Jabaal Sheard

Position: DE School: Pittsburgh Height: 6’2 7/8" Weight: 263 lbs Class: Senior 40 time: 4.69 All-Star Game: No Team Captain: 2010 Draft Projection: Late 1st – Early 3rd Round

Summary

Jabaal Sheard is an explosive college end that will appeal to both 4-3 and 3-4 teams as a right end or rush linebacker. At Pittsburgh, he proved himself to be a productive pass rusher with variety and a strong motor. As purely a pass rusher, he ranks among this class’ best prospects. He may lack base strength to be an effective run stopper as a down lineman. Though many project him later, he may be drafted as high as the late first and should not get out of the second round.

Run Stopping

Playing the run is not a strong point in Jabaal Sheard’s game. He lacks anchor strength in the lower body Keep Reading…

Ryan Williams

Position: RB School: Virginia Tech Height: 5’9 3/8" Weight: 212 lbs Class: RS-Sophomore 40 time: 4.61 All-Star Game: N/A Team Captain: No Draft Projection: Mid 2nd – Early 3rd Round

Summary

Ryan Williams is among this class’ most gifted ball carriers, but the difference between his 2009 and 2010 campaigns is night & day. As a redshirt freshman, he was one of the nation’s premier backs, showing a rare combination of instincts, burst, agility, and power. His sophomore campaign was derailed by a nagging hamstring injury and the last tape we’ve seen from him looks very different from the player that many grew to love. The talent and innate feel for the game that he possesses still ranks him among the best backs in the class. Expect Williams to come off the board as early as the middle of the second and I don’t Keep Reading…

Luke Stocker

Position: TE School: Tennessee Height: 6’4 3/4" Weight: 258 lbs Class: RS-Senior 40 time: 4.79 All-Star Game: Senior Bowl Team Captain: No Draft Projection: Late 2nd – Early 3rd Round

Summary

With a prototypical tight end frame, great intelligence and work ethic, and an outstanding mix of skills, there’s no reason that Stocker can’t become a difference maker in the NFL. Although he never produced eye-popping numbers at Tennessee, an offense that relies heavily on the tight end in the passing game would be finding a real gem by drafting this guy. He has tremendous hands but hinders himself with poor route running. If he can work on his route running and blocking, he has what it takes to be a productive starter in the NFL. I project him to be a late second/early third round pick.

Blocking

Stocker’s blocking still needs lots Keep Reading…

Jonathan Baldwin

Position: WR School: Pittsburgh Height: 6’4 3/8" Weight: 228 lbs Class: Junior 40 time: 4.50 All-Star Game: N/A Team Captain: No Draft Projection: Mid-2nd to 3rd Round

Summary

Jonathan Baldwin is a physically gifted receiver with a rare combination of height, weight, and speed. Despite elite physical tools, he is very raw and unpolished. He figures to be a project at split-end that could take two to three years to really grasp the finer points of the game. His college career was plagued by inconsistency at the Quarterback position and immaturity on Baldwin’s part. There is reason to believe that he may never figure it out. He may possess this class’ best triangle numbers at the position, but it is likely he falls somewhere between the middle of the second round and the late third.

Route Running/Separation

The number one area in which Keep Reading…

So a few of the people I’ve talked to recently think that one of the reasons Cam Newton is the favorite for the #1 pick is because of the positional value of Quarterbacks. While I don’t agree with this methodology or see this as the reason he’s the favorite, it got me thinking about the order of importance for positions.

Everyone agrees quarterbacks are the most important position. What’s next? And is the order of importance displayed in recent draft history? Here’s how I saw it before I went to the numbers.

I’d rank the order of importance… 1. Quarterbacks 2. Tackles 3. Defensive Linemen/Outside Linebackers 4. Cornerbacks 5. Wide Receivers/Tight Ends 6. Running Backs 7. Inside Linebackers 8. Safeties 9. Offensive Guards/Centers 10. Kickers 11. Fullbacks 13. Punters

This is obviously up for debate, but that’s how I saw it. After quarterbacks, people generally talk about Keep Reading…