NFL: Early Entries for 2010 Draft
With the college football season coming to and end we will be seeing college players putting their names in the NFL draft. So far the biggest names to put their names in the draft are Oklahoma State receiver Dez Bryant and Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen. There are sure to be many other big names to enter the draft as we draw closer to the deadline.
Jimmy Clausen (QB, Notre Dame)
It comes as no surprise to see Clausen enter the draft, especially, now that Charlie Weis has been fired. It is tough to convince draft eligible players such as Clausen to come back for another season under a new head coach and learn a whole new system. Might as well go pro and get paid to learn a new offense right? Clausen says he was planning on leaving regardless if Weis was back next year or not and that likely is the case. Unless he completely tanks his workouts or does something colossally stupid he is almost assuredly going to be a first round pick. What remains to be seen is whether he can shake off the stink of Weis’ last college prodigy, Brady Quinn, and land at the top of the draft. I have a sneaking suspicion that Clausen will be the guy that scouts and coaches fall in love with how well he throws the ball and is going to battle for the top QB spot. With the Rams and the Browns still in the running for the top pick it is not entirely out of the question that a quarterback ends up going at the top of the 2010 draft. Aside from that there is a very good possibility that, depending on what other QBs put their names in the hat, three quarterbacks could go in the top six picks with the Redskins currently residing in the top six of the draft as well. The Bills and Raiders, currently battling it out for the 7th and 8th spots, could be in the market for a quarterback come next April as well. Any way one looks at it Clausen is most likely looking at going in the top 10 of the draft barring any major catastrophes.
Dez Bryant (WR, Oklahoma State)
After being suspended by the NCAA for lying to them about his relationship with Deion Sanders Bryant is expected to make the leap to the pros. He came into the season as the top receiver prospect for the 2010 draft and little has changed since then. Prior to being suspended Bryant had caught 17 passes and scored 4 touchdowns in Oklahoma State’s first three games. He had an amazing sophomore year that saw him catch 87 passes and score 19 touchdowns and the consensus was that he would have been rated higher than Michael Crabtree was and been the top receiver prospect in last spring’s draft. He has the size and strength teams love in receivers and break away play-making speed to go along with it. There are a ton of teams at the top of the draft who could potentially be interested in Bryant’s services. With Antonio Bryant struggling to stay healthy and no real depth after him at the position Tampa would love to get a high profile target for rookie quarterback Josh Freeman to throw to. I would not be surprised if the Chiefs took a long look at Bryant with the idea of shipping Dwayne Bowe, who has become a bit of a distraction, off to another team. After that it gets a bit murky though. Would the Lions spend yet another top pick on a receiver when they have more glaring needs on defense? The Rams and Browns need to figure out who their quarterback is going to be and have needs all over the place and Bryant really does not rate that high on most expert’s draft boards. The Redskins could be a possibility but it seems that they will go with a quarterback if there is one they really like. The same can be said for the Bills and the Raiders. Chicago and Carolina would definitely have an interest in Bryant, but, unfortunately, neither or those teams hold first round picks and it seems unlikely the Broncos and Niners are going to spend those picks on a receiver. The Broncos already have an elite receiver in Brandon Marshall and the Niners have Michael Crabtree who many think will be a top receiver in a year or two. Bryant could potentially slip down the draft board the way Jeremy Maclin did last April. But, it seems unlikely as some team will surely take him if he is there and figure out what to do with him.
Jermaine Gresham (TE, Oklahoma)
Gresham decided early on he was going to enter the draft as well after having to fore go his senior season and have knee surgery. Gresham was considered a top prospect prior to last spring’s draft and many were surprised by his decision to come back for his senior season after scoring 14 touchdowns and averaging 14.4 yards per catch during his junior season. He is still considered to be the top TE prospect for next year’s draft and many think he could still be a first round pick. He has the size team’s love in tight ends and had the speed to get down the field. Where he goes in the draft hinges entirely on how well he runs for teams at the combine and private workouts. In general it tends to be tough to gauge where a tight end may go in the draft as there are very few who are the entire package. Most teams have a pass catching tight end and a blocking tight end. The ones that excel at both end up in the first round. But, one of the problems is they are not typically seen as a must have to run a successful offense. Even before his injury Gresham was never considered to be a guy who was going to go near the top of the draft and most of the teams currently trending to the back half of the first round do not really need a tight end. The Bengals are the one team drafting in the 20 to 30 range that has a glaring need for a pass-catching tight end. They drafted Chase Coffman in the past draft but he has yet to see the light of day this season for a Bengals team that gotten just 30 catches from the position this season. Denver, where Tony Sheffler is solid but nothing special, could also be another team interested in a guy like Gresham. If he fails to go in the first round there are several teams who would be interested in grabbing him at the top of the second. The Rams, Browns, and Chiefs all have a need for a pass catching tight end.
Golden Tate (WR, Notre Dame)
Tate has not officially announced that he is turning pro but he is expected to any day now. Tate currently ranks fourth in the nation with 1,496 receiving yards and his 15 touchdown catches are the second most in college football. Tate is probably making the right move here. He is generally considered to be in the mix as the next best receiving prospect after Bryant and is stock is probably not going to get any higher than it is now if he goes back to Notre Dame for another year. Tate is an explosive play maker who had at least one play of 30 or more yards in 9 of the Irish’s 12 games this season and has two rushing touchdowns and a punt return for a touchdown in addition to his 15 TD receptions. The biggest knock on Tate is he is built more like a running back than he is a wide receiver. He is listed at 5′ 11″ and 195 pounds and one begins to wonder a bit how he will be used at the next level. A lot may depend on how well he runs for the scouts. He will need to post some blazing 40 times if he wants to be a first round pick. However, with most of the back end of the first round of the draft looking pretty well off at receiver for the time being it seems unlikely Tate will sneak into the first round. The Rams, Browns, Bucs, Chiefs, and the Redskins could all be in the market for a wide out next spring making him a likely target at the top of the second round.
Dezmon Briscoe (WR, Kansas)
Briscoe made his decision to leave school last week and says it has nothing to do with the Mark Mangino fiasco. Dezmon currently ranks sixth in the country with 1,337 receiving yards and scored 9 touchdowns for the Jayhawks this season. At 6′ 2 1/2″ he has the height NFL coaches like in their receivers and has above average speed, but, he is not considered to be a great route runner or have outstanding hands. He is considered by many to be one of the ten best receiving prospects for the 2010 draft, however, he is not considered a candidate to go very high in the draft. Most have him pegged as a third round prospect.
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