We at Consensus Draft Services try to stay abreast of National and BLESTO pre-season lists as they are a snapshot preview of the next scouting combine and even the draft to follow. There are a few surprises, we believe Jevan Snead is severely underrated, but a great deal will change between now and middle of the talent evaluation season. For those who doubt Tim Tebow's ability to be an NFL quarterback, as of this moment the nations’ foremost evaluation consortiums think he potential late 1st to early 2nd round prospect, which does not necessarily mean success but is indicative of the regard with which he is held.
Defense
A total of twenty-nine defensive tackles/ends were handed first day grades by BLESTO, far and away the largest number of any unit. National Scouting is close as they grade 26 defensive linemen as potential top 100 choices.
A total of twenty-nine defensive tackles/ends were handed first day grades by BLESTO, far and away the largest number of any unit. National Scouting is close as they grade 26 defensive linemen as potential top 100 choices.
Both services agree that Mississippi's Greg Hardy and Ndamulong Suh of Nebraska are head and shoulders above the rest of the class. Each received a grade of 7.0 from National, a solid number. Arthur Jones of Syracuse is close behind with a grade of 6.9 followed by Northwestern's Corey Wooten who was given a 6.8 off of his knee surgery.
Jerry Hughes is listed as a defensive end on both reports, though many the TCU lineman will make the transition to outside linebacker in the NFL. Charles Alexander of LSU was given a mid-round grade by BLESTO while National ranks the defensive tackle as a marginal free agent. The same grades were handed to Kade Weston of Georgia.
Jeremy Jarmon of Kentucky, who has declared for July's supplemental draft, was given a grade of 5.5 by National Scouting, which equates to the 5th round area.
Linebackers
In a rather bitingly cruel irony Mark Herzlich, the linebacker from Boston College, who was diagnosed with cancer, was given a grade of 7.2 by National Scouting, the highest of any senior at any position. In fact Herzlich was the only linebacker handed to what equates to a sure fire first round grade.
In a rather bitingly cruel irony Mark Herzlich, the linebacker from Boston College, who was diagnosed with cancer, was given a grade of 7.2 by National Scouting, the highest of any senior at any position. In fact Herzlich was the only linebacker handed to what equates to a sure fire first round grade.
Herzlich publicly announced in the middle of May he has been diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma, a malignant tumor most often found in bone or soft tissue. Several sources have opined that Herzlich's football career is almost certainly over after the recent news. He is likely to have a portion of his leg bone removed and replaced with a steel shank.
Brandon Spikes of Florida and Sean Weatherspoon of Missouri were the next two highest rated linebackers, both receiving grades which make them potential late first rounders. Clemson's Ricky Sapp is rated as a first day defensive end by BLESTO and second round linebacker by National. The situation is similar for Jermaine Cunningham of Florida, who was also give a first day defensive end grade by BLESTO but a 3rd/4th round linebacker grade from National Scouting.
One must go almost a dozen deep into the linebacker rankings before they come to the first inside/middle linebacker graded, and this prospect comes as a bit of a question mark. Jamar Chaney of Mississippi State was given a 4th round grade from National but must prove no ill-effects from the ankle injury which put him on the sidelines last season after just one game. Sean Lee of Penn State, another linebacker on the mend, received a first day grade from BLESTO and 3rd/4th round grade from National.
Tennessee's Rico McCoy was given a mid-round grade by BLESTO yet ranked as a free agent by National Scouting. The Miami Hurricane program continues to slide in the eyes of NFL scouts. By consensus inside linebacker Darryl Sharpton is the highest rated Hurricane yet barely squeaks in as a top 100 choice from BLESTO and is graded as a 4th rounder from National, this from a program that more than once had five players selected in the first round.
Defensive Backs
The highest rated defensive back is safety Taylor Mays of USC, which comes as no surprise. He received first round grades from both services, though National considers Mays a late first round pick. The state of Florida is next in line and well represented by three highly rated players. South Florida cornerback Jerome Murphy, safety Nate Allen as well as Florida State cornerback Pat Robinson all grade as late second, early third round choices.
Safety's Darrell Stuckey of Kansas and Harry Coleman received 2nd/3rd round grades from National yet are considered mid-rounders by BLESTO. Cornerback Brandon Ghee, who I regard very highly, was graded out as a late second/early third on the lists.
Two cornerbacks, Trevard Lindley of Kentucky and Syd'Quan Thompson of Cal are ranked, 13th and 14th respectively on National's list at the position and barely grade as third round prospects by BLESTO. Virginia Tech safety Kam Chancellor is also considered a fringe third round prospect by both services. Meanwhile Ohio State's Russell Anderson is considered a mid-round choice by BLESTO and barely draftable by National.
The biggest sleeper on the list is Akwasi Owusu-Ansah of Indiana-Pa. The 6'-0.5''/197lbs cornerback has grades which predict he'll be a third round selection in 2010.
Offense Looking forward, very few senior tailbacks got good pre-season grades from BLESTO and National, at this point, but plenty of wide receivers were ranked fairly high. Jeremy Williams of Tulane, for example, was rated a little bit higher than we expected, particularly by BLESTO, which currently has him slotted in the top three rounds Chris McGaha of Arizona State, who is a underrated athlete and has freakishly big hands (considered a great trait for a receiver), was given a fairly early day two projection from National, which doesn't surprise the scouting community, but might surprise some.
Quarterback
The top rated senior signal callers are Tim Tebow of Florida and Colt McCoy of Texas. Each received grades from BLESTO which translate to top 75 choices in the 2010 draft and rankings from National Scouting which predict both are potential late first/early second round choices next April. Jarrett Brown of West Virginia received mid-rounds grades from both services despite sitting behind Pat White the past three seasons while Tim Hiller of Western Michigan is graded as a middle rounder by BLESTO and a late round guy by National.
Running Backs
Clemson's CJ Spiller and Charles Scott of LSU are the top rated ball carriers. Like the signal callers, both received grades from BLESTO which translate to top 75 choices in the 2010 draft and rankings from National Scouting which predict both are potential late first/early second round choices next April. BLESTO thinks highly LeGarrette Blount of Oregon while National Scouting was frugal with the running back grades they handed out. After Spiller and Scott their next rated ball carrier is Anthony Dixon of Mississippi State, who they grade as a middle round choice.
No fullback was given a grade of significance by either service.
Wide Receiver
Brandon LaFell of LSU is far and away the highest rated receiver by both services, as each predicts he'll be a first round choice. Marshwan Gilyard of Cincinnati and Eric Decker of Minnesota are both considered top 75 choices by BLESTO, who also gave the same grade to small school prospects Andre Roberts of the Citadel and Donald Jones of Youngstown State. Gilyard received a late second/early third round grade from National while Decker received a 3rd/4th from the service. An interesting note: former Florida State wide out Preston Parker, who was dismissed from the Seminoles after a DUI charge and now plays at North Alabama, also received a top 75 grade from BLESTO.
Tight Ends
BLESTO thinks 2010 will be another good year for tight ends as they gave seven seniors top 75 grades. Included amongst this group is Jermaine Gresham of Oklahoma, Garrett Graham of Wisconsin and Dedrick Epps of Miami-Florida. Gresham is National's highest rated player at the position, but the service does not think he's a sure fire first rounder and presently thinks he could slip into the second frame. National also gave Epps a free agent grade.
Offensive Line
There were several shockers when breaking down the offensive line grades.
Russell Okung of Oklahoma State was rated as a top 75 player by BLESTO but given a 3rd/4th round grade from National. Ciron Black of LSU was given the same grade by BLESTO yet National ranks the big tackle as a late rounder. Both services think Trent Williams of Oklahoma will be a first round pick.
We were quite satisfied to see that Vladimir Ducasse of UMASS was given solid grades. BLESTO ranks Ducasse as a top 75 selection while National also thinks the small school tackle, while he may project to guard in the NFL, still has third round ability. Last December, in our final post season rankings of small school talent, Ducasse was listed as the third best offensive lineman behind Joel Bell and Cecil Newton.
At guard, Brandon Carter of Texas Tech drew a variety of opinion. The big mauler, who gave serious thought to entering the '09 draft, ranks as a top 75 pick by BLESTO but is considered a UDFA by National. Overall the highest rated guard by both services is Mike Iupati of Idaho, a lineman who was able to get his grades in order then was awarded another year on the football field. With his status up in the air we did a scouting report on Mike Iupati moving towards the '09 draft.
Center could well be the biggest shocker of all the grades. J.D. Walton of Baylor and Matt Tennant of Boston College are the highest rated pivot blockers, receiving grades which range in the third round. Three highly thought of centers received non-draftable grades. They include Thomas Austin of Clemson, Josh McNeil of Tennessee and Hawaii's John Estes. All three had considered entering last April's draft.
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