Draft Prospects
Bruce Lattimore
how they ranked players, remembered what I saw and read previously about
the players (during the season, combines, workouts, etc), and here is my
rankings:
TOP 15 QUARTERBACKS
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1 Heath Shuler, Tennessee
2 Trent Dilfer, Fresno State
3 Charlie Ward, Florida State
4 Glenn Foley, Boston College
5 Jim Miller, Michigan State
6 Doug Nussmeier, Idaho
7 Gus Frerotte, Tulsa
8 Jay Walker, Howard
9 Jay Fielder, Dartmouth
10 Perry Klein, CW Post
11 Marvin Graves, Syracuse
12 Steve Matthews, Memphis State
13 Jeff Brohm, Louisville
14 Stan White, Auburn
15 Jake Kelchner, West Virginia
Others
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Jim Ballard, Mt. Union (Ohio)
Paul Burmeister, Iowa
Robert Cobb, Northeast Louisiana
Clint Dolezel, East Texas State
Matt Eyde, Iowa
Bryan Fortay, Rutgers
Jeff Garcia, San Jose State
Todd Jordan, Mississippi State
Jake Kelchner, West Virgina
Jimmy Klingler, Houston
Jamie Pass, Mankato State
Bret Powers, Ohio State
Analysis
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Like last year, the QB position is top-heavy. The first two QBs are bonafide
stars in the making. After them, the draft drops off. I have Shuler ranked
ahead of Dilfer (some would reverse this), but both are blue-chippers. The
question with Charlie Ward is whether he should play basketball or football.
It is easy to tell that Ward is a much better football player (take a look
at his jumper once), but basketball isn't as violent. Ward scrambles like
Randall Cunningham and throws short balls like Warren Moon, but he has trouble
throwing the deep balls (he lofts the ball too much when going deep) and hasn't
proven that he can function outside of the "Chuck and Duck" of "Fast Break
Offense" that FSU has. Foley has a great arm and he is a leader, but he is
short for QB (6'1"). His stock seems to be dropping a little as we head to
draft time.
Stock rising most: Jim Miller, Michigan State and Gus Frerotte, Tulsa
Stock falling most: Doug Nussmeier, Idaho and Jake Kelchner, West Virginia
TOP 25 RUNNING BACKS
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1 Marshall Faulk, San Diego State
2 Greg Hill, Texas A&M
3 Errict Rhett, Florida
4 William Floyd, Florida State
5 LeShon Johnson, Northern Illinois
6 Charlie Garner, Tennessee
7 Calvin Jones, Nebraska
8 James Bostic, Auburn
9 Mario Bates, Arizona State
10 Byron Morris, Texas Tech
11 Chuck Levy, Arizona
12 Lamar Smith, Houston
13 Gary Downs, North Carolina State
14 Sean Jackson, Florida State
15 Lamont Warren, Colorado
16 Butler By'Not'e, Ohio State
17 Raymont Harris, Ohio State
18 Donnell Bennett, Miami (Fla)
19 Jeff Cothran, Ohio State
20 Lindsey Chapman, California
21 Dorsey Levens, Georgia Tech
22 Jamal Anderson, Utah
23 Ricky Powers, Michigan
24 Napolean Kaufman, Washington
25 William Bell, Georgia Tech
Others
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Rodney Blunt, Clemson
Phil Brown, Texas
Beno Bryant, Washington
Darnell Campbell, Boston College
Tony Daigle, Fresno State
Ricky Davis, UCLA
Ralph Dawkins, Louisville
Keith Elias, Princeton
Eric Gant, Grambling
Fred Lester, Alabama A&M
Michael Mann, Indiana (Pa)
Dwight McFadden, USC
Mark Montgomery, Wisconsin
Tony Richardson, Auburn
Ron Rivers, Fresno State
Irving Spikes, NE Louisiana
Robert Strait, Baylor
Deon Strother, USC
Tony Vinson, Towson State
Rodney Woodard, West Virginia
Analysis
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Faulk is the top RB by far. He has really impressed at workouts recently, and
has driven away most questions (much like Garrison Hearst last year). Faulk
has every skill that you look for in a RB, although his blocking needs to
improve. Floyd is the top FB in the draft. He has size, speed, power, and
quickness. He catches well and blocks well. The knock on him is that he
sometimes looks for contact a little too much. Garner and Bates both have
great potential, but both have injury questions, as well. Many teams are
interested in these two. Hill and Rhett are both big school players who
performed (not just potential) while in college. Rhett is a poor man's
Emmitt Smith (he doesn't have the cutting of Smith) who rarely fumbles and
plays well on poor-conditioned fields. Some scouts really love Johnson,
while others aren't so hot. He could go anywhere from #11 to the mid 2nd
round. Morris is a big power back who didn't play very well against good
opponents.
Stock rising most: William Floyd, Florida State and Mario Bates, Arizona State
Stock falling most: Byron Morris, Texas Tech and Errict Rhett, Florida
TOP 25 WIDE RECEIVERS
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1 Darnay Scott, San Diego State
2 Charles Johnson, Colorado
3 Johnnie Morton, USC
4 David Palmer, Alabama
5 Derrick Alexander, Michigan
6 Kevin Lee, Alabama
7 Shelby Hill, Syracuse
8 Ryan Yarborough, Wyoming
9 Isaac Bruce, Memphis State
10 Lake Dawson, Notre Dame
11 Malcolm Seabron, Fresno State
12 Cory Fleming, Tennessee
13 Bert Emanual, Rice
14 Andre Coleman, Kansas State
15 Willie Jackson, Florida
16 Bucky Brooks, North Carolina
17 Chris Penn, Tulsa
18 Thomas Lewis, Indiana
19 Harrison Houston, Florida
20 Kevin Knox, Florida State
21 Terry Smith, Clemson
22 Tydus Winans, Fresno State
23 Lloyd Hill, Texas Tech
24 Troy Dickey, Arizona
25 Omar Douglas, Minnesota
Others
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Aaron Bailey, Louisville
Trumane Bell, Nebraska
Chris Brantley, Rutgers
Corey Dixon, Nebraska
Todd Dixon, Wake Forest
Matt Frier, Florida State
Jay Kearney, West Virginia
TR McDonald, North Dakota State
Terry Mickens, Florida A&M
Darrell Mitchell, Texas Tech
Jermaine Ross, Purdue
Analysis
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Darnay Scott has the best talent of the bunch. He is big and fast, but there
are questions about his hands (he makes spectacular grabs and drops easy ones)
and his heart. He doesn't seem to play hard all the time. There are no
questions about Charles Johnson's heart. He is the hardest working WR of
the bunch and has good talent also. Whoever drafts him will be very happy.
Morton is much like Johnson because he works hard. Palmer is a little
undersized, but is explosive catching the ball, returning, or running on
reverses. Some teams might shy away, after what has happened to Desmond
Howard (a player very similar to Palmer). Lee is a burner who could help
a team stretch a defense (some might like him more than his ex-teammate
Palmer). Emanuel is a former QB at Rice who has looked fantastic at
workouts (he under 4.4), but who knows whether he can make a complete
transition from QB to WR. Dawson has placed some slow times that have
dropped his appeal to scouts (4.7 40), but has good size, strength, and
hands - and he produced at Notre Dame. If Shelby Hill matures, he will be
a fantastic pro. He has the size and hands (plus enough speed) to do well
in the NFL.
Stock rising most: Kevin Lee, Alabama and Bert Emanuel, Rice
Stock falling most: Cory Fleming, Tennessee and Lake Dawson, Notre Dame
TOP 10 TIGHT ENDS
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1 Lonnie Johnson, Florida State
2 Carlester Crumpler, East Carolina
3 Pete Mitchell, Boston College
4 Roderick Lewis, Arizona
5 Harold Bishop, LSU
6 John Burke, Virginia Tech
7 Aaron Mundy, Virginia
8 AJ Ofodile, Missouri
9 Aaron Laing, New Mexico State
10 Dwayne Chandler, Kansas
11 Oscar McBride, Notre Dame
12 Shannon Mitchell, Georgia
13 Greg Schorf, Texas A&M
14 Rickey Brady, Oklahoma
15 Ross Hales, Indiana
Others
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Bradford Banta, USC
Matthew Campbell, South Carolina
Brett Carolan, Washington State
Andrew Jordan, Western Carolina
Analysis
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I thought Pete Mitchell was a senior, but I haven't seen any publications that
have ranked him yet. Mitchell is definitely in the top 3 (if he is a senior).
This is a very poor year for TEs. There are no Jackie Harris, Eric Green,
Derek Brown, Johnny Mitchell- types. Don't expect a TE to be taken in the
first two rounds (if one is, it will Johnson).
Stock rising most: Carlester Crumpler, East Carolina
Stock falling most: Oscar McBride, Notre Dame
TOP 30 OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
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1 Aaron Taylor, Notre Dame
2 Wayne Gandy, Auburn
3 Bernard Williams, Georgia
4 Todd Steussie, California
5 Tre Johnson, Temple
6 Isaac Davis, Arkansas
7 Marcus Spears, NW Louisiana
8 Larry Allen, Sonoma State (Cal)
9 Eric Mahlum, California
10 Corey Louchiey, South Carolina
11 Vaughn Parker, UCLA
12 Jason Matthews, Texas A&M
13 Jason Winrow, Ohio State
14 Pete Pierson, Washington
15 Trent Pollard, Eastern Washington
16 Jed DeVries, Utah State
17 Jim Pyne, Virginia
18 Kevin Mawae, LSU
19 Rich Braham, West Virginia
20 Joe Panos, Wisconsin
21 Anthony Redmon, Auburn
22 Tim Ruddy, Notre Dame
23 Josh Dunning, Washington State
24 Tom Nalen, Boston College
25 Stacey Seegars, Clemson
26 Mark Dixon, Virginia
27 Roosevelt Patterson, Alabama
28 Alan Kline, Ohio State
29 George Hegamin, North Carolina State
30 Gary Brown, Georgia Tech
Others
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Mike Bedosky, Missouri
Greg Engel, Illinois
Curtis Parker, North Carolina
Shawn Hocker, North Carolina
Alai Kalaniuvalu, Oregon State
Lance Lundberg, Nebraska
Toby Mills, Arizona State
Todd Norman, Notre Dame
Craig Novitsky, UCLA
Matt O'Dwyer, Northwestern
Jim Reid, Virginia
Rob Rogers, Minnesota
Tony Semple, Memphis State
Doug Skartvedt, Iowa State
Analysis
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There are three blue-chippers (Taylor, Gandy, Williams) and four who are just
a notch below (Steussie, Johnson, Davis, Spears), but outside of these seven
the OL class is very weak. Look for the top OL to go in the first ~40 picks,
because teams know that once you get past the top seven, there is a big
dropoff.
Stock rising most: Wayne Gandy, Auburn and Tre Johnson, Temple
Stock falling most: Marcus Spears, NW Louisiana and Stacey Seegars, Clemson
TOP 25 DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
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1 Dan Wilkinson, Ohio State
2 Bryant Young, Notre Dame
3 Sam Adams, Texas A&M
4 Willie McGinest, USC
5 Henry Ford, Arkansas
6 Tim Bowens, Mississippi
7 Romeo Bandison, Oregon
8 Brenston Buckner, Clemson
9 Fernando Smith, Jackson State
10 Joe Johnson, Louisville
11 Rob Waldrop, Arizona
12 Lou Benfatti, Penn State
13 Willie Gaines, Florida
14 Shane Bonham, Tennessee
15 Gabe Wilkins, Gardner-Webb (NC)
16 Bruce Walker, UCLA
17 Mike Wells, Iowa
18 Darren Krein, Miami (Fla)
19 Brad Ottis, Wayne State (Neb)
20 Jim Flanigan, Notre Dame
21 Austin Robbins, North Carolina
22 Chris Maumalanga, Kansas
23 Anthony Abrams, Clark (Ga)
24 Eric England, Texas A&M
25 Toddrick McIntosh, Florida State
Others
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Chad Bratzke, Eastern Kentucky
Kevin Carter, Florida
Ervin Collier, Florida A&M
Rusty Medaris, Miami (Fla)
D'Marco Farr, Washington
James Gregory, Alabama
Tyoka Jackson, Penn State
Rick Lyle, Missouri
Kenny Lopez, Miami (Fla)
Marvin Mays, SE Oklahoma
Hurvin McCormack, Indiana
Kevin Mitchell, Syracuse
Jeremy Nunley, Alabama
Kevin Patrick, Miami (Fla)
Lamark Shackleford, Wisconsin
Jason Simmons, Ohio State
Ramondo Stallings, San Diego State
Buster Stanley, Michigan
Analysis
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"Big Daddy" Wilkinson has the chance to be in the Reggie White class. He
has all the tools, plus he plays the run well. But remember, there was
another OSU product who they said the same about (Alonzo Spellman). There
are questions about Adams weight and attitude, so expect him to drop a
little on draft day. Adams was blessed with great talent though, and he
could be another Dana Stubblefield. McGinest is a Chris Doleman type who
is basically a pass-rushing OLB. Ford and Bowens stock has risen the most
heading into the draft. One of these guys could sneak into the first
round, with the other being a high second round pick. Buckner has great
size, and is quick for a big man. Gaines has some injury questions, while
Bandison is an up-and-down player who must "bring it" at all times to be
a top pro. Waldrop may be limited by his size in the pros, but is a
tireless workers who always seems to make plays. He is a Chris Zorich
type.
Stock rising most: Henry Ford, Arkansas and Tim Bowens, Mississippi
Stock falling most: Sam Adams, Texas A&M and Fernando Smith, Jackson State
TOP 25 LINEBACKERS
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1 Trev Alberts, Nebraska
2 John Thierry, Alcorn State
3 Jamir Miller, UCLA
4 Aubrey Beavers, Oklahoma
5 Sam Rogers, Colorado
6 Shante Carver, Arizona State
7 Jason Gildon, Oklahoma State
8 Winfred Tubbs, Texas
9 Kevin Mitchell, Syracuse
10 James Folston, NE Louisiana
11 Allen Aldridge, Houston
12 Rob Frederickson, Michigan State
13 Ronnie Woolfork, Colorado
14 Ernest Jones, Oregon
15 Bernard Carter, East Carolina
16 Steve Shine, Northwestern
17 Marlo Perry, Jackson State
18 Ryan McCoy, Houston
19 Ken Alexander, Florida State
20 Keith Burns, Oklahoma State
21 Bernardo Harris, North Carolina
22 Dewayne Dotson, Mississippi
23 Mitch Davis, Georgia
24 Lemanski Hall, Alabama
25 Horace Morris, Tennessee
Others
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Charles Beauchamp, Indiana
Yusef Burgess, Wisconsin
Tyler Lawrence, North Carolina State
Juan Long, Mississippi State
Andy Mason, Washington
Anthony McClanahan, Washington State
Marty Moore, Kentucky
Shawn Smith, San Diego State
Darrick Wiley, West Virginia
Jermaine Younger, Utah State
Analysis
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Alberts and Thierry are both can't miss prospects who can really rush the
QBs. Miller could be a dominant pro or he might be a bust. It depends
how hard he works. He could be a surprise early pick though because of
his relentless pursuit of the QB. Beavers is a project who could turn
into a heck of a pro player, if a team is willing to give him some time.
Carver doesn't look like much of a player, but has always been able to
sack the QB. Look for him to fall in the draft though, as teams get
scared away from his skinny frame. Woolfork is a former All-America who
got bulky and stopped hustling. If a team can get him back to his soph
and junior days, he could turn out to be great. Otherwise, he might not
make a opening day roster this season.
Stock rising most: Sam Rogers, Colorado and John Thierry, Alcorn State
Stock falling most: Ronnie Wolfork, Colorado and Marlo Perry, Jackson State
TOP 25 DEFENSIVE BACKS
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1 Aaron Glenn, Texas A&M
2 Antonio Langham, Alabama
3 Thomas Randolph, Kansas State
4 Dewayne Washington, North Carolina State
5 Tyrone Drakeford, Virginia Tech
6 Corey Sawyer, Florida State
7 Jeff Burris, Notre Dame
8 Jason Sehorn, USC
9 Toby Wright, Nebraska
10 Anthony Phillips, Texas A&I
11 Van Malone, UCLA
12 Marvin Goodwin, UCLA
13 John Reece, Nebraska
14 Perry Carter, Southern Mississipppi
15 Michael Davis, Cincinnati
16 Eric Zomalt, California
17 Keith Lyle, Virginia
18 Willie Clark, Notre Dame
19 Randy Fuller, Tennessee State
20 Kevin Gaines, Louisville
21 James Burton, Fresno State
22 Shelly Hammonds, Penn State
23 Sean Crocker, North Carolina
24 Jaime Mendez, Kansas State
25 Chico Nelson, Ohio State
Others
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Frank Adams, South Carolina
Myron Bell, Michigan State
Derek Bochna, Penn State
Marvin Coleman, Central State (Ohio)
Johnny Dixon, Mississippi
Rodney Harrison, Western Illinois
Sean Hill, Montana State
Reggie Holt, Wisconsin
Kelvin Knight, Mississippi State
Lenny McGill, Arizona State
Shonte Peoples, Michigan
Brian Randall, Delaware State
Orlando Watters, Arkansas
Paul White, Miami (Fla)
Jimmy Young, Purdue
Analysis
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Many say that Glenn will be better than Kevin Smith (who has turned out to be
a great player) in the pros. Others have compared him to Darrell Green.
Combine this with the fact that Antonio Langham has been running less-than
stellar 40 times recently, and Glenn could be the top DB chosen. Langham
is a great athlete who has great cover skills and always seems to make the
big play (ie 'Bama-Florida, much like George Teague). If he shows scouts
some better 40 times, he could move ahead of Glenn. S Burris is a good
athlete who needs to improve his hands. Drakeford has been running some
blazing 40s lately (unlike his scouting combine times). His stock is rising.
Randolph may be the fastest man in the draft, but has some defiencies. He
is not blessed great size (though many great CBs have been small), and he
could improve his backpedal alot. Randolph did have a great Bowl Game with
Kansas State, but struggled in the East-West game. Sawyer is undersized,
and not a blazer - so he could drop farther people would expect. If he
improves his 40 times, he will move up though. Washington is not as good
of an athlete as Randolph, but he is a better cover guy. These two will
be the third and fourth DBs chosen after Glenn and Langham.
Stock rising most: Dewayne Washington, NC State and Tyrone Drakeford, Virginia Tech
Stock falling most: Corey Sawyer, Florida State and Antonio Langham, Alabama
Bruce