Dustin James' NFL Draft Guide: 7th Edition

It's officially draft season here at the Ultimate Football Blog and here is all the information you need to keep you up-to-date on all the latest happenings in the NFL.......

The Ultimate Football Blog: 

NFL Draft Guide

7th Edition

Final List Of Underclassmen Who Have Declared For The Draft:

-Nelson Agholor: WR (USC)
-Jay Ayaji: RB (Boise State)
-Kwon Alexander: LB (LSU)
-Javorius Allen: RB (USC)
-Arik Armstead: DE (Oregon)

-Delon Barnes: DE (Penn State)
-Malcolm Brown: DT (Texas)
-Alex Carter: CB (Stanford)
-Sammie Coates: WR (Auburn)
-Tevin Coleman: RB (Indiana)
-Jalen Collins: CB (LSU)
-Landon Collins: S (Alabama)
-Amari Cooper: WR (Alabama)
-Xavier Cooper: DE (Washington State)
-Christian Covington: DT (Rice)
-Ronald Darby: CB (Florida State)
-Mike Davis: RB (South Carolina)
-Stefon Diggs: WR (Maryland)
-Lorenzo Doss: CB (Tulane)
-Lemar Durant: WR (Simon Fraser)
-Mario Edwards Jr.: DE (Florida State)
-Durrell Eskridge: FS (Syracuse)
-George Farmer: WR (USC)
-Ereck Flowers: OT (Miami)
-Dante Fowler: DE (Florida)
-Devin Funchess: WR/TE (Michigan)
-Jacoby Glenn: CB (Central Florida)
-Eddie Goldman: DT (Florida State)
-Melvin Gordon: RB (Wisconsin)
-Dorial Green-Beckham: WR (Oklahoma)
-Deontay Greenberry: WR (Houston)
-Randy Gregory: DE (Nebraska)
-Todd Gurley: RB (Georgia)
-Chris Hackett: S (TCU)
-Eli Harold: DE (Virginia)
-Chris Harper: WR (California)
-Dee Hart: RB (Colorado State)
-Braylon Heard: RB (Kentucky)
-Gerod Holliman: S (Louisville)
-D.J. Humphries: OT (Florida)
-Brett Hundley: QB (UCLA)
-Danielle Hunter: DE (LSU)
-David Irving: DT (Iowa State)
-Jesse James: TE (Penn State)
-Duke Johnson: RB (Miami)
-Matt Jones: RB (Florida)
-Nigel King: WR (Kansas)
-Tyler Kroft: TE (Rutgers)
-Marcus Mariota: QB (Oregon)
-Ellis McCarthy: DT (UCLA)
-Benardrick McKinney: OLB (Mississippi State)
-Patrick Miller: OT (Auburn)
-Tyler Moore: G (Florida)
-Rakeem Nunez-Roches: DT (Southern Mississippi)
-Andrus Peat: OT (Stanford)
-Breshad Perriman: WR (Central Florida)
-Marcus Peters: CB (Washington)
-Jordan Phillips: DT (Oklahoma)
-Darius Philon: DT (Arkansas)
-Bradley Pinion: P (Clemson)
-Jeremiah Poutasi: OT (Utah)
-Shane Ray: DE (Missouri)
-Josh Robinson: RB (Mississippi State)
-Shaq Roland: WR (South Carolina)
-James Sample: S (Louisville)
-Jeff Sifrin: TE (UMass)
-Noah Spence: DE (Ohio State)
-Donovan Smith: OT (Penn State)
-Jaelen Strong: WR (Arizona State)
-Shaq Thompson: LB (Washington)
-Max Valles: LB (Virginia)
-Trae Waynes: CB (Michigan State)
-Leonard Williams: DL (USC)
-Maxx Williams: TE (Minnesota)
-P.J. Williams: CB (Florida State)
-Trey Williams: RB (Texas A&M)
-Jameis Winston: QB (Florida State)
-T.J. Yeldon: RB (Alabama)

Final NFL Draft Order:

This is the final order for the NFL Draft that will be held this Spring)

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

2. Tennessee Titans 

3. Jacksonville Jaguars 

4. Oakland Raiders

5. Washington Redskins

6. New York Jets

7. Chicago Bears

8. Atlanta Falcons

9. New York Giants

10. St. Louis Rams

11. Minnesota Vikings

12. Cleveland Browns

13. New Orleans Saints

14. Miami Dolphins

15. San Francisco 49ers

16. Houston Texans

17. San Diego Chargers

18. Kansas City Chiefs

19. Cleveland Browns (from Buffalo)

20. Philadelphia Eagles

21. Cincinnati Bengals

22. Pittsburgh Steelers

23. Detroit Lions

24. Arizona Cardinals

25. Carolina Panthers

26. Baltimore Ravens

27. Dallas Cowboys

28. Denver Broncos

29. Indianapolis Colts

30. Green Bay Packers

31. New England Patriots

32. Seattle Seahawks

It's Mock Draft Time!

(In this space, you will find a full blown mock draft. For the time being, I will be featuring an expert's mock draft until the end of the football season when mine will be officially released. Contain your excitement.....)

This week's mock draft is brought to you by the fine folks over at Walter Football:


(PLEASE NOTE: This is not MY mock draft. I haven't officially released my mock draft yet and won't until after the scouting combine in February. I know. My mock draft has been more on point than ESPN's own draft guru Mel Kiper, so I know you people are excited for it....but you must wait!)

1. Tampa Bay Bucccaneers: Jameis Winston - QB (Florida State)

2. Tennessee Titans: Marcus Mariota - QB (Oregon)

3. Jacksonville Jaguars: Leonard Williams - DE (USC)

4. Oakland Raiders: Randy Gregory - DE (Nebraska)

5. Washington Redskins: Shane Ray - DE (Missouri)

6. New York Jets: Amari Cooper - WR (Alabama)

7. Chicago Bears: Landon Collins - SS (Alabama)

8. Atlanta Falcons: Dante Fowler - DE (Florida)

9. New York Giants: Ereck Flowers - OT (Miami, FL)

10. St. Louis Rams: Andrus Peat - OT (Stanford)

11. Minnesota Vikings: Brandon Scherff - OT (Iowa)

12. Cleveland Browns: Danny Shelton - DT (Washington)

13. New Orleans Saints: P.J. Williams - CB (Florida State)

14. Miami Dolphins: Kevin White - WR (West Virginia)

15. San Francisco 49ers - Devante Parker - WR (Louisville)

16. Houston Texans: Todd Gurley - RB (Georgia)

17. San Diego Chargers: Melvin Gordon - RB (Wisconsin)

18. Kansas City Chiefs: Erik Kendricks - LB (UCLA)

19. Cleveland Browns: T.J. Clemmings - OT (Pittsburgh)

20. Philadelphia Eagles: Trae Waynes - CB (Michigan State)

21. Cincinnati Bengals: Alvin Dupree - DE (Kentucky)

22. Pittsburgh Steelers: Kevin Johnson - CB (Wake Forest)

23. Detroit Lions: Eddie Goldman - DT (Florida State)

24. Arizona Cardinals: Vic Beasley - DE (Clemson)

25. Carolina Panthers: La'El Collins - OT (LSU)

26. Baltimore Ravens: Ronald Darby - CB (Florida State)

27. Dallas Cowboys: Markus Golden - DE (Missouri)

28. Denver Broncos: Cameron Erving - OT (Florida State)

29. Indianapolis Colts: Eli Harold - DE (Virginia)

30. Green Bay Packers: Jordan Phillips - DT (Oklahoma)

31. New England Patriots: Devin Smith - WR (Ohio State)

32. Seattle Seahawks: Sammie Coates - WR (Auburn)

In the weeks leading up to the NFL Draft, you will see a certain selected prospect a week here (mainly the top recruits in the draft) with my personal scouting report on that prospect. I took professional scouting classes at the Scouting Academy, so this is my way of giving back.....

This week's prospect:

Jameis Winston (QB, Florida State)

Height: 6'4"

Weight: 230 pounds

Strenghts: Has tons of confidence. Has the ability to anticipate route breaks from his receiver. Fantastic arm strength. On-point accuracy, especially on deep throws. Most "pro ready" QB in draft. 

Weaknesses: Very immature. Ball release is a tad slow and needs to be quickened. Questionable decision-making skills. Turnover prone. Needs to work on his pocket presence. 

Pro Comparision: Ben Roethlisberger

Brief Synopsis: Jameis Winston is far and away the most "pro ready" quarterback in this year's NFL Draft. If I was a team that desperately needed a QB who could come in and start right away, Winston is probably the safest bet for that to happen. While Winston is nowhere near a "safe" pick in the form of an Andrew Luck, he has the look and feel of a guy who can play quarterback in the league for sometime. Most of the concerns surrounding Winston are almost all off-the-field problems. Winston is a fine player on the field. He has a few things he needs to work on in order to guarantee long-term success in the NFL (mainly his decision-making skills and his intelligence on-the-field), but like I said, most everyone I've heard talk about Winston is more afraid of how much more immature he will become once he actually gets money and even more fame than he has now. Most of the time, when you get an immature college kid and hand him a bunch of money and fame, things just get worse. Winston is going to need a mentor-type and a team that isn't falling apart internally if he has any hope of making it in the NFL. I think Winston will have a fine NFL career as long as he goes to a team that has a good head coach and a fan base that isn't ready to tear him apart after every mistake he makes, because he's going to make them. Give this kid sometime and you will likely see a franchise QB evolve.

-The 2015 Senior Bowl was this weekend. For many, the Senior Bowl is the last chance for certain guys to impress NFL scouts before the combine and the draft starts in spring. Bleacher Report's Dan Hope was on hand all week and here are some of his notes:

*Oregon State cornerback Steven Nelson had a huge week. The 5'10" 199-pound CB shut people down all-week, namely potential first-round pick Sammie Coates. His size is a detriment to his NFL career, but Nelson likely will get drafted between the 3rd and 5th rounds after impressing scouts this week.

*It's a bad year for team's looking for QB's that don't have a top pick in the draft. All the QB's at the Senior Bowl struggled. Bryce Petty, Sean Mannion, Bryan Bennett, Blake Sims, Shane Carden, and Garrett Grayson all combined for just 39 of 70 passing attempts for 520 yards, 1 TD, and 3 interceptions. Out of all those players though, Grayson was actually named the top practice performer at the QB position and could find himself going somewhere in the fourth of fifth round of the draft. All the other guys find themselves in grave danger of not being drafted. After Mariota, Winston, and UCLA's Brett Hundley (who is far away talent-wise himself from Mariota and Winston), there isnt' a whole lot of talent in the QB class to get excited about this year.


-There was a ton of talk this week surrounding rumors that the Philadelphia Eagles were looking to potentially trade-up and draft quarterback Marcus Mariota. I can guarantee you that we will constantly hear about these rumors all up until the actual draft starts in April. It only makes sense. The Eagles are a team that is looking for a QB (Nick Foles isn't a franchise QB and if you think he his, stop trying to evaluate QB's). If Chip Kelly (who is a GREAT football talent evaluator by the way....) thinks Marcus Mariota is the perfect guy to run his system in the NFL and that Mariota will be able to do it, why wouldn't Kelly trade multiple draft picks to get him? You know how many current NFL head coaches would DIE to get their perfect ideal QB on their hands? All of them. Every single last one of them. Coaches are constantly fired in the NFL because of bad QB play (Marc Trestman anyone?), so if Chip thinks he found his savior in Philly....there shouldn't be any price that's too expensive. Some people would disagree, but they would also be wrong. There's no price that's too high to pay for a franchise guy.