggressively come up on the line of scrimmage and bring down a running back with a sure tackle.

The knock on Freeman is his size. He’s not the biggest defensive back in the world, standing only 5-foot-11 and weighing 188 pounds.

But if this same guy, with the same size and same talent, played for Nebraska, Ohio State or UCLA last fall, he would have been drafted.

Guaranteed.

While more Division II players are getting shots at NFL careers these days, many qualified guys at that level are still being overlooked.

Seneca Valley graduate and former SRU center Brandon Fusco was drafted by and made the Minnesota Vikings roster last year, but only after putting together impressive performances against Division I players in college all-star games.

The Steelers had former Rock receiver D.J. Flick in their camp a decade ago, but hardly gave him a look in preseason games and released him in late August.

Flick went on to a stellar career in the Canadian Football League before a horrible leg injury curtailed his career.

That guy could have played in the NFL.

The Steelers need cornerbacks and the Ravens need receivers.

Hopefully, Freeman and Goda will be given a fair chance to fill those voids.

Division II doesn’t always mean second-level talent.