Friday, April 22, 2011

2011 NFL Draft - Prospect Rankings Update


This is probably the final update I’ll have.



QB
1 – Jake Locker (Washington)
2 – Christian Ponder (FSU)
3 – Blaine Gabbert (Missouri)
4 – Ryan Mallett (Arkansas)
5 – Colin Kaepernick (Nevada)
6 – Cam Newton (Auburn)
7 – Andy Dalton (TCU)
8 – Ricky Stanzi (Iowa)
9 – Tyrod Taylor (Virginia Tech)
10 – Greg McElroy (Alabama)
11 – Pat Devlin (Delaware)

No changes here. I still feel there is no certain franchise QB in this class and am happy that the Bucs aren’t looking for one.



RB
1 – Mikel Leshoure (Illinois)
2 – Ryan Williams (Virginia Tech)
3 – Mark Ingram (Alabama)
4 – Kendall Hunter (Oklahoma State)
5 – Shane Vereen (California)
6 – DeMarco Murray (Oklahoma)
7 – Jordan Todman (Connecticut)
8 – Derrick Locke (Kentucky)
9 – Jacquizz Rodgers (Oregon State)
10 – Delone Carter (Syracuse)
11 – Taiwan Jones (Eastern Washington)
12 – Bilal Powell (Louisville)
13 – Graig Cooper (Miami)
14 – Daniel Thomas (Kansas State)
15 – Stevan Ridley (LSU)
16 – Da’Rel Scott (Maryland)
17 – Jamie Harper (Clemson)
18 – Roy Helu Jr. (Nebraska)
19 – Noel Devine (West Virginia)
20 – Dion Lewis (Pittsburgh)

Leshoure has become a stronger #1 for me than any player at any other position. I feel very confident that years from now he will have been the top back from this year’s class. I’ve never seen Taiwan Jones play, but he gets a decent boost up based on a ton of rave reviews of his recent workout and projection as an explosive offensive weapon. I slot him behind the other complimentary/speed backs, but he could end up the best of that bunch if prognosticators are accurate in their projections. I’ve mentioned this before, but watch out for Cooper when he gets a little more strength/stability back in that knee; could be a late round steal.




WR
1 – AJ Green (Georgia)
2 – Julio Jones (Alabama)
3 – Randall Cobb (Kentucky)
4 – Torrey Smith (Maryland)
5 – Titus Young (Boise State)
6 – Leonard Hankerson (Miami)
7 – Jonathan Baldwin (Pittsburgh)
8 – Greg Little (UNC)
9 – Jerrel Jernigan (Troy)
10 – Austin Pettis (Boise State)
11 – Niles Paul (Nebraska)
12 – Edmond Gates (Abilene Christian)
13 – Dwayne Harris (ECU)
14 – Cecil Shorts III (Mount Union)
15 – Vincent Brown (San Diego State)
16 – Terrance Toliver (LSU)
17 – Tandon Doss (Indiana)
18 – Greg Salas (Hawaii)
19 – Ronald Johnson (USC)
20 – Aldrick Robinson (SMU)
21 – Ryan Whalen (Stanford)

Cobb has done the most climbing for me, having jumped over both Young in the last set of rankings and Smith in this version. I’ve watched more of him this offseason and think he’s going to add a lot of value in multiple ways. Little looks like this year’s Mike Williams to me – ton of talent, off field concerns, likely mid round steal.




TE
1 – DJ Williams (Arkansas)
2 – Kyle Rudolph (Notre Dame)
3 – Lance Kendricks (Wisconsin)
4 – Luke Stocker (Tennessee)
5 – Rob Housler (FAU)
6 – Virgil Green (Nevada)
7 – Jordan Cameron (USC)
8 – Andre Smith (Virginia Tech)
9 – Mike McNeill (Nebraska)
10 – Charlie Gantt (Michigan State)

Williams isn’t the biggest tight end and won’t be the first player taken from his position, but I think his toughness and ability to exploit mismatches will make him a big contributor at the next level. Weslye Saunders can’t even get healthy after sitting out the season, so I dropped him from the list.




T
1 – Anthony Castonzo (Boston College)
2 – Gabe Carimi (Wisconsin)
3 – Derek Sherrod (Mississippi State)
4 – Tyron Smith (USC)
5 – Benjamin Ijalana (T/G, Villanova)
6 – Nate Solder (Colorado)
7 – James Carpenter (T/G, Alabama)
8 – Joseph Barksdale (LSU)
9 – James Brewer (Indiana)
10 – Jason Pinkston (T/G, Pittsburgh)
11 – DeMarcus Love (T/G, Arkansas)
12 – Marcus Gilbert (Florida)
13 – Chris Hairston (Clemson)
14 – Derek Newton (Arkansas State)
15 – Jah Reid (UCF)
16 – Willie Smith (ECU)
17 – David Mims (Virginia Union)

I’ve got Ijalana jumping over Solder in this version as I’ve been reading more and more reports with favorable projections. I’d love for him to be a Buccaneer, but he should go early R2 or even late R1.




G/C
1 – Rodney Hudson (G, FSU)
2 – Mike Pouncey (G, Florida)
3 – Danny Watkins (G/T, Baylor)
4 – Stefen Wisniewski (C, Penn State)
5 – Marcus Cannon (G/T, TCU)
6 – John Moffitt (G, Wisconsin)
7 – Lee Ziemba (G/T, Auburn)
8 – Clint Boling (G, Georgia)
9 – Will Rackley (G, Lehigh)
10 – Orlando Franklin (G/T, Miami)
11 – Stephen Schilling (G, Michigan)
12 – Tim Barnes (C, Missouri)
13 – Kristofer O’Dowd (C, USC)
14 – Zach Hurd (G, Connecticut)
15 – Justin Boren (G, Ohio State)
16 – Keith Williams (G, Nebraska)
17 – Bryant Browning (G, Ohio State)

This isn’t an impressive overall group of interior linemen as Pouncey is the only sure first rounder. Don’t be surprised if Danny Watkins sneaks into the first day as well given his combination of strength, athleticism, and position flexibility.




DE
1 – Da’Quan Bowers (Clemson)
2 – Robert Quinn (UNC)
3 – JJ Watt (Wisconsin)
4 – Cameron Jordan (California)
5 – Justin Houston Georgia)
6 – Ryan Kerrigan (Purdue)
7 – Adrian Clayborn (Iowa)
8 – Aldon Smith (Missouri)
9 – Cameron Heyward (Ohio State)
10 – Jabaal Sheard (Pittsburgh)
11 – Christian Ballard (DT/DE, Iowa)
12 – Allen Bailey (Miami)
13 – Greg Romeus (Pittsburgh)
14 – Pernell McPhee (Mississippi State)
15 – Sam Acho (Texas)
16 – Markus White (FSU)
17 – Cliff Matthews (South Carolina)
18 – Pierre Allen (Nebraska)

I moved Aldon Smith over to this list to provide a bit of perspective as to where I have him ranked vs. the other pass rushers. As will be reflected in my top 32 overall prospect list, there’s not a lot separating ends 4-8 in my opinion. The Bucs should leave the draft with two of these guys.




DT
1 – Marcell Dareus (Alabama)
2 – Nick Fairley (Auburn)
3 – Corey Liuget (Illinois)
4 – Stephen Paea (Oregon State)
5 – Muhammad Wilkerson (Temple)
6 – Phil Taylor (Baylor)
7 – Marvin Austin (UNC)
8 – Drake Nevis (LSU)
9 – Jurrell Casey (USC)
10 – Jarvis Jenkins (Clemson)
11 – Kendrick Ellis (Hampton)
12 – Sione Fua (Stanford)
13 – Lawrence Guy (Arizona State)
14 – Jerrell Powe (Mississippi)
15 – Ian Williams (Notre Dame)

Dareus goes wire to wire as my #1 DT, and I’m very tempted to moving Liuget ahead of Fairley into the #2 spot. I watched a lot of his stuff this offseason and am very high on his potential.




OLB (4-3 and 3-4)
1 – Von Miller (Texas A&M)
2 – Bruce Carter (UNC; inj.)
3 – Brooks Reed (Arizona)
4 – Mason Foster (Washington)
5 – Akeem Ayers (UCLA)
6 – Dontay Moch (Nevada)
7 – Jeremy Beal (Oklahoma)
8 – Mark Herzlich (Boston College)
9 – Ross Homan (Ohio State)
10 – Chris Carter (Fresno State)
11 – Lawrence Wilson (Connecticut)
12 – KJ Wright (Mississippi State)
13 – Doug Hogue (Syracuse)
14 – Colin McCarthy (Miami)
15 – Wayne Daniels (TCU)
16 – Thomas Keiser (Stanford)

This position had the most shifting of slots, due to the switch of Aldon Smith to DE and Mason Foster moving up. This is a pretty weak class overall as I don’t see a lot of sure starters or big impact players.





ILB
1 – Nate Irving (NC State)
2 – Quan Sturdivant (UNC)
3 – Martez Wilson (Illinois)
4 – Greg Jones (Michigan State)
5 – Kelvin Sheppard (LSU)
6 – Casey Matthews (Oregon)
7 – Mike Mohamed (California)
8 – Josh Bynes (Auburn)
9 – Alex Wujciak (Maryland)
10 – Chris White (Mississippi State)

Wilson and Sturdivant are likely to be the first of these guys to hear their names called, but I’m still a huge believer in Irving. I think he’s this year’s best true MLB despite having less than “ideal” size.



CB
1 – Patrick Peterson (LSU)
2 – Prince Amukamara (Nebraska)
3 – Jimmy Smith (Colorado)
4 – Ras-I Dowling (Virginia)
5 – Davon House (New Mexico State)
6 – Aaron Williams (Texas)
7 – Rashad Carmichael (Virginia Tech)
8 – Brandon Harris (Miami)
9 – Chimdi Chekwa (Ohio State)
10 – Curtis Brown (Texas)
11 – Jalil Brown (Colorado)
12 – Curtis Marsh (Utah State)
13 – Marcus Gilchrist (Clemson)
14 – Johnny Patrick (Louisville)
15 – Shareece Wright (USC)
16 – Chris Culliver (South Carolina)
17 – Brandon Burton (Utah)
18 – Chykie Brown (Texas)
19 – Justin Rogers (Richmond)
20 – Richard Sherman (Stanford)

Corner and defensive end look to be the deepest positions this year, as you’ll be able to get a quality contributor in the middle rounds at both positions. Dowling, Carmichael, J Brown, and Marsh are my favorite options for the Bucs.




S
1 – Deunta Williams (UNC; inj.)
2 – Quinton Carter (Oklahoma)
3 – Rahim Moore (UCLA)
4 – DeAndre McDaniel (Clemson)
5 – Tyler Sash (Iowa)
6 – Robert Sands (West Virginia)
7 – Jaiquawn Jarrett (Temple)
8 – Jeron Johnson (Boise State)
9 – Ahmad Black (Florida)
10 – Jermale Hines (Ohio State)

I’m still not a big fan of the talent at this position but feel Williams will be a steal if his injury lets him slip into R5. Black remains low on my list and is falling down most boards.

7 comments:

  1. David Mims is TOP 5 on this list. Look at his commanding play, numbers (6'8" 325, and decade long NFL dominate potential and you have a classic story. This man-child, "Mount Mims", is the real deal. He'll go 2nd to 4th rounds next week.

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  2. Saw this kid play many times and David was like a man against children. Mims dominated play at his position to the point All American DE's refused to rush him.

    A cornerstone for a years to come.... David Mims is the real deal.

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  3. D2 Black college talent like David Mims can't compete with the big boys of D1. Wez gona eat Mims up at the nxt level. Take that to the bank boyz.

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  4. Can't compete? How about Rice, Payton, Strahan, Greenwood, Williams, Stallworth, and tons of other Hall of Fame HBCU and NFL superstars? They were all outstanding and exciting players, like this Mims kid.

    David Mims is in that elite Black College Class taking his talents to the NFL. I agree, 2nd - 4th round pick, hottest player on the board.

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  5. Mims is huge, but I think the fact that he's going to need a lot of work and is likely limited to the right side of the line will cause him to go late in the draft.

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  6. Suppose in the fifth round the Bucs are up and there sits Fred Rouse. No, let's make it a tougher decision...it's round 4. Would you take a flyer on him in four?

    TPE

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  7. Damn TPE. You mentioned one of my sleepers. Rouse is someone I've got on my Buc radar for R6 or R7. So no, to your question about the middle rounds, but I'm definitely for them spending one of their last three picks on him (if they don't take Cobb in R2).

    I'll try to get my mock up either late tonight or some time tomorrow.

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