Coming into the 2010 college football season, all eyes will be on another dominate Nebraska defender. This year, the focus switches from the defensive line, to the secondary. Senior cornerback Prince Amukamara is set for a break out season and is looking to be the first defensive back taken in the 2011 NFL Draft. With a rare combination of size, speed, and tackling ability, Amukamara is the complete package. Before the season started, National Scouting evaluated Amukamara and assigned a grade of 7.3. That’s tied for the highest among all seniors evaluated with Iowa DE Adrian Clayborn. It’s interesting to note that before the 2009 football season, Ndamukong Suh’s preseason grade from National was a 7.0. So what is it about Amukamara that has NFL scouts drooling? First of all, he possesses ideal size. At 6’1″, 205 lbs, Amukamara has the size to play free safety in the NFL, but Keep Reading…

With the final installment of our “better late than never” draft grade series, we take a look at the NFC West.

Arizona Cardinals: A-

Arizona is a team that could quickly see the number in their win column diminish this year after the retirement of Kurt Warner and trading away Anquan Boldin. Their success will ultimately hinge on the quarterback position, whether it’s Matt Leinart or Derek Anderson. That being said, the Cards have a strong wide receiver corps and a decent rushing attack, but had plenty of needs on the defensive side of the ball. Arizona actually had one of the better drafts this season, even though they aren’t getting a lot of attention for it. By taking Dan Williams in the first round, their defensive line immediately becomes stronger than before. Williams has some versatility and can move along the defensive line, making him an even Keep Reading…

Moving right along in our “better late than never” draft grades series, let’s take a look at the AFC West.

Denver Broncos: B-

It’s hard to think about the Broncos draft and not immediately go to the selection of Tim Tebow in the first round, which I’ll get to in a minute. Overall, Denver had a fairly successful draft but made some questionable picks along the way. They started off by grabbing Georgia Tech WR Demaryius Thomas, which almost seemed like a no-brainer. The Broncos decided to pass on Dez Bryant, who many had ranked as the better receiver, but it makes sense to not bring in another diva to replace Brandon Marshall. While Thomas was picked up a bit high for my taste, he still would have surely gone in the first round had Denver not pulled the trigger. Then Denver loses me. McDaniels and company decide Keep Reading…

At this time last year, the online draft community was agog over Carlos Dunlap. The Florida defensive end appeared to possess the ultimate combination of size, speed, and strength. Todd McShay had Dunlap going 6th overall in his initial 2010 mock draft, and Dunlap debuted at #3 overall on Kiper’s Big Board.

However, the ‘09 season exposed some of Dunlap’s limitations. He failed to get through the season without raising beet red character flags, displaying inconsistent effort and getting charged with a DUI. In addition, he played with too high a pad level, didn’t improve his technique, and failed to prove he could threaten the edge against good offensive tackles. As a result, his draft stock plummeted; the once highly-touted prospect slipped to the 2nd round.

This year, another freakish defensive lineman from the state of Florida is the subject of pre-season hype. But instead of being a Keep Reading…

When Marvin Austin decided to stay for his senior season, I, for one, was glad to see it. I thought that it’s refreshing to see a kid finish school and polish their craft while many are leaving school early to get a large pay check. Many suspected that Austin could have been a first round draft pick had he declared, but instead, he opted to stay.

After an NCAA investigation, it’s now looking like Austin will be suspended for his senior season and will miss out on the opportunity to further develop his game. It’s a bit depressing because at times, Austin flashes supreme talent at the defensive tackle position and some very high potential. While he certainly has flaws in his game, the talent is certainly there.

I had the chance to take a look at three Austin clips from the 2009 season, thanks to our scout Keep Reading…