1. – Blaine Gabbert (QB Missouri) – Blaine comes from the hated spread offense that so many good QB’s come from.
It’s also an offense that is used by a lot of NFL teams including the New England Patriots.
There is more of a variation to it at the NFL level, but it is used.
Halfway through this year, I saw a significant improvement in Blaine’s leadership skills, which is why I was one of the first to suggest that he was coming out early.
Add those improvements to his talent and you have a potential franchise QB.
2 – Jake Locker (QB Washington) – Jake made a mistake last year.
It is the same mistake that Andrew Luck has made this year.
Jake decided to stay in school.
This angers the scouts and media big time and they have made Jake pay for it.
I predict that they will make Andrew Luck pay for it next year too.
They tried to make Sam Bradford pay for it the year before, but Sam overcame it by getting hurt and letting his junior year film stand for him.
There is nothing wrong with Jake’s accuracy.
He is coachable and this year showed leadership skills beyond any QB has in this draft.
Jake will not be the top QB picked in this draft, but he will be one of the best.
3 – Cameron Jordan (DL California) - Cameron is one of the most versatile defensive linemen in this draft.
He uses mature techniques and will be an impact player in any style of defensive front you want to use.
Cameron never stops working on the field.
I suggest you read my profile to find out why I call him Cameron (Stun Gun) Jordan.
He has talent similar to Bruce Smith (Hall Of Fame player, Buffalo Bills).
4 – Marcell Dareus (DL Alabama) – Marcell is a bit of a gamble.
He is not a one-year wonder, but he is young and still has more to learn.
He has Ndamukong Suh-like talent; however, he is not yet mature in his techniques, nor is he in the football shape that Suh was in when he was drafted.
But make no mistake about it…the potential is there.
The work ethic, the maturity must follow and he must get into better football shape.
Marcell can bury an offensive line, which is why I call him The Caretaker.
5 – Patrick Peterson (CB/S LSU) – In my opinion, Patrick is more than just a cornerback for the next level.
I believe that if a team in the top five selects him, they will think about using him all over the field and not just at cornerback.
If he falls out of the top five, that leads me to believe most teams feel he is just a cornerback.
To me, that type of thinking for a player with Patrick’s talent is a waste.
Patrick has Sean Taylor S / Darrelle Revis CB type talent…it’s just that simple.
6 – Dontay Moch (OLB Nevada) – I know this is a surprise and most of you who are not members think this is nuts.
You are saying to yourself…what about Von Miller?!
On film, Von Miller is a very athletic one-trick pony who is more athletic than anyone on the field.
By contrast, on film, Dontay Moch has shown coverage skills and pass rushing skills.
He never stops playing until he hears the whistle and is an excellent tackler.
Dontay will not sniff the first round, but down the road, he will be an impact player.
Von Miller…well, all I can say is go to my profile for more information on him.
7 – Nate Solder (LT Colorado) – Nate is smart and has not reached his potential.
He has the same kind of talent as Jake Long (LT Miami Dolphins) and the Dolphins seem very happy with Jake at the Left tackle position.
Nate improved this year from game to game and has the athletic talent and football intelligence to continue to improve.
To answer your question, no, I do not rate Tyron Smith from USC over both proven Left Tackles in this draft.
His workouts do not change the fact that Tyron is 20 years old and, in spite of his workout numbers, has never played the left side in his entire career.
8 – Anthony Castonzo (LT Boston College) – I have never seen two proven left tackles — ones who have played against big time competition — be rated so low in a draft.
Add to that a 20-year old workout warrior right tackle to the mix (one that everyone seems to feel is worthy of being selected in the top ten) and it makes sense to me why there seem to be so many “busts” in the first round.
Nitpick all you want at these two left tackles, but the teams that draft them will be getting proven, mature talent.
9 – Danny Watkins (OL Baylor) – I broke the profile on Danny Watkins first.
Before I profiled him in November of 2010, no one was talking about him at all.
I profiled him not knowing how old he was or that he had only played football for a short time.
I just profiled him from his work on the field.
He has remarkable talent to play more than one position on your offensive line.
The media has tried very hard to downgrade this kid, but the film tells you this kid is way too talented to let him slide in this draft.
10 – Philip Taylor (DT Baylor) – Remember:
talent trumps character every time in a draft.
Until someone can tell me what character issues that Phil was involved in, I have to believe it is no worse than any other player in this draft.
To my knowledge, he did not get suspended for a year by the NCAA.
To my knowledge, he has not had a problem at Baylor.
What I see is a dominating defensive tackle that will make your defense better the day after you draft him.
Suggesting he has character issues, but not telling us what they are, is a joke to me.
We know what issues Cam Newton has and we all knew what off-field issues PacMan Jones had; however, the reason(s) or details of Philip Taylor’s character issues we are not allowed to know about.
My understanding is that he was dismissed from Penn St for fighting and accepted one year probation.
Cam Newton QB Auburn
Stephen Paea DL Oregon St.
Adrian Clayborn DE Iowa
Sam Acho DE/LB Texas
Julio Jones WR Alabama or A J Green WR Georgia
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