J's Big Board
I'm ranking the order of prospects that should be the best overall in my opinion, based on the surest bets to be stars in the NFL.
***For my personal rankings on every prospect position-by-position, see my Big board #2
1. Aaron Curry ILB - What more can you say about this guy? There's noway Curry will be a bust. He's a tackling machine, he's fast, he can play inside or outside, he can play in any defense in the NFL, and he's a leader. In 5 years, this guy will have a top ranked defense built around him.
2. Eugene Monroe T - Noway you can argue with an Offensive Lineman who is a top 10 lock. They just don't bust very often (unless your name is Robert Gallery). I have him ahead of Smith because Smith is still relatively inexperienced. Whoever selects Monroe will be getting an anchor for your line and a protector of your teams QB for the next decade.
3. BJ Raji DT - An absolute monster. The 335-pound Raji can play NT in a 3-4 or DT in a 4-3. He blew up just about everyone at the Senior Bowl. He stops the run, he has a good pass rush, and is basically immoveable on the line.
4. Matt Stafford QB - Everyone keeps hating on Stafford and I'm not sure why. Where's the evidence this kid will be a bust? He came from the best conference in college football and he's not a system QB (the QB's who most likely become busts i.e Alex Smith, Cade McNown, Aliki Smith, etc). Stafford has a cannon for an arm and is a bright guy who understands the game. At the very worst, I'm going to compare him to Jay Cutler or Brett Favre, great arm but gets into that gunslinger mentality where he may end up throwing his fair share of INT's just because he has the confidence he can make any throw out there. Hey, last time i checked Favre and Cutler aren't that bad at all.
5. Brian Orakpo DE/OLB - A frightning athlete who will be able to play OLB in a 3-4 or DE in a 4-3. This guy is a pass rushing specialist. You cannot put into account the kind of importance this guy will bring to a defense.
6. Michael Crabtree WR - Yes he doesn't have the fastest 40 time on the planet, but neither does Larry Fitzgerald. Crabtree catches everything thrown his way and always gets lots of yards after catch. He can play in the slot, he can play on the outside, and he is a great blocker and actually likes to block (unbelievable).
7. Jason Smith T - Another top 10 Offensive Lineman. As i said before, it's hard to bust when your up that high. Smith is a great athlete for a Tackle and is a pass blocking specialist. He'll have to add a little bulk and is inexperienced (he's a converted TE) but his upside is tremendous.
8. Darius Butler CB - I really don't know why Butler isn't a top 15 lock. He registered a 43-inch vertical leap and ran a sub 4.4 40 yard dash. He's going to be a great cover corner who also will return kicks.
9. Knowshon Moreno RB - I'm not buying that this guy is slow (only ran a 4.6 40). I believe he's one of those guys who has "game speed". He's a slippery RB who has all the moves in the book and is no easy chore to bring down. He ran over and around SEC defenses the past 2 years. Some team is going to get an absolute steal.
10. Alex Mack C - Mack could be the biggest steal of round 1 when it's all said and done. Center is a low demand position in the NFL and quite frankly, teams have bigger needs to fill. But Mack is an academic all-american at Cal, he's a straight up nasty run blocker, and plays the game with a passion. He will no doubt anchor a great line for years to come.
Now for my 1st rounders that may bust and reasons why
1. Mark Sanchez QB - I mean honestly, this guy was surrounded by bigtime talent at USC. Did they just make him look good? He did not put up huge numbers and really should have stayed at USC next year.
2. Josh Freeman QB - classic all or nothing prospect. Something tells me Freeman will either be one of the best QB's in the NFL in 5 years or never see the field. 6'6 and a cannon arm are very intreging but what did this guy ever do in college to lead a winning team? This QB class, in my opinion, will be overrated for where they may be picked.
3. Michael Johnson DE - A sickening athlete. Unfortunately he's one of many that underachieved throughout his college years despite being a better athlete than almost anyone out there. There's just too many of those players in history who are busts.
4. Chris Wells RB - I know some of you are saying "what the hell?" And i agree with you, Wells is going to be a great back in the NFL IF HE CAN STAY HEALTHY. That's his main problem. He was banged up a lot in college and if your banged up in college, well that's not good for your NFL chances.
5. Aaron Maybin DE/OLB - Maybin was the classic come out of nowhere in college, have a great year, then bolt to the NFL. Now you can't argue with his decision to come out (he's a 1st round lock) or the fact that he's a great athlete, but he's weak at stopping the run and has exactly 1 move to get the QB. At the very best, he is a project who should not be asked to do big things right away.
Sleeper Alert!
Watch out fans and GM's alike, these guys will be available in rounds 2 through 7 and could be possible sleepers and/or stars in the NFL. Here's my all-sleeper team
QB: Rhett Bomar - Sam Houston st
RB: Shonn Greene - Iowa
RB: Rashad Jennings - Liberty
WR: Brian Robiskie - Ohio st
WR: Brandon Gibson - Washington st
TE: Cornelius Ingram - Florida
T: Fenuki Tupou - Oregon
T: Cornelius Lewis - Tennessee st
G: Keith Urbik - Wisconsin
G: Louis Vasquez - Texas Tech
C: Jonathan Luigs - Arkansas
DE: Lawrence Sidbury - Richmond
DT: Sammie Lee Hill - Stillman
DT: Roy Miller - Texas
DE: Phillip Hunt - Houston
OLB: Marcus Freeman - Ohio st
MLB: Dannell Ellerbe - Georgia
OLB: Jason Williams - Western Illinois
CB: Kevin Barnes - Maryland
CB: Joe Burnett - Central Florida
SS: Chip Vaughn - Wake forest
FS: David Bruton - Notre Dame
