Initial Top 103 prospects

[Icness]

http://www.realgmfootball.com/src_featu ... ersion_10/

This was produced over about a 3-week period, so some things have changed a bit. The current top 20:
1. Chris Wells*, RB, Ohio State--has every chance to be as good as Peterson or McFadden, if the foot heals

2. Michael Oher, T, Mississippi--finally living up to expectations, which are sky high

3. Vontae Davis*, CB, Illinois--Vernon’s little brother is not quite the athletic freak, but a much more fundamentally sound football player.

4. Michael Crabtree*, WR, Texas Tech--eerily similar to Calvin Johnson

5. Brian Cushing, LB, USC--has to prove he can stay healthy to merit lofty draft expectations

6. Malcolm Jenkins, CB, Ohio State--the next great Buckeye CB in the NFL

7. Jeremy Maclin*, WR, Missouri--taller, bigger, and faster than the more heralded Percy Harvin, and he’s shown better hands to boot.

8. Matthew Stafford*, QB, Georgia--his agility and accuracy on the move are underrated

9. Rey Maualuga, LB, USC--big, fast, physical presence a perfect fit as a 3-4 ILB

10. Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest--makes plays all over the field and is near impossible to block

11. Duke Robinson, G, Oklahoma--could be the first G in the Top 10 in years for a reason

12. Will Moore, S, Missouri--excellent center-fielder type who can lay the lumber

13. Eugene Moore, T, Virginia--more physical than the recent UVA linemen (Ferguson, Albert)

14. Alex Mack, C, California--might be the best overall player regardless of position

15. James Laurinaitis, LB, Ohio State--lacks the elite quickness of an Urlacher or Tatupu in the middle but has everything else you can want

16. Taylor Mays*, S, USC--unbelievable size and speed, a little robotic in coverage

17. Michael Johnson, DE, Georgia Tech--boom/bust type must improve his leverage to match his explosive quickness

18. Travis Beckum, TE, Wisconsin--solid all-around talent with loads of big-game experience

19. Darius Heyward-Bey*, WR, Maryland--runs great routes and catches everything near him

20. Alphonso Smith, CB, Wake Forest--playmaker lacks height but tackles well for his size

I'm also doing positional Big Boards like last year, which I think y'all enjoyed. Those won't go up until after the Senior Bowl though.

[studcrackers]

brandon pettigrew goes to oklahoma state not a&m

what do you think will happen to chase daniel? any shot he goes in the 1st 3 rounds?

also i havent found out if he's draft eligible this year or next but what do u think about the big boy in the middle terrence cody?

[A.J.]

If Knowshon comes out, I think he will be the top running back.

[Icness]

Chase Daniels will be made or broken in the Senior Bowl workouts and Combine drills. He's real short, probably not even 6', and he has all sorts of different throwing motions and footwork. I would project him in the 50-75 draft range right now, but the growing consensus I'm feeling is that spread option QBs need 2 years before they are ready to sniff the NFL field. That's a long time to wait for a return on a 2nd rounder. In my mental mock draft I have him pencilled in to Dallas or New Orleans in the end of 2nd/early 3rd round. He most easily compares to Drew Brees, but I see just as much Rex Grossman in him in terms of physical ability. He might make the next edition of this list if he continues to carve up the better Big 12 defenses.

[Rafael122]

It's nice to see this draft seems to he heavy on offensive linemen, which the Redskins desperately need as our o-line gets older.

[NO-KG-AI]

Typo Ic, you called Eugene Monroe, Eugene Moore.

I'm not so high on Wells or Crabtree as your projections, I think Crabtree is an elite player, and a top 5-10 pick, but I don't think he will grade out as the best player in the draft like Johnson did.

I LOVE Duke Robinson, he's projected as a late first rounder almost everywhere I look, if he were available and the Saints picked him anywhere, I'd be ecstatic.

[Icness]

I'm doing a quick edit this AM to clear up a couple of typos and move a few people around. Me likes what I saw of Andre Smith Sat. night.

This is a great year for OL, DB, and LB and maybe TE. Could be the worst QB class ever and the WR pool is pretty shallow after Crabtree and Heyward-Bey. Sorry Bears fans!

[revprodeji]

Sir,

Is it wrong that I like Grisham better than Beckum or Pettigrew

[studcrackers]

say all these qb's end up declaring:

tebow
stafford
sanchez
daniel
freeman
lefervor (c. mich qb not sure how to spell name)
bradford
bomar
and others, is this really that bad a qb class? looks like a lot of guys who can become solid qb's

[NO-KG-AI]

Vontae may not be Vernon, but even in comparison to other DB's, he's an athletic freak. He reminds me a lot of Cromartie.

[Icness]

Sir,

Is it wrong that I like Grisham better than Beckum or Pettigrew

Not at all. I think Gresham is probably the most ready to contribute right away, if he declares. Beckum has great hands and he gets open well but he's not much of a blocker and he hasn't shown a lot of toughness.

I'm not a big Pettigrew guy. Never been a fan of those guys of whom it's said "If the light ever comes on...", and he is the epitome of that statement. It's been my experience that the light rarely just clicks on without a major dimmer switch on it. He's going to be a guy you want to sign to his second contract, not his first.

[Icness]

say all these qb's end up declaring:

tebow
stafford
sanchez
daniel
freeman
lefervor (c. mich qb not sure how to spell name)
bradford
bomar
and others, is this really that bad a qb class? looks like a lot of guys who can become solid qb's

Stafford is a legit top 5 overall pick, much in the vein of Matt Ryan. Different styles but the grade will probably be about the same.

Bradford has franchise QB potential. Most folks I've talked to about him think he's going back to OU for another year unless they win the BCS title and/or he wins the Heisman.

Sanchez is a wild card because he's played so little. I need to see a lot more of him to properly evaluate him, but just as a snap judgment he's in need of some work but probably worth the effort and a 2nd round pick

Tebow isn't as good a thrower as Alex Smith was in the exact same offense, and he's not as fast either. He's got boatloads of intangibles, but the tangibles scream "BUST".

I like Lefevour (pronounced leh-fever) quite a bit but he will also need a long adjustment period. He plays remarkably similar to Vince Young, for better and for worse. Not as big though.

Any of the spread offense QBs (Tebow, Lefevour, Painter, Daniel, Harrell) are guys you want to groom behind an aging starter, not guys you want running your team before 2011. Daniel might be an exception, but he's not 6' tall and doesn't throw a good deep ball consistently. Bomar looked real good in the one tape I've watched, but he had all day to throw on every snap. He's got the rep for being an arrogant SOB who never does anything wrong, so that's not a good sign.

Freeman is a good potential wild card. He's got some Big Ben in him, some Jason Campbell in him. Needs some work on his release and on taking what the defense gives him better. Very upwardly mobile at this point and it's probably a poor oversight on my part that he's not on this list.

Bottom line: If you are looking for immediate help, Stafford is the only guy I would target. Bradford maybe. If you're looking more long-term, the class looks better, but if you're looking long-term you're probably in the market for a QB ready to start from draft day. To compare to last year, only Stafford would rate higher than Chad Henne, though Bradford could surpass that if he finishes like he started this year.

[Elway=GOAT]

say all these qb's end up declaring:

tebow
stafford
sanchez
daniel
freeman
lefervor (c. mich qb not sure how to spell name)
bradford
bomar
and others, is this really that bad a qb class? looks like a lot of guys who can become solid qb's

Stafford is a legit top 5 overall pick, much in the vein of Matt Ryan. Different styles but the grade will probably be about the same.

Bradford has franchise QB potential. Most folks I've talked to about him think he's going back to OU for another year unless they win the BCS title and/or he wins the Heisman.

Sanchez is a wild card because he's played so little. I need to see a lot more of him to properly evaluate him, but just as a snap judgment he's in need of some work but probably worth the effort and a 2nd round pick

Tebow isn't as good a thrower as Alex Smith was in the exact same offense, and he's not as fast either. He's got boatloads of intangibles, but the tangibles scream "BUST".

I like Lefevour (pronounced leh-fever) quite a bit but he will also need a long adjustment period. He plays remarkably similar to Vince Young, for better and for worse. Not as big though.

Any of the spread offense QBs (Tebow, Lefevour, Painter, Daniel, Harrell) are guys you want to groom behind an aging starter, not guys you want running your team before 2011. Daniel might be an exception, but he's not 6' tall and doesn't throw a good deep ball consistently. Bomar looked real good in the one tape I've watched, but he had all day to throw on every snap. He's got the rep for being an arrogant SOB who never does anything wrong, so that's not a good sign.

Freeman is a good potential wild card. He's got some Big Ben in him, some Jason Campbell in him. Needs some work on his release and on taking what the defense gives him better. Very upwardly mobile at this point and it's probably a poor oversight on my part that he's not on this list.

Bottom line: If you are looking for immediate help, Stafford is the only guy I would target. Bradford maybe. If you're looking more long-term, the class looks better, but if you're looking long-term you're probably in the market for a QB ready to start from draft day. To compare to last year, only Stafford would rate higher than Chad Henne, though Bradford could surpass that if he finishes like he started this year.

You really like Stafford that much? I just don't see it. He has everything you want in a frnachise QB, but so have alot of guys. He was the best player coming out of high school a few years back I know. But if it was not for the hype coming out, I definatley think he would not be considered going as high as alot of people are considering him. He just does not look very good in college.

The guy imo, simply does not dominate like I would expect a QB with his kind of hype and his kind of talent to dominate. He does not do that. Especially with a program like Georgia...

His mechanics are terrible at this point and although his decision making has improved last year, he is far from a guy who should be getting top 5 overall hype.
2006
135/256
1749 yards (81st in nation)
52.7 comp percentage (97th in nation)
6.8 YPA (63rd in nation)

7 TDs (104th in nation)
13 INTs

108.99 passer rating (91st in natiscon)

2007
194/348
2523 yards (53rd in nation)
55.7 comp percentage (94th in nation)
7.3 YPA (39th in nation)

19 TDs (43rd in nation)
10 INT

128.92 passer rating (56th in nation)

Another snippet I found:

He hasn't been able to do anything to suggest to me that he has more than just tools. Late first round value at this point.

2006 vs. SEC

South Carolina - 8/19, 171 yards, 3 INT
Mississippi - 7/18, 91 yards
Tennessee - 2/5, 11 yards, INT
Vanderbilt - 9/13, 86 yards
Miss. St. - 20/32, 267 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT
Florida - 13/33, 151 yards, 2 INT
Kentucky - 16/28, 230 yards, TD, 3 INT
Auburn - 14/20, 219 yards, TD

Bowl (not included): Virginia Tech - 9/21, 129 yards, TD, INT

Yards per game: 152.7
TD: 6
INT: 12

2007 vs. SEC

South Carolina - 19/44, 213 yards, INT
Alabama - 19/35, 224 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
Mississippi - 13/21, 144 yards, TD
Tennessee - 16/33, 174 yards, 2 TD, INT
Vanderbilt - 16/31, 201 yards, TD
Florida - 11/18, 217 yards, 3 TD, INT
Auburn - 11/19, 237 yards, 2 TD, INT
Kentucky - 12/22, 99 yards, 2 INT

Bowl (not included): Hawaii - 14/23, 175 yards, TD, INT

Yards per game: 188.6
TD: 11
INT: 8

So that's a total of 17 TDs and 20 INTs over two seasons vs. SEC opponents. Additionally, he averages less than 200 yards per game. Keep in mind this guy plays for one of the best teams in the league. I don't see the production there to suggest he would play well against NFL defenses.

He has not looks particularly impressive this year either, especially the last game they played when they were completley dominated.

[NO-KG-AI]

He's a whole lot like Cutler in terms of physical tools actually. Cutler was a 23 year old senior too, wasn't he? Stafford is only 20 right now, and he's a lot like Cutler was in college, but neither was drafted on what they did, but what they could become.

Still remains to see if he progresses like Jay, but he's definitely got the goods.

[Icness]

I give Stafford a lot of credit for what he's accomplished with what he's got around him. Their OL wasn't real good last year and it's a lot worse this year. They run a lot of just 2 and 3 man routes, which translates real well to the NFL. I like his big-game experience, even though he hasn't won them all. I like that he's been the golden boy for a long time but he isn't an entitled prick like Jimmy Claussen or Matt Leinart. He does need work on his balance and his touch, but that's an easier job than a guy who needs velocity or accuracy, which he's got in spades.

FYI I've heard that both he and Moreno are "absolutely" entering the draft. Unofficially at this point of course...


Edit-10,000th post! It only took 7 years!

[ChronicKerr]

Javon Ringer first rounder or not?

[WAYSA]

I don't agree with the Cromartie comparison to Vontae if you mean by playing styles. As athletic freaks, yes.

Cromartie is huge & has great ball skills.

Vontae is just a 6'0" 205 lb truck. Probably the most physical corner I have ever seen. Cromartie is soft often gets run over and doesn't know how to tackle.

Javon Ringer is not a first rounder.. Too small & not that game breaking speed.

[Next Coming]

I'm cosigning Waysa. Antonio Cromartie isn't nearly as physical as Vontae Davis is.

It's going to be fun seeing who the 1st CB drafted will be. Will it be Malcolm Jenkins or Vontae Davis.