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Dexter McCluster
Hindu Theory - Darren Sproles
Photo - RB Dexter McCluster - Ole Miss
Dexter McCluster - 5'9" 170 lbs. - 4.55
Fast electrifying senior scatback had an outstanding career in the potent Ole Miss offense. Dexter is an athletic back with a fine burst of speed that ranks him with the fastest playmakers in this class. He has lined up at several positions especially running back late in his career after earlier starting time at receiver. He is one of the deluxe gadget performers in this class and became popular in the ‘Wild Rebel’ offense. As a runner, he explodes through the hole to the 2nd level with the breakaway speed to score from anywhere on the field. He is a smooth athlete who follows his blockers well, showing the ability to make defenders miss with his fine array of multiple moves. During his career, he averaged over 6 yards per carry lining up both in the shotgun and backfield. He shifts gears well, knowing when to wait to allow blockers to create openings and when to explode through a hole and run for daylight. He is very elusive in space and creates many opportunities in the openfield with breakaway speed to make the big play. As a receiver, he is very quick into his routes and gets open consistently with the sure hands to catch the ball and the running skills to be very dangerous after the reception. He averaged 13 yards per catch, a high number for any running back. He shows fine decision making as a runner with the vision, balance and enough power to run inside. He has the initial quickness to hit the hole with top speed and possesses the ability to make defenders consistently miss in the openfield. He slides quickly along the line and shows the ability to cutback hard and make the big play. As a prospect, he is a very good athlete with big play ability. Over his SEC career, he proved durable despite playing at a mere 170 lbs. and in the nation’s most physical conference.
The Numbers: During the ’09 season, he started every game and rushed for 1169 yards on just 181 carries for 8 TDs and a fine 6.5 yard average. He also added 44 receptions for 520 yards and 3 TDs as an excellent outlet receiver with an 11.3 yard average. He earned MVP in the Ole Miss Cotton Bowl victory. He does have a big upside as a receiver, showing natural hands and nice route running. As a junior, he rushed for 655 yards on 109 carries for 6 TDs while adding 44 receptions for 625 yards and 1 TD. Over his career, he caught 130 passes for over 1700 yards and 7 TDs. Over his career, he had only 27 total returns, but he is capable of providing an impact in that role as a pro. At the NFL Combine, he ran 4.53 and 4.62 times with a 37.5” vertical leap, 9’10” BJ and did 20 reps. He had good agility drills including a 4.06 short shuttle time. He is a tough matchup due to size and versatility but similar to runner Darren Sproles or wideout DeSean Jackson in size, AA, body type and overall LOD.
The Skinny: Athlete with the talent and physical ability to be a big play specialist if he proves durable in the NFL. He has natural running skills that coaches will utilize and create an offensive plan for him to fit. Though much smaller than ideal, he can become a playmaker in the right setting. He needs to make the necessary strength progress and overall improvement to hold up to the rigors of NFL play. Initially as a pro, he has the development to be a good change of pace and 3rd down back. Fast elusive type runner with the instincts and AA necessary to fill a key role as a situational weapon. Marginal top 100 prospect and could go as early as the 3rd round on speed and big play potential. Clubs like the Chiefs, Saints, Broncos and Falcons have on their short list.
Draft Projection: 3rd Round
Draft Insiders' Yearbook - over 400 in-depth Scouting Reports for the NFL Draft 2010 - Available Now!!!!
Top 50 Pro Prospects - NFL Draft
This is an updated Top 50 Pro Prospects for the NFL Draft 2010 post NFL Combine. We will have exclusive reports for subscribers from pro days thru April. We will have further reports prior and during the NFL Draft with critical information that will effect the selection process.
Photo – Golden Tate - Notre Dame
Frank Coyle / Don Hope
Post NFL Combine Rankings * Declared Underclassmen
Pro Prospect / Pos/ School / Ht / Wt / Sp
1. Ndamukong Suh - DT - Nebraska - 6’4” 300 - 4.9
2. * Gerald McCoy - DT - Oklahoma - 6’4” 300 - 4.9
3. * Eric Berry - FS - Tennessee - 5’11” 200 - 4.45
4. Russell Okung - OT - Oklahoma St - 6’5” 310 - 5.1
5. * Sam Bradford - QB - Oklahoma - 6’4” 220 - 4.8
6. * Bryan Bulaga - OT - Iowa - 6’7” 320 - 5.0
7. * Rolando McClain - LB - Alabama - 6’2” 245 - 4.6
8. * Joe Haden - CB - Florida - 5’10” 180 - 4.45
9. * Derrick Morgan - DE - Georgia Tech - 6’5” 270 - 4.7
10 * Jimmy Clausen - QB - Notre Dame - 6’3” 215 - 4.8
11 * Earl Thomas - S - Texas - 5’10” 195 - 4.45
12. * Jason Pierre-Paul - DE - South Florida - 6’5” 260 - 4.7
13 Trent Williams - OT - Oklahoma - 6’5” 320 - 4.8
14 * Anthony Davis - OT - Rutgers - 6’5” 325 - 5.1
15 Taylor Mays - S - Southern Cal - 6’3” 235 - 4.4
16. C.J. Spiller - RB - Clemson - 5’11” 195 - 4.4
17 * Dez Bryant - WR - Oklahoma St - 6’2” 215 - 4.45
18 Sergio Kindle - LB - Texas - 6’4” 255 - 4.6
19. * Carlos Dunlap - DE - Florida - 6’6” 285 - 4.65
20 Brandon Graham - DE - Michigan - 6’1” 265 - 4.75
21 Sean Weatherspoon - LB - Missouri - 6’1” 240 - 4.6
22 Jared Odrick - DT - Penn St - 6’4” 300 - 5.0
23 Mike Iupati - OG - Idaho - 6’5” 330 - 5.2
24 * Bruce Campbell - OT - Maryland - 6’6” 320 - 4.9
25 Patrick Robinson - CB - Florida St - 5’11” 190 - 4.45
26 * Ryan Mathews - RB - Fresno St - 5’11” 220 - 4.45
27 Devin McCourty - CB - Rutgers - 5’11” 190 - 4.45
28 * Jermaine Gresham -TE - Oklahoma - 6’6” 260 - 4.65
29 Charles Brown - OT - Southern Cal - 6’5” 295 - 5.1
30. * Golden Tate - WR - Notre Dame - 5’10” 190 - 4.45
31 Kyle Wilson - CB - Boise St - 5’10” 185 - 4.45
32. * Everson Griffen - DE - Southern Cal - 6’3” 265 - 4.65
33 * Brian Price -DT - UCLA - 6’2” 310 - 5.1
34. * Demaryius Thomas - WR - Georgia Tech - 6’3” 230 - 4.5
35. * Rob Gronkowski - TE - Arizona - 6'7" 270 - 4.7
36 Nate Allen - FS - South Florida - 6’1” 210 - 4.5
37 Dan Williams - DT - Tennessee - 6’2” 300 - 5.2
38 * Arrelious Benn - WR - Illinois - 6’1” 190 - 4.45
39. * Kareem Jackson - CB - Alabama - 5’11” 190 - 4.45
40. Maurkice Pouncey - OC - Florida - 6’5” 310 - 5.0
41 * Damian Williams - WR - Southern Cal - 6’1” 190 - 4.50
42 Daryl Washington - LB - TCU - 6’2” 235 - 4.6
43 * Jonathan Dwyer - RB - Georgia Tech - 5’11” 230 - 4.55
44 * Chad Jones - S - LSU - 6’2” 225 - 4.55
45 Perrish Cox - CB - Oklahoma St - 6’ 195 - 4.55
46 Jerry Hughes - DE - TCU - 6’3” 255 - 4.65
47 * Jahvid Best - RB - California - 5’9” 195 - 4.4
48 Terrence Cody - DT - Alabama - 6’4” 360 - 5.5
49 Ricky Sapp - LB - Clemson - 6’4” 245 - 4.65
50 Corey Wootton - DE - Northwestern - 6’6” 275 - 4.8
NFL Draft Prospects 2010 Pro Days - Dates
Photo- Dexter McCluster - Ole Miss
We will have special Pro Day reports for Full Subscribers. We attend many workouts nationwide and will provide exclusive info to subscribers through late April.
3/09/10 Western Michigan 11 a.m.
3/09/10 Indiana 10 a.m.
3/09/10 Auburn 1 p.m.
3/09/10 VMI 3 p.m.
3/09/10 North Dakota State 10 a.m.
3/09/10 Northwest Missouri State 1 p.m.
3/09/10 Tuskegee 3 p.m.
3/09/10 Oklahoma –
3/09/10 Central Oklahoma 2:30 p.m.
3/09/10 Indiana (PA) 10 a.m.
3/09/10 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 3 p.m.
3/09/10 Howard 11 a.m.
3/10/10 Texas A&M 8 a.m.
3/10/10 Rutgers 8 a.m.
3/10/10 California 9 a.m.
3/10/10 New Mexico 10 a.m.
3/10/10 Washington 10 a.m.
3/10/10 Kansas Noon
3/10/10 Colorado 8:30 a.m.
3/10/10 Kentucky 9 a.m.
3/10/10 Oklahoma State 8 a.m.
3/10/10 New Hampshire 11 a.m.
3/10/10 Brown 9 a.m.
3/10/10 Alabama -- 3/10/10 Cincinnati –
3/10/10 Minnesota 8:30 a.m.
3/10/10 Cal Davis 2 p.m.
3/10/10 Maryland –
3/11/10 UAB 1 p.m.
3/11/10 Ohio 2:30 p.m.
3/11/10 Furman 3 p.m.
3/11/10 Northwestern –
3/11/10 Boston College 8 a.m.
3/11/10 Idaho –
3/11/10 Oregon 1 p.m.
3/11/10 North Alabama 10 a.m.
3/11/10 Texas Tech –
3/11/10 Nebraska –
3/12/10 Oregon State 9:30 a.m.
3/12/10 Michigan 9 a.m.
3/12/10 TCU 9 a.m.
3/12/10 Purdue 8 a.m.
3/12/10 Ohio State 10 a.m.
3/12/10 Eastern Washington 10 a.m.
3/12/10 Urbana (OH) 4 p.m.
3/12/10 Jacksonville St 10 a.m.
3/12/10 Arizona 8 a.m.
3/13/10 San Diego State 9 a.m.
3/15/10 Wake Forest 8:30 a.m.
3/15/10 Georgia Tech 9:30 a.m.
3/15/10 Albany State (GA) 10 a.m.
3/15/10 Clark Atlanta 3:15 p.m.
3/15/10 Central Arkansas 9 a.m.
3/15/10 Eastern Michigan 3 p.m.
3/15/10 Air Force –
3/15/10 LSU –
3/15/10 Montana –
3/16/10 Bowling Green 1:30 p.m.
3/16/10 Toledo 8 a.m.
3/16/10 Eastern Kentucky 11 a.m.
3/16/10 Norfolk State 10 a.m.
3/16/10 Morgan State 10 a.m.
3/16/10 Arkansas –
3/16/10 Delaware –
3/16/10 Louisiana-Monroe –
3/17/10 Michigan State 8 a.m.
3/17/10 Hampton Noon
3/17/10 Penn State 11 a.m.
3/17/10 Arkansas Tech 9 a.m.
3/17/10 Illinois 1 p.m.
3/17/10 Marshall 9 a.m.
3/17/10 William & Mary 9 a.m.
3/17/10 Arkansas State 9 a.m.
3/17/10 Florida –
3/17/10 Southern Illinois –
3/17/10 Louisiana Tech 10 a.m.
3/17/10 Carson Newman 3:30 p.m.
3/17/10 Tennessee –
3/18/10 Middle Tennessee State Noon
3/18/10 West Virginia 11 a.m.
3/18/10 Temple 11 a.m.
3/18/10 Virginia 8 a.m.
3/18/10 McNeese State 9 a.m.
3/18/10 Nicholls State 10 a.m.
3/18/10 Florida A&M 3 p.m.
3/18/10 Hillsdale –
3/18/10 Virginia Tech 11 a.m.
3/18/10 Richmond –
3/19/10 North Carolina Central 10 a.m.
3/19/10 Tulane 10 a.m.
3/19/10 James Madison 2 p.m.
3/19/10 Northwestern State (LA) 9 a.m.
3/19/10 Missouri State 9 a.m.
3/19/10 Lindenwood 9 a.m.
3/19/10 Tennessee Tech 2 p.m.
3/22/10 Iowa 11 a.m.
3/22/10 South Dakota 11 a.m.
3/22/10 North Carolina AT 8 a.m.
3/22/10 Duke –
3/22/10 Southern Miss 8 a.m.
3/23/10 Iowa State 9 a.m.
3/23/10 North Carolina 9 a.m.
3/23/10 South Dakota State 10 a.m.
3/23/10 Notre Dame 1 p.m.
3/23/10 Western Illinois 9 a.m.
3/23/10 Mississippi –
3/24/10 Connecticut Noon
3/24/10 North Carolina State 11 a.m.
3/24/10 Jackson State 11 a.m.
3/24/10 Nevada 10 a.m.
3/24/10 North Texas 11 a.m.
3/24/10 Central Michigan 7 a.m.
3/25/10 East Carolina Noon
3/25/10 Central Florida 1 p.m.
3/25/10 Oklahoma –
3/25/10 Catawba 11 a.m.
3/25/10 Murray State 10 a.m.
3/25/10 Northern Arizona 9 a.m.
3/25/10 Akron Noon
3/25/10 Mississippi State –
3/25/10 Massachusetts –
3/26/10 Arizona State 9 a.m.
3/26/10 Wake Forest 8:30 a.m.
3/26/10 Miami 8 a.m.
3/26/10 Boise State 9:15 a.m.
3/26/10 Northern Illinois 11 a.m.
3/26/10 Delta State 10 a.m.
3/26/10 Memphis –
3/26/10 Tennessee-Martin –
3/29/10 Stephen F Austin 9 a.m.
3/29/10 Newberry 1 p.m.
3/29/10 Texas A&M-Kingsville 11 a.m.
3/30/10 South Florida –
3/30/10 Texas State 10 a.m.
3/30/10 Houston –
3/30/10 Texas Southern –
3/30/10 UCLA –
3/30/10 Coastal Carolina 10 a.m.
3/31/10 Southern Cal 10:30 a.m.
3/31/10 Texas –
3/31/10 South Carolina –
3/31/10 Pennsylvania –
3/31/10 South Carolina State –
4/01/10 Hawaii –
4/01/10 Southern Methodist
We will have special Pro Day reports for Full Subscribers. We attend many workouts nationwide and will provide exclusive info to subscribers through late April.
Clemson's Spiller and Ford Light up Workout
Photo – RB C. J. Spiller - Clemson
The skilled position players took center stage Sunday at the NFL Combine for workouts and a couple of Clemson Tigers were very impressive at the event. Running back C.J Spiller ran a fine 4.37 time at just under 5’11” and 196 lbs. He will have a complete workout for positional drills at the Clemson pro day in March. His Clemson teammate, wideout Jacoby Ford had the fastest 40 time at the event thus far with a 4.28 time. It challenged Chris Johnson’s record 4.24 time from the NFL Combine 2008. The time by Ford was the fastest by a receiver tying the record for the position for the event’s history. The defensive backs will run on Tuesday and there are a few prospects who will attempt to beat that super sprint number.
Running back Jahvid Best of Cal had a huge workout and one that he needed after a late season neck injury. He ran a 4.35 time at 199 lbs. that was the fastest among the running backs. He was impressive in the positional drills and did 18 reps in the lifting. RB Toby Gerhart of Stanford had a strong performance with a 4.53 time and 22 reps at over 230 lbs. He had a 38” vertical leap and a 9’10” broad jump and helped his cause. RB Montario Hardesty of Tennessee had a very impressive workout including a 4.49 time with 21 reps in the lifting. He had an incredible 41” vertical leap and a 10’4” broad jump that was best among the talented running backs. Ryan Matthews of Fresno St. ran a 4.45 time with a 10’1” broad jump, 36” vertical leap and 19 reps in the lifting that impressed many NFL clubs. He is one of the fastest rising prospects at the event thus far.
NFL Scouting Combine Invitation List
NFL Combine - Feb. 24-March 2, 2010
Lucas Stadium, Indianapolis, In
Photo - TE Jermaine Gresham – Oklahoma
This is a final updated NFL Combine 2010 list with underclassmen and additional seniors added prior to the start of the critical week long event. We will have reports directly from the NFL Combine starting later this week for subscribers. There will be additional reports over the next week plus an exclusive NFL Combine Report for subscribers in March.
NFL Combine 2010 by Position
* Underclassmen
Offense
Quarterbacks:
* Sam Bradford - Oklahoma
Jarrett Brown - West Virginia
Levi Brown - Troy
Sean Canfield - Oregon St
Darryl Clark - Penn St
* Jimmy Clausen - Notre Dame
Max Hall - BYU
Tim Hiller - Western Michigan
Mike Kafka - Northwestern
Dan Lefevour - Central Michigan
Thaddeus Lewis - Duke
Colt McCoy - Texas
Tony Pike - Cincinnati
Zac Robinson - Oklahoma St
John Skelton - Fordham (N.Y.)
Riley Skinner - Wake Forest
* Jevan Snead - Mississippi
Tim Tebow - Florida
Running back:
Matt Asiata - Utah
Joique Bell - Wayne St
* Jahvid Best - California
LeGarrette Blount - Oregon
Chris Brown - Oklahoma
Andre Dixon - UConn
Anthony Dixon - Mississippi St
* Jonathan Dwyer - Georgia Tech
* Toby Gerhart - Stanford
Montario Hardesty - Tennessee
Javarris James - Miami
Stafon Johnson - Southern Cal
* Darius Marshall - Marshall
* Ryan Mathews - Fresno St
Dexter McCuster - Mississippi
* Joe McKnight - Southern Cal
* Shawnrey McNeal - Southern Methodist
Lonyae Miller - Fresno St
Brandon Minor - Michigan
Pat Paschall - North Dakota St
Charles Scott - LSU
CJ Spiller - Clemson
James Starks - Buffalo
Ben Tate - Auburn
Keith Totson - Oklahoma St
Keiland Williams - LSU
Fullbacks:
John Conner - Kentucky
Rashawn Jackson - Virginia
Manase Tonga - BYU
Wide Receivers:
Seyi Ajirotutu - Fresno St
Alric Arnett - West Virginia
Danario Alexander - Missouri
Brandon Banks - Kansas St
* Chris Bell - Norfolk St
* Arrelious Benn - Illinois
Nyan Boateng - California
* Dezmon Briscoe - Kansas
* Antonio Brown - Central Michigan
* Dez Bryant - Oklahoma St
Chris Carter - Cal-Davis
Riley Cooper - Florida
Eric Decker - Minnesota
Marcus Easley - UConn
Armanti Edwards - Appalachian St
Jacoby Ford - Clemson
David Gettis - Baylor
Mardy Gilyard - Cincinnati
Shay Hodge - Mississippi
Donald Jones - Youngstown St
Kevin Jurovich - San Jose St
Brandon LaFell - LSU
Scott Long - Louisville
Chris McGaha - Arizona St
Kerry Meier - Kansas
* Carlton Mitchell - South Florida
Preston Parker - North Alabama
Jared Perry - Missouri
Taylor Price - Ohio
David Reed - Utah
Andre Roberts - Citadel
Emmanuel Sanders - SMU
Jordan Shipley - Texas
* Golden Tate - Notre Dame
* Demaryius Thomas - Georgia Tech
Verran Tucker - California
Chastin West - Fresno St
Blair White - Michigan St
* Damian Williams - Southern Cal
Jeremy Williams - Tulane
Kyle Williams - Arizona St
* Mike Williams - Syracuse
Stephen Williams - Toledo
Ryan Wolfe - UNLV
Tight Ends:
Nate Byham - Pittsburgh
Dorin Dickerson - Pittsburgh
Ed Dickson - Oregon
Jim Dray - Stanford
Brody Eldridge - Oklahoma
Dedrick Epps - Miami
Riar Geer - Colorado
Garrett Graham - Wisconsin
Jimmy Graham - Miami
* Jermaine Gresham - Oklahoma
* Rob Gronkowski - Arizona
Clay Harbor - Missouri St
* Aaron Hernandez - Florida
Michael Hoomanawnui - Illinois
Jeron Mastud - Kansas St
Anthony McCoy - Southern Cal
Tony Moeaki - Iowa
Colin Peek - Alabama
Dennis Pitta - BYU
Andrew Quarless - Penn St
Offensive Tackles:
Zane Beadles - Utah
Ciron Black - LSU
Charles Brown - Southern Cal
* Bryan Bulaga - Iowa
Kyle Calloway - Iowa
* Bruce Campbell - Maryland
Selvish Capers - West Virginia
* Anthony Davis - Rutgers
Vladimir DuCasse - UMass
Jason Fox - Miami
Kyle Jolly - North Carolina
Matt Kopa - Stanford
Shawn Lauvao - Arizona St
Marshall Newhouse - TCU
Russell Okung - Oklahoma St
Cole Pemberton - Colorado St
Roger Saffold - Indiana
Chris Scott - Tennessee
Mike Tepper - California
Adam Ulatoski - Texas
Jared Veldheer - Hillsdale
Ed Wang - Virginia Tech
Tony Washington - Abilene Christian
Thomas Welch - Vanderbilt
Trent Williams - Oklahoma
Sam Young - Notre Dame
Offensive Guards:
John Asamoah - Illinois
Dorian Brooks - James Madison
Brandon Carter - Texas Tech
Chris DeGeare - Wake Forest
Kurtis Gregory - Missouri
Joe Hawley - UNLV
Mike Iupati - Idaho
John Jerry - Mississippi
Michael Johnson - Alabama
Alex Parsons - Southern Cal
Mitch Petrus - Arkansas
Dace Richardson - Iowa
Shelley Smith - Colorado St
Centers:
Jeff Byers - Southern Cal
Erik Cook - New Mexico
Ted Larsen - North Carolina St
Eric Olsen - Notre Dame
* Maurkice Pouncey - Florida
Matt Tennant - Boston College
J. D. Walton - Baylor
Proceed to Next Page for NFL Combine Defensive Players
NFL Analysts Discuss Hot Topics
Photo - DT Nda Suh - Nebraska
Colin Lindsay of Great Blue North Report has been a longtime friend and NFL Draft analyst with a website at www.gbnreport.com It is one of the best and long standing web sites available with year round NFL and college football coverage. Lindsay has assembled a group of NFL Draft analysts to get their opinions of the upcoming NFL Draft prior to the NFL Combine that begins later this week. The NFL Draft 2010 is exactly two months away, however, there is still plenty of scouting and debate before the first picks come off the board on April 22nd.
With that in mind, he has asked several of the most pressing questions to a panel of NFL Draft experts including veteran draft analyst Frank Coyle of DraftInsiders.com who is in its 19th year; veteran draft analyst Jerry Jones, whose Drugstore List is now in its 33rd year of publication; former NFL scout Russ Lande, aka GM jr., who also currently has a weekly mock draft at The Sporting News; and Scott Wright whose NFL Draft Countdown is one of the most popular draft sites out there. Here's what the panel said about who is the #1 prospect overall; the top QB, as well as who is up and who is down among other questions.
The first question to the panel was who IS the #1 prospect for the 2010 draft, Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh, who has been the consensus top guy for seemingly forever, fellow DT Gerald McCoy of Oklahoma who reportedly is pushing Suh on several boards at least in the media, or someone else:
Frank Coyle is unequivocal that Suh is still the #1 guy this year. Indeed, Coyle says that Suh “has been my #1 pro prospect since August 2009. I expect him to impress at the NFL Combine and solidify that ranking. He is a consistently dominant tackle who takes every defender’s level of play up a notch. He has a chance to be an annual Pro Bowl defender. McCoy is a blue chip prospect in his own right who is explosive and has rare speed for an interior defender” who is currently #2 on Coyle’s list. For his part, Jerry Jones, not to be confused with the guy who runs that team in the middle of Texas, is also pretty definitive in rating Suh the top prospect overall and suggests that anyone with any doubts simply re-watch the tape of the Big XII championship game between Nebraska and Texas which Suh dominated. Wright also gives “a slight edge to Suh”, but figures that the former Husker and McCoy are “basically 1A and 1B. Either way it's like deciding between ice cream and cake, both are great! I think Suh and McCoy are locks to go in the top 3 overall, maybe even top 2, and they are the best defensive tackle prospects to come along in 10-15 years. Meanwhile, who has never been known to follow the crowd with his draft evaluations grades Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford as the #1 player overall, although he somewhat surprisingly actually has the same grade as a couple of former Georgia Tech juniors in DE Derrick Morgan and WR Demaryious Thomas. According to Lande, whose main claim to football fame is still the fact that he was our seatmate at our first NFL draft, “Bradford's accuracy, poise, leadership, good athleticism, poise and decision making give him the tools to be a very good quarterback in the NFL and because of the importance of a QB to an NFL team he gets the #1 spot. In terms of Suh and McCoy, I rate Suh higher because he plays with more competitiveness, intensity and passion on every snap which enables him to play with better technique and be more productive throughout games, despite not having the elite/rare athleticism that McCoy has.”
Question #2: Is Sam Bradford of Oklahoma, Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen, or someone else the #1 QB this year (and we gave the panel a real break by not asking specifically about the QB from Florida!)
Needless to say, given the above, Lande clearly has Bradford rated as the top QB prospect “if your are believe that his injured shoulder is going to be fine, which I do. I just believe his accuracy, decision making and poise/leadership are outstanding and give him the tools to become a top level QB. While I like Clausen and gave him a top of the 2nd round grade, I do have concerns about his size, arm strength and his ability to make throws over 15 yards with consistent accuracy.” Lande also added that he has two much less heralded QBs in Jonathan Crompton from Tennessee and Troy’s Levi Brown ranked in his top 5 prospects at the position; indeed, Lande currently has Crompton rated ahead of Clausen, as well as Colt McCoy of Texas as his #2 QB. Jones also gives the edge to Bradford if he‘s healthy. According to Jones “Clausen looks great at times, but not so great other times. The puzzle in this year’s draft is whether any QB is worth a first round selection especially given the price. Tebow will get drafted, probably in the first three rounds, but the questions whether he is a legitimate NFL QB prospect persist, while McCoy is also a probable top 100 prospect, but doesn’t really excite people. The QB who got the plaudits at the Senior Bowl was Tony Pike who has the best arm and can make all the throws. Pike could also be the most ready to step in at the next level, but the injury history and some inconsistencies will hold him back. For his part, Wright also doesn’t think that “either Clausen or Bradford are elite, franchise quarterback prospects and that neither is on the same level as Matthew Stafford or Mark Sanchez were last year. With that said I would go with Clausen every day of the week. There is plenty to like about Bradford, most notably his intangibles and accuracy, but there are also a lot of major question marks ranging from his health and durability to his arm strength to the system he played in at Oklahoma. On the other hand Clausen has adequate physical tools across the board and is well-versed in a pro-style offense after starting for three years in Charlie Weis' system. If I am going to invest $30-plus million guaranteed in a player I would prefer to minimize risk and even though Clausen isn't a sure-thing he is a much safer choice than Bradford.” Coyle is the camp that feels that Bradford and Clausen “are clearly the top two passers and probably the only 1st round selections at the position. Bradford is my #1 guy but must answer injury issue. He is a talented kid with winning NFL QB potential, but he is still young and inexperienced. Probably goes in top 5 if he passes the eye ball test. Clausen is one of the rising prospects in this class. He had a strong junior season last fall and with an impressive workout could elevate into the top 10 selections in April. There may not be another QB in the top 50 overall selections.”
Remaining Questions Go to Next Page
