Big Board 2.0 – For your mid-day poop!

I’ve had so many iterations since I last posted my Big Board, that it’s about time I show you the changes. This 2.0 edition has more “Gow”-ness influencing rankings. But again I’m trying to also stay true to NFL evaluator perceptions. There is a ton of smoke-screen rumors as we are now a few weeks into the season of lies. That said, below you will see which rumors I have bought into... and which ones I call bull shit.

In most draft classes I would say that there are about 10-12 guys that are 1^st round values. Conversely, this means that teams are forced to accept prospects that are not as good as their draft position. This year crop is extremely deep. Not including fringe 1^st rounders, I’d give 19 guys true 1^st round value. It’s a hard concept to understand, but just view the talent in the top half of this draft as a 2X improvement over a typical draft class.

1.       DE | Jadeveon Clowney | South Carolina – #1 Overall Talent

2.       OT | Greg Robinson | Auburn – #1 Overall Talent

3.       DT | Aaron Donald | Pittsburgh – Top 5 Talent

4.       OT | Jake Matthews | Texas A&M – Top 5

5.       WR | Sammy Watkins | Clemson – Top 5

6.       WR | Mike Evans | Texas A&M – Top 5

7.       CB | Justin Gilbert | Oklahoma State – Top 10 Talent

8.       OLB | Kahlil Mack | Buffalo – Top 10

9.       WR | Brandin Cooks | Oregon State – 1^st Round Talent

10.   OT | Morgan Moses | Virginia – 1^st Round

11.   TE | Eric Ebron | North Carolina – 1^st Round

12.   WR | Odell Beckham | LSU – 1^st Round

13.   S | HaHa Clinton-Dix | Alabama – 1^st Round

14.   QB | Derek Carr | Fresno State – 1^st Round

15.   WR | Marquise Lee | USC – 1^st Round

16.   DT | Ra’Shede Hageman | Minnesota – 1^st Round

17.   OLB | Ryan Shazier | Ohio State – 1^st Round

18.   OT | Taylor Lewan | Michigan – 1^st Round

19.   OG | Zach Martin | Notre Dame – Fringe 1^st/2^nd Round Talent

20.   OLB | Dee Ford | Auburn – Fringe 1^st/2^nd Round Talent

21.   CB | Kyle Fuller | Virginia Tech – Fringe 1^st/2^nd Round

22.   QB | Blake Bortles | UCF – Fringe 1^st/2^nd Round

23.   DE | Kareem Martin | North Carolina – Fringe 1^st/2^nd Round

24.   ILB | C.J. Mosley | Alabama – Fringe 1^st/2^nd Round

25.   TE | Austin Seferian-Jenkins | Washington – Fringe 1^st/2^nd Round

26.   QB | Teddy Bridgewater | Louisville – Fringe 1^st/2^nd Round

27.   CB | Phillip Gaines | Rice – Fringe 1^st/2^nd Round

28.   DT | Dominique Easley | Florida – Fringe 1^st/2^nd Round

29.   OG | Xavier Su’a-Filo | UCLA – Fringe 1^st/2^nd Round

30.   WR | Donte Moncrief | Ole Miss – 2^nd Round Talent

31.   WR | Jordan Matthews | Vanderbilt – 2^nd Round

32.   QB | Johnny Manziel | Texas A&M – 2^nd Round

33.   OG | Dakota Dozier | Furman – 2^nd Round

34.   WR | Kelvin Benjamin | Florida State – 2^nd Round

35.   OLB | Anthony Barr | UCLA – 2^nd Round

36.   S | Calvin Pryor | Louisville – 2^nd Round

37.   DE | Scott Crichton | Oregon State – Fringe 2^nd/3^rd Round Talent

38.   DE | Kony Ealy | Missouri – Fringe 2^nd/3^rd Round

39.   S | Jimmy Ward | Northern Illinois – Fringe 2^nd/3^rd Round

40.   OLB | Jeremiah Attaochu | Georgia Tech – Fringe 2^nd/3^rd Round

41.   OLB | Carl Bradford | Arizona State – Fringe 2^nd/3^rd Round

42.   QB | Zach Mettenberger | LSU – Fringe 2^nd/3^rd Round

43.   DT | Louis Nix | Notre Dame – Fringe 2^nd/3^rd Round

44.   OG | David Yankey | Stanford – Fringe 2^nd/3^rd Round

45.   CB | Bradley Roby | Ohio State – Fringe 2^nd/3^rd Round

46.   CB | Darqueze Dennard | Michigan State – Fringe 2^nd/3^rd Round

47.   WR | Cody Latimer | Indiana – 3^rd Round Talent

48.   DT | Timmy Jernigan | Florida State – 3^rd Round

49.   C | Marcus Martin | USC – 3^rd Round

50.   WR | Davante Adams | Fresno State – 3^rd Round

Notable Stock Up:

·         Morgan Moses has a very good chance at being this year’s DJ Fluker. He is an extremely athletic giant specimen, who is often getting pegged as a limited RT. His nimble feet, great size, and long arms will make him an enticing option for teams looking for a LT.

·         Looks like personnel decision makers are now reviewing Derek Carr’s tape from the prior season, when he played in a pro-style offense. Taking the two year’s of game tape and comparing him to “Big 3 QBs” lack of arm talent, I see his stock rising.

·         Austin Seferian-Jenkins (aka – A.S.J.) is a better overall talent than Eric Ebron. His end-of-year injury has kept him from impressing NFL guys at the Combine. But in the next few weeks, I expect negative rumors to arise falsely pointing to laziness, lack of strength, and injury concern.