Top 20 NFL Prospects

Top Picks Jockey for Position…No One Wants to go to Glue Factory

Top 20 NFL Prospects

Friday, March 2, 2007

The one thing everyone seems to be able to agree on is that its virtually impossible to agree when it comes to ranking just about everything…unless of course you live in New York and haven’t been huffing glue your entire life, then you know the Yankees are the best. I am going to attempt to rank the top prospects available for April’s NFL Draft, starting with Number 20 and counting down to Number 1. I decided that the odds of my Top 32 all going in the First Round were slim to none. I also decided that I’d rather take up needlepoint than count down 40 college kids who are all going to end up getting paid lots of money to smoke dope, buy cars and occasionally play football. To that end, I’m counting down the Top 20 Prospects…as in the guys who are really good as of right now and should make an impact. When it comes time to doing my mock draft…well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

20) Jarvis Moss, DE, Florida: People have this guy all over the place, but the consensus is that he can play. Honestly, the guy is 6’6” 250 and can move. This draft looks like it could be DEEP with Defensive Linemen and he’s just one of a bunch of guys ready to make an impact.

19) Dwayne Jarrett, WR, USC: At the beginning of the season, he might’ve been a Top 5 pick, but a lackluster season (Steve Smith was a better receiver for the Condoms) and what some folks might consider a chip on his shoulder has him sliding down draft boards faster than Christina Aguilera (Circa 2001) in a Men’s Room on the NJ Turnpike.

18) Leon Hall, CB, Michigan: The knock on most Secondary players in this draft aside from Landry is that either they’re fast but can’t cover guys or vice versa. Hall & Revis will both find their niche and although Hall was burned like a protesting Buddhist Monk against Ohio State he’s got good speed and should be able to get plugged in somewhere.

18) Darrelle Revis, CB, Pitt: Only time will tell whether he’s a better pick than Reggie Nelson, but for my money, I’d take Nelson. I have a lot of doubts as to the level of competition in the Big East. No knocking Larry Fitzgerald, but a case could be made for his not being as dynamic as people expected him to be…not to mention, he’s a little soft.

16) Adam Carriker, DE, Nebraska: Like I said, lots of D-Line talent in this draft. I’m not as big on this guy as everyone else is, but I have been known to be wrong.

15) Reggie Nelson, S, Florida: I like a lot of these Florida guys. I think they’re going to make decent players…and even though Urban Meyer and Alex Smith are making a liar out of me I have more respect for Florida football than I do for Utah football.

14) Paul Posluszny, OLB, Penn State: He is ranked much lower by people who get paid to do this. Still, he’s a Butkus Award winner and plays with a ton of heart. If people slurped PSU the way they do Nebraska they’d be saying he was the next A.J. Hawk.

13) Marshawn Lynch, RB, Cal: The only thing people seem to agree on (for the most part) is that he’s the second best RB in this Draft, after that it gets pretty hazy. Is he too small? Is he not committed? Does he listen to John Mayer too much? You name it. He might do a little sliding come draft day, but look for the Panthers or Giants to give him a pretty serious look.

12) Levi Brown, OT, Penn State: I actually like him better than Joe Thomas. He’s not taller, but he’s more massive and less likely to be tossed around by the likes of Strahan, Freeney, et al.

11) Ted Ginn, Jr., WR, Ohio State: He’s still, by all accounts, a great WR. Not playing in the National Championship hurt him more than not doing anything at the Combine.

10) Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame: As far as I’m concerned, this spot is more generous than what the Academy did for Marty Scorsese on Sunday night.

9) Jamaal Anderson, DE, Arkansas: He hasn’t really done a lot to lose his spot as the best D-End in the Draft, but Gaines Adams could be another Jevon Kearse and had an absolutely insane Combine (I’m only paying attention to Adams’ Shuttle Run and across the board scores, which were in the top three for all categories).

8) LaRon Landry, S, LSU: He might be the fastest guy in the draft (depending on which 40 time of Johnson’s you look at, or believe) and he’s got the ability to shut people down. Think of Bob Sanders and Ed Reed…Landry might be their baby.

7) Alan Branch, DT, Michigan: Some people are down on this guy, don’t ask me why. Aside from Okoye he’s one of the best interior D-Linemen available. Not to mention a beast at about 6’6” 320. This kid could plug big holes faster than Sigfreid…or is it Roy?

6) Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin: He’s big and strong and blah, blah, blah…I’m still not convinced that O-Linemen should ever be selected this high. See previous comment about swinging from dingleberries.

5) Amboi Okoye, DT, Louisville: This kid is only 19, which means he’s only going to get bigger and stronger. Scary thought considering he’s already about 6’2” and tips the scales at a muscular 310-pounds.

4) Gaines Adams, DE, Clemson: A lot of people have Joe Thomas in this spot, but I value defense more than offense. Remember the Ravens won a Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer and the Colts offense never showed up for the Playoffs…although it does kill me to have a Clemson guy ranked this high.

3) JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU: So what he showed up out of shape to the Combine, what was he doing there besides talking to scouts and taking the Wonderlic? He could slip if he’s not in shape by the time LSU’s Pro Day rolls around, otherwise he stays right where he is.

2) Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma: He is, by leaps and bounds, the best RB in the draft and a player who can not only change a game but change a team for the better for many seasons to come. Then again, he could end up being the Boz, but it’s doubtful.

1) Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech: There seems little doubt in anyone’s mind that Johnson is not the best overall player in this draft. He’s big, he’s strong and his very, very fast and unlike J.J. Stokes (another big, strong, fast guy) he can actually catch the football. If the Raiders already had a decent QB, he’d be the pick at Number 1.

So there you have it. My Top 20 available players in April’s Draft. Obviously, they’re not going in order like that and obviously I reserve the right to say that I was only kidding if any of these guys (I’m looking at you Brady) turn out to be complete lemons.

NFL Combine Wrap

Quinn Tells Teams, “I Would Totally Draft Me!”

NFL Combine Wrap

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

The NFL Combine is over and for the most part there were no real surprises, save Georgia Tech’s Calvin Johnson stating he wasn’t going to run the 40, then borrowing a buddy’s shoes to run an unofficial, but still blistering, 40 in 4.1 seconds. Did you miss that the first time? Four-Point-One-Seconds…Yeah. So aside from a guy riding on the back of a Cheetah and already improving upon his draft position (and Brady Quinn continuing to say stupid things) there were, as I said on Friday, no surprises…except I did read one jackass (who will remain nameless) who thinks Joe Thomas performed so well that the Raiders might take him with the first pick or some other team might trade up to number 1 to take him. Okay, before we start talking crazy-talk…or more pointedly, continue talking crazy-talk let’s remember recent Offensive Linemen selected in the First Round after impressive showings at the Combine who have since left their teams feeling disappointed and empty inside (kinda like how I felt after watching the Black Donnelley’s on Monday night): Mike Mamula and Robert Gallery, I'm looking at you. The main problem, as I see it, is that drafting a guy who is like 6’7” and 320-pounds of muscle and can bench press 245-pounds 80 times doesn’t tell you how good he’s going to be at stopping Dwight Freeney coming off the outside. A guy Joe Thomas’ size should be able to bench press a lot and since he’s young, should be able to not embarrass himself running the 40. But it's what he does on the field that matters, not when he's wearing Under Armour with visions of a "click-clack" commercial dancing in his head. Since it seems like a foregone conclusion that the Lions are drafting him, we’ll just have to wait and see how often John Kitna ends up looking at the roof of Ford Field. Last year the Lions were 29th in pass protection, giving up 63 sacks. By comparison, Baltimore (17), Indy (15) & Green Bay (24) didn’t give up 63 sacks combined! And just for the record, Indy gave up a League-low 15 sacks, which meant Peyton Manning was only sacked 3.1% of the time he dropped back to pass; Kitna on the other hand was sacked nearly 9% of the time. Indy was also the only team rated in the Top-5 for both pass protection and run blocking…that’s what you want in an offensive line!
So what does all of this mean for Joe Thomas and the scouts already swinging from his dingleberries? It means Thomas will probably find himself in Detroit, contemplating suicide by early-November. Although any time Matt Millen in involved with stocking a team with "talent," watch out. Seriously, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Millen waste the number 2 pick on Brady Quinn or Calvin Johnson, just you watch. Speaking of being surprised, I’m going to have to hand the Looks-Like-Tarzan-Plays-Like-Jane Award to someone…hmmm, gonna need a couple days to go over some Combine film to make that call.

Switching gears to the Boys of Summer, big news out of Red Sox camp this week as Diasuke Matsuzaka actually threw a baseball on US soil...with people watching! Early word out of Florida is that, yes, he can throw a baseball, wow. Now that the Red Sox have gotten that out of the way, let’s see how their $80 Million Dollar boy fares against hitters taller than 5’6” who weigh more than 147-pounds. The other big news is that Manny reported to camp early, which is only newsworthy because everyone just assumed Manny would be sleeping under his bed in a Northern Lights induced stupor until mid-March. So far, MLB has gotten off to an even more boring start than the Oscars…wake me the week before Opening Day.
Just when you thought the more interesting action on a basketball court was once again in college, the NBA comes out and tries to puff its chest out a little bit. This time, the crazy goings on come in the form of freak injuries; which befell Wisconsin big man, Brian Butch, via a dislocated elbow…ew. Not to be outdone, LA Clippers Guard, Shaun Livingston turned his knee into Spaghetti. I don’t mean to make fun of the guy and really I hope he has a speedy recovery, but just in case any of you sickos out there want to take a look: this is not for the faint of heart.

Random Observations:
What ever happened to Raul Mondesi?
The Indianapolis Colts haven’t even given up 63 sacks the last 3 seasons! 51, for those of you keeping score at home. They’ve also been ranked an average of 2nd in terms of run-blocking and pass protection over that time span.
Thinking about incorporating some UFC news into the TMQB…whether or not two dudes beating the crap out of each other qualifies as “sport” is debatable, but they’re definitely some pretty serious athletes; we’ll see.

Rulon Gardner should seriously just never leave the house. Although, with his luck he'd probably end up with an infected spider bite, then fall on a Steak knife trying to call a doctor...

Next Week:
More like Thursday or Friday; I count down my top 32 NFL Prospects.