Dustin James' NFL Draft Guide: 10th Edition

t'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

10th Edition

NFL Combine Winners & Losers (so far):

The NFL Scouting Combine is currently going on as we speak. For those of you unfamiliar with the scouting combine, it's the ultimate "pins and needles" test for NFL scouts to poke and prod upcoming NFL players to see who has "it" and who doesn't. It's a controversial scouting tool for sure. You have some people who absolutely hate it and don't think it shows you a whole lot (why do we care how fast offensive lineman and quarterback's run the 40-yard dash?) and you have some people who understand how important it really is (if you are a scout, you need to uncover EVERYTHING about a certain player you like). Either way, here are the movers and shakers following the scouting combine this weekend (so far). Some player's stocks were helped tremendously with a fantastic combine performance, while some player's cost themselves some serious cash. This article will be packed with more combine stuff next week once it's actually over, but until then...
'

Combine Winners:

OG - Ali Marpet (Hobart)

OL - La'El Collins (LSU)

QB - Jameis Winston (Florida State)

QB - Marcus Mariota (Oregon)

QB - Bryce Petty (Baylor)

WR - Kevin White (West Virginia)

WR - DeVante Parker (Louisville)

WR - Amari Cooper (Alabama)

WR - Phillip Dorsett (Miami)

DE/LB - Vic Beasley (Clemson)

DE/LB - Bud Dupree (Kentucky)

DE/LB - Eli Harold (Virginia)

DT - Leonard Williams (USC)

Combine Losers: 

OT - Brandon Scherff (Iowa)

WR - Sammie Coates (Auburn)

WR - Ty Montgomery (Stanford)

QB - Shane Carden (East Carolina)

Tight Ends

OT - Ereck Flowers (Miami)

WR - Devin Funchess (Michigan)

QB - Brett Hundley (UCLA)

DE/LB - Randy Gregory (Nebraska)

DE/LB - Shane Ray (Missouri)

Check back next week for more NFL Combine coverage when everything is finally wrapped up!

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 BleacherReport.com:


(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 Buccaneers: Marcus Mariota - QB (Oregon)

2. Tennessee Titans: Jameis Winston - QB (Florida State)

3. Jacksonville Jaguars: Brandon Scherff - OT (Iowa)

4. Oakland Raiders: Amari Cooper - WR (Alabama)

5. Washington Redskins: Leonard Williams - DT (USC)

6. New York Jets: Randy Gregory - DE (Nebraska)

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

8. Atlanta Falcons: Vic Beasley - DE (Clemson)

9. New York Giants: Shane Ray - DE (Missouri)

10. St. Louis Rams: Trae Waynes - CB (Michigan State)

11. Minnesota Vikings: Andrus Peat - OT (Stanford)

12. Cleveland Browns: Kevin White - WR (West Virginia)

13. New Orleans Saints: Bud Dupree - DE (Kentucky)

14. Miami Dolphins: Shaq Thompson - LB (Washington)

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

16. Houston Texans: La'El Collins - OT (LSU)

17. San Diego Chargers: Danny Shelton - DT (Washington)

18. Kansas City Chiefs: Jaelen Strong - WR (Arizona State)

19. Cleveland Browns: Eddie Goldman - DT (Florida State)

20. Philadelphia Eagles: Dante Fowler - OLB (Florida)

21. Cincinnati Bengals: Marcus Peters - CB (Washington)

22. Pittsburgh Steelers: Malcolm Brown - DT (Texas)

23. Detroit Lions: P.J. Williams - CB (Florida State)

24. Arizona Cardinals: Nate Orchard - DE (Utah)

25. Carolina Panthers: T.J. Clemmings - OT (Pittsburgh)

26. Baltimore Ravens: Melvin Gordon - RB (Wisconsin)

27. Dallas Cowboys: Danielle Hunter - DE (LSU)

28. Denver Broncos: Maxx Williams - TE (Minnesota)

29. Indianapolis Colts: Bernardrick McKinney - LB (Mississippi State)

30. Green Bay Packers: Michael Bennett - DT (Ohio State)

31. Seattle Seahawks: Devin Funchess - WR (Michigan)

32. New England Patriots: Dorial Green-Beckham - WR (Oklahoma)

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:

Kevin White (WR, West Virginia)

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 215 pounds

Strenghts: Has a tall slender frame that is ideal for NFL wide receivers. Has large hands. Is extremely athletic with a high leaping ability. Very good footwork. Extremely good at getting yards-after-catch. Will use his size to break tackles and move the chains. 

Weaknesses: Doesn't show that he has the elite suddenness to make defenders miss tackles. Needs to work on dropped passes. Not a very good blocker.  

Pro Comparision: Julio Jones

Brief Synopsis: I'm a big fan of Kevin White's. I've come to the realization that my favorite player in the draft (Amari Cooper) isn't going to land with my favorite team, even though they need him. If that's the case, sign me up for some of Kevin White. There is a debate currently going on between NFL scouts about who the best wide receiver in the draft is. Some of the draft nerds insist that Cooper is more pro-ready than White at this moment and they would take Cooper and not feel bad at all about it. Then, you have the other guys who insist that White is more ready to play in the pro's right now and his ceiling is higher than Cooper's. I'm personally right there on the fence. I think both of these guys are going to be tremendous professional football players (as well as DeVante Parker of Louisville) and I would happily accept either one of them on the roster of my favorite football team. Unfortunately, they will probably both be gone by the time the Kansas City Chiefs are on the board with the 18th pick. Either way you slice it, someone is getting themselves an elite NFL wide receiver when they add White to their NFL roster in April.

-A lot of people thought TE Julius Thomas' return to Denver was pretty much a foregone conclusion. Well, in the words of my good buddy Lee Corso....not so fast my friend! With the Broncos ready to slap the franchise tag on wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, that could leave Julius Thomas as the odd man out looking for a new team in free agency. Thomas is going to come with a high price tag that comes with the success he's had on-the-field these last few seasons and there is going to be an NFL team out there willing to give him big money. Denver is probably not going to be that team due to salary cap reasons. I've made it abundantly clear that I think Julius Thomas is the ultimate "boom-or-bust" guy in free agency this year. A team is going to have to be careful giving this guy big-time money because to me, he seems like the kind of player that is elevated by the talent around him. I could honestly see Thomas getting huge money from a team like Oakland and going there and flaming out because he doesn't have Peyton Manning throwing him the ball anymore. This happens all the time in the NFL. Just ask Eric Decker and the Jets.


-Reports came out this weekend that the Seattle Seahawks and RB Marshawn Lynch had agreed to terms on a new contract. Those reports were revealed to be false. As a matter of fact, no one really knows what Lynch's plans are going forward. While many NFL insiders feel that Lynch's return to the Seahawks is a foregone conclusion, ProFootballTalk is reporting that retirement is still an option for the running back. Personally, I fully expect Lynch to be in Seahawks blue next season. The team loves him. He loves the team (I think....). And if he's going to play, I can't see him leaving the team he won a ring with to go somewhere new to try and fit in. Doesn't seem to fit Lynch's personality if you ask me.  


-It looks more and more likely that the San Francisco 49ers will let Michael Crabtree walk in free agency and will look to replace him in the draft. Crabtree has been somewhat disappointing in the NFL since the 49ers took him in the first-round of the NFL Draft in 2009 (his only really good season was in 2012) and the team will not get into any bidding wars to keep his services. This draft is considered a "loaded" draft at the wide receiver position and the 49ers are in prime position to take a game-changing receiver with the 15th pick in the draft, whether that be Kevin White, DeVante Parker, Jaelen Strong, Dorial Green-Beckham, or another player remains to be seen.


-Speaking of the San Francisco 49ers, the team is reportedly interested in signing San Diego Chargers free agent running back Ryan Mathews if they lose Frank Gore in free agency. Mathews could likely come at a decent price for the Niners as the running back market hasn't exactly been great the last few seasons. With a new look in the coaching department, the 49ers are also apparently interested in a new look on the offensive side of the ball as well. That's not exactly a bad thing though.....