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NFL Mock Draft 2009 Draft of 2009 Lacks Star Power NFL Draft 2009: Getting Started Super Bowl Well Worth Tuning In For
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Prospects On Center Stage NBA Preview 2008/09: Final Call
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2008 Top Prospects: Week 8 By Ron Jumper With another interesting week behind us and the top players moving all over the place, the only thing I can say for sure is that this list is nowhere near being done shifting players around. Besides the top NFL Draft prospects, the Heisman race is just as wide open. While I love what Matt Ryan and Andre Woodson have done this season, there are multiple players that still have a shot at the award. Tim Tebow has been playing exceptionally well and, while he isn’t going to be the best NFL quarterback when he becomes eligible for the draft, he has done a phenomenal job at the college level. The door hasn’t completely closed on Darren McFadden yet, as he still has great numbers and big games left vs. South Carolina, at Tennessee, and at LSU to make a statement to the voters. The Top 15: 1. RB Darren McFadden, Arkansas Topped the 100-yard mark in a big win over Ole Miss, as the Hogs rolled 44-8 in Oxford. He could have had bigger numbers, but he only played 3 quarters because the game was so far out of hand. As I said above, McFadden is still in the Heisman race. Granted, it is going to take an upset or two against either South Carolina, Tennessee, or LSU to give him the buzz he needs to sway voters. With 932 yards rushing and 7 TDs on the season, he has a nice body of work minus the Auburn game. Moving on, some have wondered if McFadden has a chance to move out of the top spot on our list, since some other guys are playing so well as of late. I don’t see it happening for a couple of reasons: first, Houston Nutt has hurt his Heisman chances but that doesn’t matter to NFL scouts and, second, his ability to block in pass protection and on kick returns really sets him apart from the pack. 2. DT Glenn Dorsey, LSU With Glenn Dorsey, you have one of the most dominating defensive tackles to play the college game in some time. We have to remember he is a defensive tackle sometimes, and not a linebacker or defensive end, because we expect him to pile up so many tackles and sacks each week. The fact that a DT could even be mentioned in the Heisman race speaks volumes about him. He has 6.5 TFL and 4 sacks on the season, which would be a great year already for most DTs. None the less, expect Dorsey to continue to rack up numbers in the second half of the season. He got a little banged up in the Auburn game, so it might take him a couple weeks to get rolling again. 3. QB Andre Woodson, Kentucky On a normal year, Woodson could easily be the top player in the land. However, he can only be as high 3rd with McFadden and Dorsey ahead of him. That being said, Woodson could still end up being drafted ahead of both of those guys depending on who gets the top pick. There are plenty of NFL bottom dwellers that would like a QB of Woodson’s ability, Atlanta or Miami perhaps. Consider what he did against Florida, 35-50 415 yards and 5 TDs with no interceptions. Wow… 4. QB Matt Ryan, Boston College Ryan is continuing to move up the list, but he has the most to lose of anyone on this list. Consider he has Virginia Tech, Florida State, Maryland, Miami, and Clemson coming up. All 5 of those defenses rank in the top 50 in pass defense, which could lead to Ryan’s numbers decreasing substantially. If he can continue to play well and lead BC to wins, he could also move way up this list too. While I normally don’t put the success or failure on one player, this team goes as Ryan goes. He is the best player and their leader, BC just simply doesn’t have the same athletes as most of the other teams in the ACC. 5. DE Calais Campbell, Miami With another sack to his season totals against Florida State, Campbell continues to pile up numbers every week. For me, I love a guy that comes to play every week. I think those guys are ready to contribute earlier in their NFL careers than guys that just have the tools but haven’t put it all together just yet. Campbell is a perfect example, as he hasn’t been flashy and even fell off the list early in the season. However, he has steadily performed well and makes his first trip to the top 5. 6. QB Dennis Dixon, Oregon Dixon is the real sleeper in college football right now, as he could really climb up the charts or fade away to obscurity. He has USC this week, which just happens to have the 3rd best defense in the land. If Dixon puts up big numbers and leads the Ducks to a win, the sky is the limit here. I said last week he has an outside shot at the Heisman, I still believe that. 7. DE Derrick Harvey, Florida With 1.5 sacks against Kentucky, Harvey brought his season total to 6.5 and continues to move up the list. While Harvey has more sacks than Campbell, he doesn’t have the overall range of numbers that Campbell has. Also, Campbell’s 6’8” 280 pound frame is something to be desired. This may be as high as Harvey can climb though, unless he really has a monster game in the coming weeks. 8. QB Brian Brohm, Louisville I’ve started to not be as high on Brohm, especially after the UConn game. Besides the fact the Cardinals only scored 17 points, as one of those touchdowns was a fumble return by the defense, Brohm didn’t convert when he needed to make plays in the 4th quarter. He threw an incomplete pass on 4th and 3 at the UConn 28 midway through the 4th quarter, then threw an interception on the last drive as he tried to lead them down the field to take the lead in the closing minutes. We know Brohm has the accuracy and the mechanics, but does he have that “it” factor that the great ones have? We’ll have to wait and see… 9T. LB Dan Connor, Penn State & LB James Laurinaitis, Ohio State With these two guys facing off this Saturday, we’ll see who steps up in this rivalry game. I love both guys and have trouble deciding between the two. Connor started out high on the list and has dropped a little bit, while Laurinaitis has climbed his way up the list. I can’t wait to see who steps up to the plate and sets the tone in this game. 11. RB Felix Jones, Arkansas As was the case with McFadden, Jones bounced back this week and had a wonderful game. He topped the 100-yard mark on only 15 carries, as well as adding 2 TDs. He also had an impact in the kicking game, despite not having a kick return, because Ole Miss refused to kick to him. He truly defines versatility and the right head coach could really make use of him at the next level because he can run, catch, and return kicks. 12. WR Desean Jackson, Cal We put him on the chopping block and he responded, grabbing 9 passes for 136 yards and 2 TDs. Jackson has the chance to fly back up the list if he can put together back-to-back big games. He has been so inconsistent this season, but scouts still love him. He hasn’t won me back just yet, I still need to see him play well against Arizona State this weekend before he can get back in the top 10. 13. WR Adarious Bowman, Oklahoma State Bowman had 6 catches for 81 yards against Kansas State. While that doesn’t seem impressive, it actually was when you consider the Cowboys pounded the Wildcats on the ground and really didn’t put the ball in the air like they normally do. OSU ran for 329 yards and only completed 11 passes, so for Bowman to snag 6 of those isn’t so bad. This won’t move him up the list, but we can’t really knock him either. 14. CB Antoine Cason, Arizona It wasn’t the defense’s fault the Wildcats lost to Stanford, as the Cardinal only scored 21 points. Cason didn’t have a big game, but neither did Stanford’s passing game. If Cason can have a few more big games, whether it be on special teams or defensively, he could climb high up the board because NFL teams always covet versatile corners like him. 15. S Will Dunbar, UAB He continues to play well, but someone had to drop back a little bit to the 15th spot. Against Houston, Dunbar finished with 17 tackles and a fumble recovery. In only 5 games, Dunbar has racked up 66 tackles and would lead the nation in tackles per game if he been able to play in all 7 games. Whether the scouts create a buzz about him or not prior to the draft, I think he could end up being a diamond in the rough. Watchlist: -RB Steve Slaton, West Virginia -SS Kenny Phillips, Miami -RB Louis Rankin, Washington -RB Marlon Lucky, Nebraska -WR Earl Bennett, Vanderbilt -WR Mario Urrutia, Louisville -RB Kalvin McRae, Ohio -TE Shawn Nelson, Southern Miss -FS Derek Pegues, Mississippi State -CB Brandon Sumral, Southern Miss -LB Robert James, Arizona State -DE Chris Long, Virginia -WR Jabari Arthur, Akron -RB Yvenson Bernard, Oregon State -LB Tavares Gooden, Miami -RB Calvin Dawson, ULM -CB Dwight Lowery, San Jose State -WR Early Doucet, LSU -WR James Hardy, Indiana -CB Tracy Porter, Indiana -RB Johnathon Stewart, Oregon -DE Jonal Saint-Dic, Michigan State -LB Shawn Crable, Michigan October 23, 2007 |
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Be Careful What You Wish For
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Jumpology: My Bracket Jumpology: Scouting The Heavyweights Jumpology: Reviewing The Bracket
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