Dustin James' NFL Draft Guide: 9th 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

9th Edition

Mike Mayock's Pre-Combine Top 5 Players By Position:

NFL media analyst Mike Mayock is one of the most respected individuals out there when it comes to scouting college players to play in the pros. It's no secret that Mayock tends to be right more than wrong and I don't know what it is, but the guy is just great at his job. Earlier this week, Mayock finally revealed his top 5 NFL draft eligible players by position. By now, most fans know what positions their teams need filled. This list gives you a great idea as to who the top 5 players at each position are in the eyes of one of the best scouts around:

Quarterback:

1, Jameis Winston (Florida State)
2. Marcus Mariota (Oregon)
3. Bryce Petty (Baylor)
4. Brett Hundley (UCLA)
5. Garrett Grayson (Colorado State)

Running Back:

1. Melvin Gordon (Wisconsin)
2. Todd Gurley (Georgia)
3. Ameer Abdullah (Nebraska)
4. Duke Johnson (Miami)
5. Tevin Coleman (Indiana)

Wide Receivers:

1. Kevin White (West Virginia)
2. Amari Cooper (Alabama)
3. DeVante Parker (Louisville)
4. Dorial Green-Beckham (Oklahoma)
5. Devin Funchess (Michigan)

Tight Ends:

1. Maxx Williams (Minnesota)
2. Clive Walford (Miami)
3. Nick O'Leary (Florida State)
4. Tyler Kroft (Rutgers)
5. Ben Koyack (Notre Dame)

Interior Offensive Lineman:

1. Brandon Scherff (Iowa)
2. Cameron Erving (Florida State)
3. Laken Tomlinson (Duke)
4. A.J. Cann (South Carolina)
5. Tre' Jackson (Florida State)

Offensive Tackle:

1. T,J. Clemmings (Pittsburgh)
2. Andrus Peat (Stanford)
3. La'El Collins (LSU)
4. Ereck Flowers (Miami)
5t. Cedric Ogbuehi (Texas A&M)
5t. D.J. Humphries (Florida)

Interior Defensive Lineman:

1. Leonard Williams (USC)
2. Danny Shelton (Washington)
3. Malcolm Brown (Texas)
4. Arik Armstead (Oregon)
5t. Jordan Phillips (Oklahoma)
5t. Eddie Goldman (Florida State)

Edge Rusher:

1. Dante Fowler (Florida)
2. Randy Gregory (Nebraska)
3. Shane Ray (Missouri)
4. Vic Beasley (Clemson)
5. Bud Dupree (Kentucky)

Linebacker:

1. Paul Dawson (TCU)
2. Bernardrick McKinney (Texas A&M)
3. Denzel Perryman (Miami)
4. Eric Kendricks (UCLA)
5. Stephone Anthony (Clemson)

Cornerback:

1. Trae Waynes (Michigan State)
2. Marcus Peters (Washington)
3. Jalen Collins (LSU)
4. P.J. Williams (Florida State)
5. Kevin Johnson (Wake Forest)

Safety:

1. Landon Collins (Alabama)
2. Shaq Thompson (Washington)
3. Derron Smith (Fresno State)
4. Jaquiski Tartt (Samford)
5. Ibraheim Campbell (Northwestern)

NFL Scouting Combine Participants:

The NFL scouting combine is finally here. This week we will finally see NFL draft prospects get together in Indianapolis where they will be poked and prodded with needles as NFL teams try and piece together which prospects are for real, and which ones could potentially be a risk. The following is a list of every prospect who will be at the combine this week (expect this column to be filled with results next week).....

Quarterbacks:

Bryan Bennett (Southeastern Louisiana)
Anthony Boone (Duke)
Brandon Bridge (South Alabama)
Shane Carden (East Carolina)
Cody Fajardo (Nevada)
Garrett Grayson (Colorado State)
Connor Halliday (Washington State)
Brett Hundley (UCLA)
Jerry Lovelocke (Prairie View A&M)
Sean Mannion (Oregon State)
Marcus Mariota (Oregon)
Nick Marshall (Auburn)
Bryce Petty (Baylor)
Blake Sims (Alabama)
Jameis Winston (Florida State)


Running Backs:

Ameer Abdullah (Nebraska)
Jay Ajayi (Boise State)
Javorious Allen (USC)
Cameron Artis-Payne (Auburn)
Dominique Brown (Louisville)
Malcolm Brown (Texas)
Michael Burton (Rutgers)
B.J. Catalon (TCU)
David Cobb (Minnesota)
Tevin Coleman (Indiana)
Justin Crockett (North Dakota State)
Mike Davis (South Carolina)
Michael Dyer (Louisville)
Jahwan Edwards (Ball State)
Jalston Fowler (Alabama)
Melvin Gordon (Wisconsin)
Todd Gurley (Georgia)
Dee Hart (Colorado State)
Braylon Heard (Kentucky)
Kenny Hilliard (LSU)
Joey Iosefa (Hawaii)
David Johnson (Northern Iowa)
Duke Johnson (Miami)
Gus Johnson (Stephen F. Austin)
Matt Jones (Florida)
Jeremy Langford (Michigan State)
Terrence Magee (LSU)
Marcus Murphy (Missouri)
Thomas Rawls (Central Michigan)
Josh Robinson (Mississippi State)
Ross Scheuerman (Lafayette)
Tyler Varga (Yale)
Karlos Williams (Florida State)
Trey Williams (Texas A&M)
T.J. Yeldon (Alabama)
Zach Zenner (South Dakota State)


Wide Receivers:

Nelson Agholor (USC)
Mario Alford (West Virginia)
Dres Anderson (Utah)
Kenny Bell (Nebraska)
Da'Ron Brown (Northern Illinois)
Kaelin Clay (Utah)
Sammie Coates (Auburn)
Chris Conley (Georgia)
Amari Cooper (Alabama)
Jamison Crowder (Duke)
Davaris Daniels (Notre Dame)
Devante Davis (UNLV)
Geremy Davis (UConn)
Titus Davis (Central Michigan)
Stefon Diggs (Maryland)
Phillip Dorsett (Miami)
Antwan Goodley (Baylor)
Dorial Green-Beckham (Oklahoma)
Rashad Greene (Florida State)
Rannell Hall (Central Florida)
Justin Hardy (East Carolina)
Josh Harper (Fresno State)
Christian Jones (Alabama)
Dezmin Lewis (Central Arkansas)
Tony Lippett (Michigan State)
Tyler Lockett (Kansas State)
Deon Long (Maryland)
Donatella Luckett (Harding)
Vince Mayle (Washington State)
Tre McBride (William & Mary)
Ty Montgomery (Stanford)
Keith Mumphery (Michigan State)
J.J. Nelson (UAB)
DeVante Parker (Louisville)
Breshad Perriman (Central Florida)
Ezell Ruffin (San Diego State)
DeAndre Smelter (Georgia Tech)
Devin Smith (Ohio State)
Jaelen Strong (Arizona State)
Darren Waller (Georgia Tech)
DeAndrew White (Alabama)
Kevin White (West Virginia)
Cam Worthy (East Carolina)


Tight Ends:

Rory Anderson (South Carolina)
Blake Bell (Oklahoma)
E.J. Bibbs (Iowa State)
Nick Boyle (Delaware)
Gerald Christian (Louisville)
Cameron Clear (Texas A&M)
A.J. Derby (Arkansas)
Devin Funchess (Michigan)
Jeff Heuerman (Ohio State)
Jesse James (Penn State)
Ben Koyack (Notre Dame)
Tyler Kroft (Rutgers)
Nick O'Leary (Florida State)
MyCole Pruitt (Southern Illinois)
Wes Saxton (South Alabama)
Jean Sifrin (UMass)
Randall Telfer (USC)
Eric Tomlinson (UTEP)
Clive Walford (Miami)
Maxx Williams (Minnesota)


Interior Offensive Lineman:

Al Bond (Memphis)
Trenton Brown (Florida)
A.J. Cann (South Carolina)
Reese Dismukes (Auburn)
Jamil Douglas (Arizona State)
Cameron Erving (Florida State)
Tayo Fabuluje (TCU)
Jon Feliciano (Miami)
B.J. Finney (Kansas State)
Andy Gallick (Boston College)
Max Garcia (Florida)
Mark Glowinski (West Virginia)
Hroniss Grasu (Oregon)
Chad Hamilton (Coastal Carolina)
Jarvis Harrison (Texas A&M)
Bobby Hart (Florida State)
Tre Jackson (Florida State)
Arie Kouandjio (Alabama)
Greg Mancz (Toledo)
Ali Marpet (Hobart & William Smith)
Josue Matias (Florida State)
Darrian Miller (Kentucky)
John Miller (Louisville)
Robert Myers (Tennessee State)
Terry Poole (San Diego State)
Jeremiah Poutasi (Utah)
Adam Shead (Oklahoma)
Donovan Smith (Penn State)
Laken Tomlinson (Duke)


Offensive Tackles:

Brett Boyko (UNLV)
Jamon Brown (Louisville)
T.J. Clemmings (Pittsburgh)
Takoby Cofield (Duke)
La'El Collins (LSU)
Rob Crisp (N.C. State)
Andrew Donnal (Iowa)
Jake Fisher (Oregon)
Ereck Flowers (Miami)
Laurence Gibson (Virginia Tech)
Chaz Green (Florida)
Rob Havenstein (Wisconsin)
Sean Hickey (Syracuse)
D.J. Humphries (Florida)
Mitch Morse (Missouri)
Cedric Ogbuehi (Texas A&M)
Andrus Peat (Stanford)
Corey Robinson (South Carolina)
Ty Sambrailo (Colorado State)
Brandon Scherff (Iowa)
Austin Shepherd (Alabama)
Tyrus Thompson (Oklahoma)
Daryl Williams (Oklahoma)


Interior Defensive Lineman:

Arik Armstead (Oregon)
Michael Bennett (Ohio State)
Angelo Blackson (Auburn)
Malcolm Brown (Texas)
Xavier Cooper (Washington State)
Christian Covington (Rice)
Carl Davis (Iowa)
Tyeler Davison (Florida State)
Mario Edwards (Florida State)
Eddie Goldman (Florida State)
Grady Jarrett (Clemson)
Derrick Lott (Tennessee-Chattanooga)
Joey Mbu (Houston)
Ellis McCarthy (UCLA)
Rakeem Nunez-Roches (Southern Mississippi)
Leon Orr (Florida)
David Parry (Stanford)
Jordan Phillips (Oklahoma)
Darius Philon (Arkansas)
Bobby Richardson (Indiana)
Danny Shelton (Washington)
Deon Simon (Northwestern State)
J.T. Surratt (South Carolina)
Louis Trinca-Pasat (Iowa)
Leterrius Walton (Central Michigan)
Gabe Wright (Auburn)


Edge Rushers:

Kwon Alexander (LSU)
Henry Anderson (Stanford)
Neiron Ball (Florida)
Tavaris Barnes (Clemson)
Vic Beasley (Clemson)
Anthony Chickillo (Miami)
Frank Clark (Michigan)
Corey Crawford (Clemson)
Yannik Virgil-Cudjoe (Maryland)
Aaron Davis (Colorado State)
Ryan Delaire (Towson)
Xzavier Dickson (Alabama)
B.J. Dubose (Louisville)
Bud Dupree (Kentucky)
Kyle Emanuel (North Dakota State)
Trey Flowers (Arkansas)
Dante Fowler (Florida)
Alani Fua (BYU)
Markus Golden (Missouri)
Randy Gregory (Nebraska)
Geneo Grissom (Oklahoma)
Oburn Gwacham (Oregon State)
Marcus Hardison (Arizona State)
Eli Harold (Virginia)
Jordan Hicks (Texas)
Zack Hodges (Harvard)
Mike Hull (Penn State)
Danielle Hunter (LSU)
Martin Ifedi (Memphis)
Hau'oli Kikaha (Washington)
Lorenzo Mauldin (Louisville)
Mark Nzeocha (Wyoming)
Owamagbe Odighizuwa (UCLA)
Nate Orchard (Utah)
Shane Ray (Missouri)
Cedric Reed (Texas)
Edmond Robinson (Newberry)
Ryan Russell (Purdue)
Jake Ryan (Michigan)
Preston Smith (Mississippi State)
Za'Darius Smith (Kentucky)
Martrell Spaight (Arkansas)
J.R. Tavai (USC)
Shaq Thompson (Washington)
Lynden Trail (Norfolk State)
Davis Tull (Tennessee-Chattanooga)
Max Valles (Virginia)
Zack Wagenmann (Montana)
Tony Washington (Oregon)
Leonard Williams (USC)


Linebackers:

Stephone Anthony (Clemson)
Paul Dawson (TCU)
Trey DePriest (Alabama)
Bryce Hager (Baylor)
Ben Heeney (Kansas)
Amarlo Herrera (Georgia)
Taiwan Jones (Michigan State)
Eric Kendricks (UCLA)
Benardrick McKinney (Mississippi State)
Denzel Perryman (Miami)
Hayes Pullard (USC)
Damien Wilson (Minnesota)
Ramik Wilson (Georgia)


Cornerback:

Alex Carter (Stanford)
Donald Celiscar (Western Michigan)
Justin Coleman (Tennessee)
Jalen Collins (LSU)
Ronald Darby (Florida State)
Quandre Diggs (Texas)
Lorenzo Doss (Tulane)
Ifo Ekpre-Olomu (Oregon)
Charles Gaines (Louisville)
Jacoby Glenn (Central Florida)
Senquez Golson (Ole Miss)
Doran Grant (Ohio State)
Ladarius Gunter (Miami)
Troy Hill (Oregon)
Anthony Jefferson (UCLA)
Kevin Johnson (Wake Forest)
Byron Jones (UConn)
Craig Mager (Texas State)
Bobby McCain (Memphis)
Steven Nelson (Oregon State)
Gary Peters (Clemson)
Marcus Peters (Washington)
Quinten Rollins (Miami, OH)
Josh Shaw (USC)
JaCorey Shepherd (Kansas)
D'Joun Smith (Florida Atlantic)
Tye Smith (Towson)
Damian Swann (Georgia)
Trae Waynes (Michigan State)
Kevin White (TCU)
P.J. Williams (Florida State)
Julian Wilson (Oklahoma)


Safety:

Adrian Amos (Penn State)
Detrick Bonner (Virginia Tech)
Ibraheim Campbell (Northwestern)
Landon Collins (Alabama)
Justin Cox (Mississippi State)
Kurtis Drummond (Michigan State)
Durell Eskridge (Syracuse)
Clayton Geathers (Central Florida)
Chris Hackett (TCU)
Anthony Harris (Virginia)
Gerrod Holliman (Louisville)
Kyshoen Jarrett (Virginia Tech)
Dean Marlowe (James Madison)
Tevin McDonald (Eastern Washington)
Cody Prewitt (Ole Miss)
Damarious Randall (Arizona State)
Jordan Richards (Stanford)
Eric Rowe (Utah)
James Sample (Louisville)
Derron Smith (Fresno State)
Jaquiski Tartt (Samford)
Jermaine Whitehead (Auburn)

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 Mel Kiper at ESPN.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: Jameis Winston - QB (Florida State)

2. Tennessee Titans: Leonard Williams - DE (USC)

3. Jacksonville Jaguars: Shane Ray - DE (Missouri)

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

5. Washington Redskins: Randy Gregory - DE (Nebraska)

6. New York Jets: Marcus Mariota - QB (Oregon)

7. Chicago Bears: Danny Shelton - DT (Washington)

8. Atlanta Falcons: Arik Armstead - DE (Oregon)

9. New York Giants: Brandon Scherff - OT (Iowa)

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

11. Minnesota Vikings: Kevin White - WR (West Virginia)

12. Cleveland Browns: DeVante Parker - WR (Louisville)

13. New Orleans Saints: Dante Fowler - DE (Florida)

14. Miami Dolphins: Trae Waynes - CB (Michigan State)

15. San Francisco 49ers - Breshad Perriman - WR (UCF)

16. Houston Texans: Ereck Flowers - OT (Miami)

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

18. Kansas City Chiefs: Devin Smith - WR (Ohio State)

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

20. Philadelphia Eagles: Marcus Peters - CB (Washington)

21. Cincinnati Bengals: Vic Beasley - DE (Clemson)

22. Pittsburgh Steelers: Landon Collins - S (Alabama)

23. Detroit Lions: Malcolm Brown - DT (Texas)

24. Arizona Cardinals: Jalen Collins - CB (LSU)

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

26. Baltimore Ravens: Maxx Williams - TE (Minnesota)

27. Dallas Cowboys: Carl Davis - DT (Iowa)

28. Denver Broncos: Denzel Perryman - LB (Miami)

29. Indianapolis Colts: La'El Collins - OT (LSU)

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

31. Seattle Seahawks: Phillip Dorsett - WR (Miami)

32. New England Patriots: Devin Funchess - WR/TE (Michigan)

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:

Amari Cooper (WR, Alabama)

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 210 pounds

Strenghts: Super athletic fast receiver who can stretch a defense vertically. Very good blocker in the passing game. Has great speed down-field and usually commands more than single coverage. Was asked to become the dominant offensive player for Alabama and did just so. Physical receiver who will fight with defenders for contested balls. Is excellent with the ball in his hands after the catch. Not afraid to make catches in the middle of the field and in traffic. Very hard worker who showed up in big games. 

Weaknesses: Needs to work on sharpening his route running. Tends to put the quarterback in danger by making questionable moves during routes. Not the greatest run blocker. Has a tendency to drop passes (13 dropped passes over two seasons). 

Pro Comparision: Roddy White

Brief Synopsis: Amari Cooper is one of my favorite players in this year's draft. He's the one guy I wish the Chiefs could somehow find a way to land, because he would be the perfect fit in Kansas City. Unfortunately, Cooper is going to be long gone before the Chiefs are on the board, and that makes me sad. Fortunately for another NFL franchise though, they will be picking up a guy who is probably the closest to a sure fire thing at wide receiver that you can get in this draft (although some scouts will argue that West Virginia's Kevin White is more "pro ready" than Cooper). I can say pretty confidently that I'm sure Cooper is going to go on to have a long successful career in the NFL barring some kind of injury. I want this guy on my NFL team.

-The New York Jets announced they won't pick up the option on running back Chris Johnson making him a free agent come March 10. Johnson is best remembered for running for 2,006 yards back in 2009 for the Tennessee Titans, but that was easily the peak of his career. Johnson is nearing the age of 30 and that's usually when NFL running backs get thrown to the wayside. Even though he only ran for 663 yards and 1 TD last year with the Jets, I still expect CJ2K to make an NFL roster next year as I'm sure someone will consider him a capable back-up RB. If he's not good enough to be on the Jets though...I can't say that with 100% certainty. 


-Fans and media in Philadelphia are apparently still arguing over whether or not the Eagles should keep Nick Foles or pursue Marcus Mariota in the NFL draft in April as evident by this article on Philly.com. Everyone knows how I feel about the subject. [Insert smiley face]