With the NFL draft just over one month away, it's time to touch on a few draft rumors, and inform you of notable on-campus pro day performances.
Durst's 2015 NFL Big Board (updated )
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
QB | Jameis Winston | Garrett Grayson | Cody Fajardo | ||||
Marcus Mariota | Brett Hundley | Bryce Petty | Shane Carden | Brandon Bridge | |||
Sean Mannion | |||||||
RB | Tevin Coleman | Ameer Abdullah | Javorius Allen | David Johnson | Malcolm Brown | Thomas Rawls | |
Jay Ajayi | Jeremy Langford | Matt Jones |
Yyler Varga |
Cameron Artis-Payne | Terrence Magee | ||
Todd Gurley | Duke Johnson | David Cobb | Akeem Hunt | Jalston Fowler | Michael Dyer | ||
Melvin Gordon | TJ Yeldon | Karlos Williams | Mike Davis | Josh Robinson | Kenny Hilliard | Trey Williams | |
WR | Kevin White | Sammy Coats | Phillip Dorsett | Justin Hardy | Austin Hill | Kasen Williams | Mitch Matthews |
Amari Cooper | Devin Smith | Rashad Green | Devante Davis | Dres Anderson | DeVaris Daniels | Jarrod West | |
DeVante Parker | Nelson Agholor | Deontay Greenberry |
Stephon Diggs |
DeAndre Smelter | Josh Harper | Mario Alford | |
Dorial Green-Beckham | Breshad Perriman | Tre McBride | Tony Lippett | Chris Conley | Chris Harper | Malcolm Kennedy | |
Jaelen Strong | Antwan Goodley | Kenny Bell | Dezmin Lewis | Rannell Hall | Deon Long | ||
Devin Funchess | Tyler Lockett | Ty Montgomery | Jamison Crowder | Vince Mayle | Nigel King | Kyle Prater | |
TE | Maxx Williams | Tyler Kroft | EJ Bibbs | Ben Koyack | Cameron Clear | Dillon Gordan | |
Clive Walford Jesse James |
Jeff Heuerman Nick Boyle |
Darren Waller |
Rory Anderson Nick O'Leary |
Wes Saxton Blake Bell |
AJ Derby |
||
OT | DJ Humphries | Cedric Ogbuehi | Tyrus Thompson | Chaz Green | Jamon Brown | Mickey Baucus | Austin Shepherd |
Andrus Peat | Donovan Smith | Darryl Williams | Sean Hickey | Malcolm Bunche | Terry Poole | ||
Ereck Flowers | Ty Sambralio | Eric Lefeld | Trent Brown | Quinterrius Eatmon | |||
TJ Clemmings Jake Fisher |
Corey Robinson
|
Rob Havenstein | Blaine Clausell | Michael Yeck | Simon Goines |
||
OG | Brandon Scherff | AJ Cann | Tre' Jackson | Quinton Spain | Shaquille Mason | Landon Turner | Aundrey Walker |
La'el Collins | Jamil Douglas | Ali Marpet | Torrian Wilson |
Jon Feliciano | Alex Barr |
||
Laken Tomlinson Arie Kouandjio |
Jeremiah Poutasi Josue Matias |
Kaleb Johnson John Miller |
Jarvis Harrison Cody Whitehair |
Adam Shead Connor Hanratty |
Willie Beavers | ||
OC |
|
Cam Erving Hroniss Grasu |
Andrew Gallik
|
Reese Dismukes Max Garcia |
Brandon Vitabile Shane McDermott |
BJ Finney Dillion Day |
DE |
Leonard Williams | Danielle Hunter | Za'Darius Smith | Marcus Hardison | Deion Barnes | Ray Drew | |
DE |
Dante Fowler | Owamagbe Odighizuwa | Henry Anderson | Cedric Reed | Hau'oli Kikaha | Anthony Chickillo | |
DE |
Shane Ray Arik Armstead |
Mario Edwards Trey Flowers |
Lyndon Trail | Marcus Golden | Geneo Grissom | Ryan Muller | |
DE |
Preston Smith |
Nate Orchard |
Corey Crawford |
Ryan Russell |
Martin Ifedi Frank Clark |
Marcus Rush |
|
DT | Eddie Goldman | Carl Davis | Darius Philon | Tyeler Davidson | JT Surratt | James Castleman | Joey Mbu |
Danny Shelton Malcom Brown |
Michael Bennett Grady Jarrett |
Xavier Cooper Kaleb Eulls |
Terry Williams |
Ellis McCarthy Christian Covington |
Benjamin Bennett Bradon Ivory |
Derrick Lott Matt Hoch |
|
Jordan Phillips |
|
David Parry | Louis Trinca-Pasat | Travis Raciti | Chucky Hunter | Travis Raciti | |
ILB | Stephone Anthony | Hayes Pullard | Ramik Wilson | Henry Coley | Jake Ryan | AJ Johnson | |
Benardrick McKinney | Eric Kendricks | Jeff Luc | Taiwan Jones | Mike Hull | Steve Edmond | Ben Henley | |
Denzel Perryman | Amarlo Herrera | Trey DePriest | Bryce Hager | Curtis Grant | AJ Tarpley | ||
OLB |
Vic Beasley |
Eli Harold |
Max Valles |
Martrell Spaight | Damien Wilson | Zac Hodges | JR Tavai |
Randy Gregory | Lorenzo Mauldin | Paul Dawson | Tony Washington | Norkeithus Otis | Jordan Hicks | CJ Johnson | |
Alvin Dupree |
Kwon Alexander |
Xzavier Dickson |
Terrance Plummer | JR Tavai | James Vaughters | ||
CB | Trae Waynes | Kevin Johnson | Quinten Rollins | Senquez Golson | Quandre Diggs | Justin Coleman | Kevin Peterson |
Marcus Peters |
Alex Carter | Jacoby Glenn | Deshazor Everett | D'Joun Smith | Tevin Mitchel | Tim Scott (S?) | |
Ron Darby | John Shaw | Steven Nelson | Julian Wilson | Charles Gaines | Damien Swann | Troy Hill | |
Jalen Collins PJ Williams |
Doran Grant Byron Jones |
Kevin White Ifo Ekpre-Olomu |
Ladarius Gunter Lorenzo Doss |
Nick Marshall Anthony Jefferson |
JaCorey Shepherd |
Jonathan McKnight | |
S | Eric Rowe |
Durrell Eskridge |
Adrian Amos Derron Smith |
Kurits Drummond |
Sam Carter |
Jordan Richards |
|
Landon Collins | Ibraheim Campbell | Gerod Holliman | Chris Hackett | Anthony Harris | Jermaine Whitehead | ||
Shaq Thompson | Damarious Randall | Cody Prewitt |
Jaquiski Tartt James Sample |
Clayton Geathers | Erick Dargan | Ronald Martin |
Top Pro Day Risers:
1. Marcus Rush, DE, Michigan State:
Michigan State DE Marcus Rush "turned in an eye-popping workout" at the school's pro day, according to TFY Draft Insider's Tony Pauline.
At 249 pounds, Rush completed 24 reps on the bench, touched 34 inches in the vertical jump and 9-9 in the broad, then timed 4.68 in the 40, which included a quick 1.59 10-yard split. His 3-cone time was 6.73.
Rush actually started over Shilique Calhoun back in 2012., and was a four-year starting defensive end for Michigan State.
Rarely mentioned, Rush is a potential late-round pick and projects as a designated pass-rusher/special teams player at the next level.
2. Martin Ifedi, DE, Memphis:
Ifedi had a good career at Memphis, but has not received much "buzz" as the NFL draft approaches.
At his pro day, Ifedi completed 18 reps on the bench, and reportedly looked good in position drills.
A knee injury caused Ifedi to miss the first four games of 2014, and the injury seemed to affect his after an impressive 11.5 sack 2013 season. (had only 2.5 sacks in 2014, after 7.5 and 11.5 the previous two seasons).
NFL.com's draft profile describes Ifedi as a "worker-bee, slow-twitched, one speed pass-rusher"
3. Adrian Amos, CB/S, Penn State: (another on my "After the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine, is anyone else still underrated?")
Amos improved his 40 time from an "official" 4.56 at last month's NFL Combine, to a 4.39 at his on-campus pro day.
I recently called Amos one of my most underrated prospects a few weeks ago:
"One of my favorite prospects entering the season, he had little impact in the PSU games I watched. At 6'0/218 with good arm length, Amos' frame suggests "in-the-box" safety, but he is very skilled in coverage, and preferred the CB position while in college. Amos started 12 games at corner as a sophomore, but was moved, and started at safety for the first six games of 2013 before moving back to CB. Finally, new HC James Franklin moved him permanently to safety for his senior season. He ended his career with 38 starts."
Amos played in the Senior Bowl, but there was little buzz about him from the media.
He did well at the NFL combine, just not good enough for the media to notice where his 35.5" vertical, a 10'2" broad jump, and 4.03 in the 20-yard shuttle were all second among safety prospects.
He did not do the bench at the combine, but at his pro day, he did a very respectable 21 reps.
Amos projects best as a "coverage safety" that would allow a team to play a "big nickel" defense, which is playing a 218 pound safety as the fifth DB instead of a 185 pound corner.
4. Ibraheim Campbell, Safety, Northwestern: (another on my "After the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine, is anyone else still underrated?")
A Senior Bowl participant, but unable to fully participate at the NFL Combine. Campbell had the second most (23) reps on the bench press (for all th DBs), but did not run or jump.
At his pro day, Campbell timed as fast as 4.47 in the 40, 6.81 in the 3-cone, and 4.03 in the short shuttle. He also jumped 33 inches in his vertical and 9 foot 10 inches in the broad-jump. He reportedly looked very good in drills.
Campbell was a four-year starter (45 career starts). Lead team in tackles as a redshirt freshman. Finished with 316 career tackles.
Campbell was the third ranked safety in Mel Kiper's latest positional rankings, and is starting to get noticed by others.
5. Damarious Randall, CB/S, Arizona State:
Randall is a 5'11/196 pound free safety that has started the past two seasons after transferring from junior college.
While, I have called Randall "the flavor of the month", I acknowledge that most analysts are "buying-in".
CBSsports currently ranks Randall as it's #2 free safety prospect. Draftinsider.net's Tony Pauline seems to agree, stating "there is a feeling...Randall will not get out of the second round"
NFL.com does a good job on their profiles, and they did a good job pointing out both the positive and negatives stating he is undersized for safety but his coverage skills need work (as a corner).
While I see Randall as a "tweener", he brings value as a nickel-back with my comp for him being the 49ers Jimmy Ward, who was picked 30th overall last season.
6. Deion Barnes, DE, Penn State:
An early entrant, who since he graduated in December, was able to participate in the Senior Bowl, but then was a combine "snub", Barnes has build-up him body, weighing 257 at his pro day, then reportedly impressed during drills (I was not able to find a 40 time).
While the former first-team Freshman All-American (and Big-10 Freshman of the Year) never really progressed during his final two seasons at Penn State, he certainly has many of the tools teams are looking for.
At 6'4/257, Barnes has the frame of an edge-rusher, and displayed good strength - his 31 bench-press reps were only one less than the NFL Combine best of 32 for DEs.
According to one ESPN article, the NFL Draft Advisory Board told Barnes he'd like be a fifth-round pick (although my understanding is the board usually gives only a "likely first round", "likely second round", or "go back to school" grade.
I believe he could sneak-up into the fourth round.
Top Pro Day Sliders:
1. Shane Ray, DE/OLB, Missouri:
Unable to participate in the NFL Combine, due to a lingering foot injury (combine doctors told him he could not work-out) and ineligible to play in the Senior Bowl, make his pro day one of the most important.
Those in attendance said he looked "tight-hipped" and expectations of his speed made his actual numbers (4.64 is the number most frequently reported, but others had him around 4.55 in the 40), while good, somewhat disappointing. Ray also recorded a 4.52 short shuttle, 7.70 3-cone, and jumped 33 inches in the vertical and 10 foot even on the broad-jump time at Missouri's pro day.
I have been a big Ray fan all season, and a somewhat disappointing NFL combine won't change that, but it appears increasingly unlikely he will be the first edge-rusher taken.
In fact, he may have fallen to fifth behind Beasley, Fowler, Gregory, and Dupree. That could keep him out of the top-20, and make worth talking about when the Panthers pick at #25.
On last weeks "Path to the Draft" both Mike Mayock and Daniel Jeremiah seemed to agree that while Rays' pro day was "far from a disaster", it was "just not what those other guys in this class put-up at the NFL Combine".
Mayock then points out that "the game tape on Ray is more impressive".
Of coarse, Ray led the SEC in sacks last season with 14.5, but as other Missouri Tiger pass-rushers have proven, that does not always translate to the NFL. Most feel Ray is better going forward than in reverse (better rushing the passer, than dropping in coverage), and is a little thin-legged to "set the edge" in run-support.
For Carolina, he would be a sub-package player as a designated pass-rusher, at least as a rookie, but could still be the best player available when the Panthers come to the podium.
2. Mario Edwards, DE, Florida State:
I decided to switch Edwards with Mississippi States Preston Smith in my DE rankings.
Listening to the draft whispers, more analysts are getting on the Preston Smith bandwagon, and with good reason, he has a prototypical 4-3 DE frame and was very productive last season. However, last season was his only truely remarkable year, and I still feel he is more of a post top-50 prospect.
Meanwhile, I still feel that Edwards was miscast as a 3-4 DE that frequently played as a stand-up, pseudo-outside linebacker position, when his frame would indicate a better fit as a 3-tech DT.
While Edwards current weight is around 278, he frequently was over 300 in college, and at 6'3 does not bring great length as an edge rusher.
There is a lot of mediocore film of Edwards, including against Oregon's Jake Fisher, Florida's DJ Humphries, and Miami's Ereck Flowers.
I still think if he were better utilized in the NFL, he could have a pro career that is better than what his college resume would predict.
3. Stanford Football
For such a respected university, both academically and athletically, the NFL never seems to appreciate Stanford football. Sure, Andrew Luck was the number one pick and David Shaw's name frequently comes up as a potential NFL head coach, but from Chase Thomas and Shaye Skov going undrafted to Richard Sherman going in the fifth round, especially Stanford defenders seem to go unappreciated.
Going into the 2014, I though things could change, and had Alex Carter as a fringe first-rounder, but I had to dig deep to find the pro day results for him and the other Cardinal defenders.
At 6'0 and 200 pounds, Carter ran his 40 in 4.41 seconds.
Jordan Richards was 5'11/213 and improved to around 4.5 from 4.64 at the combine.
David Parry looks like a future NFL NT and Henry Anderson has a great frame for a 3-4 DE.