Who's Worthy of a Top 10 Pick (1 Viewer)

RJ in Lafayette

Super Forum Fanatic
Gold VIP Contributor
Joined
Jan 27, 1999
Messages
11,789
Reaction score
12,204
Offline
I did this about two weeks, and the responses were interesting. A day remaining for juniors to declare for the draft, and then the Senior Bowl, combine and personal workouts where player grades will change.

However, at this time, I come up with a list of ten--yes, ten--players worthy of being selected in the top 10 picks of the draft.

By position:

QB--Matt Ryan

RB--Darren McFadden

OT--Jake Long, Ryan Clady

DE--Chris Long, Calias Campbell, Vernon Gholston

DT--Glenn Dorsey, Sedrick Ellis

DB--Kenny Phillips

And I know some will take issue with Campbell, Clady and Phillips, if not also Gholston, going in the top 10 picks.

Anyone else? I personally think Rivers is too small to go so high. The combine will prove interesting.

We better address needs on defense in free agency because the best value at number 10 may not be a defensive player.
 
Last edited:
Chris Long and Rivers, though you addressed him, has been sneaking up lately in mocks. I've also seen Brohm and Jenkins get in there sometimes.
 
I would take either Gholston (if he fell) or Rivers (having a soft spot for him), or Phillips if we want to go DB 1st.

But yeah the combine will make things interesting. There's always SOMEONE who shoots up the draft board though from the combine, due to them running a fast 40.
 
In a minute, I am going to edit the original post. Chris Long was an obvious omission. Oversight.

My question about Rivers is size. If he weighs in the 240's and runs a great 40 time in workouts, he'll move up.
 
Last edited:
I did this about two weeks, and the responses were interesting. A day remaining for juniors to declare for the draft, and then the Senior Bowl, combine and personal workouts where player grades will change.

However, at this time, I come up with a list of ten--yes, ten--players worthy of being selected in the top 10 picks of the draft.

By position:

QB--Matt Ryan

RB--Darren McFadden

OT--Jake Long, Ryan Clady

DE--Chris Long, Calias Campbell, Vernon Gholston

DT--Glenn Dorsey, Sedrick Ellis

DB--Kenny Phillips

And I know some will take issue with Campbell, Clady and Phillips, if not also Gholston, going in the top 10 picks.

Anyone else? I personally think Rivers is too small to go so high. The combine will prove interesting.

We better address needs on defense in free agency because the best value at number 10 may not be a defensive player.

Actually, I think your list is fair. The only question mark may be Campbell. It will depend on how he looks at the combine and his personal workout. But he's a borderline top 10 pick. I actually believe Clady will go top 10, perhaps to the Chiefs at #5. It might surprise some people but so did the Levi Brown pick to the Cardinals in the last draft.

Rivers is not too small and he's another guy who is a borderline top 10 pick. I think his value is more in the range of 10 to 15, but he is not that far removed from being a top ten talent. I will say this--he's a better prospect than Lawrence Timmons who went #15 last year to Pittsburgh.
 
Oh, one other thing--Gholston is a definite top 10 talent and could go #1. If Gholston has a superior workout and runs an eye-popping 40, I can easily see him taken #1 especially since he would fit inside the 3-4 defense the Dolphins run right now.
 
Just to say..
Martin (Middletown CT): Does Kansas' Aqib Talib fall to Dallas at 21 or 22? They need to add depth to the corner spot.

Mel Kiper: If you're looking for someone at the 21, 22 spot, you're not going to see Talib there. He's going to be the first CB taken in this draft. If you're looking for a CB that can also help you in the return game, and you did good with a Troy kid in Demarcus Ware, they can go back to Troy and get Leodis McKelvin. He would make sense as a guy in the 20s. Talib goes in the top 10. He's the first CB drafted.
 
If Ellis is gone, I would rather take Gholston (even though DE isn't a need). I do not want Kenny Phillips
 
Just to say..

Kiper suggested the same thing. Problem I have with that is I wonder if some of these guys are being overrated because of the lack of a truly elite prospect in this draft at CB. Mike Jenkins is very good but not quite there as an elite prospect. Cason is also very good but speed is a concern. That's the same for Talib who I have watched have good games and then turnaround and have some lousy games. Every cornerback will get beaten but Talib either looks really good or really bad. He has to become more consistent for me to regard him as a top 10 pick. None of this does not mean that any of these guys cannot develop into solid CBs. Heck, they are solid now. But I do not see any of them as elite cornerbacks.

Leodis McKelvin is a very intriguing prospect and a guy I like a lot. He has tremendous speed and very solid return ability. He's explosive, is fluid and has outstanding recovery speed. I would like to see him play the ball better in the air. I only saw two of his games and I think he has to show more awareness, which by my own admission is not a lot or nearly as much as I have gotten to see of other players over the years. But he's a guy that I can actually see moving up a lot of teams boards and could very well be a surprise top 15 pick.
 
Yes, Kiper is always right.... He's wrong far more than he's right.
Wish ESPN paid me all that money to be wrong.

Kiper suggested the same thing. Problem I have with that is I wonder if some of these guys are being overrated because of the lack of a truly elite prospect in this draft at CB. Mike Jenkins is very good but not quite there as an elite prospect. Cason is also very good but speed is a concern. That's the same for Talib who I have watched have good games and then turnaround and have some lousy games. Every cornerback will get beaten but Talib either looks really good or really bad. He has to become more consistent for me to regard him as a top 10 pick. None of this does not mean that any of these guys cannot develop into solid CBs. Heck, they are solid now. But I do not see any of them as elite cornerbacks.

Leodis McKelvin is a very intriguing prospect and a guy I like a lot. He has tremendous speed and very solid return ability. He's explosive, is fluid and has outstanding recovery speed. I would like to see him play the ball better in the air. I only saw two of his games and I think he has to show more awareness, which by my own admission is not a lot or nearly as much as I have gotten to see of other players over the years. But he's a guy that I can actually see moving up a lot of teams boards and could very well be a surprise top 15 pick.
I've also heard Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie from Tennessee State thrown out there. Don't know much about him. Anyone else know anything?
 
Last edited:
Wish ESPN paid me all that money to be wrong.

I've also heard Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie from Tennessee State thrown out there. Don't know much about him. Anyone else know anything?

Rodgers-Cromartie is another intriguing prospect. He has outstanding footspeed and a long wingspan. He is fluid and also has great recovery ability though he can improve his footwork, particularly in his backpedal. He breaks on the ball very well and is just a natural athelete. The only concern I see is that he is a little thin but so was Antonio Cromartie. Also, there's always questions about level of competition. He will have to refine his technique. But that's true of any cornerback that comes into the NFL. But I think he has a lot of talent and could see him in play in the second round. But if he goes to the combine and blows people away with his speed, which he is quite capable of, he could sneak up into the first.
 
Agreed. Campbell is a question mark. His going high will depend on a super workout and will be based in large part on potential.
 
I want to see a couple more quarterbacks or running backs vault into the top ten, pushing some top defensive players down and making them available at #10.
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account on our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Users who are viewing this thread

    Back
    Top Bottom