2011 Big Board

[Astrobot]

Locker and Luck aren't the locks people think. We might still be looking at O-Line or NT, OLB or WR next April, and the DraftTek Big Board ( http://drafttek.com/2011players.asp ) shows a host of them.

 

1 Robert Quinn North Carolina 6'5" 268 DE43 OLB34 0 0

2 Gabe Carimi Wisconsin 6'7" 318 LOT ROT 0 0

3 Prince Amukamara Nebraska 6'1" 205 CB 0

4 Christian Ponder Florida State 6'3" 227 QB 0

5 Marvin Austin North Carolina 6'3" 305 DT43 DT34 -29 0

6 Julio Jones Alabama 6'4" 212 WRF 0

7 Patrick Peterson LSU 6'1" 211 CB 0

8 Cameron Heyward Ohio State 6'5" 288 DE34 DT43 -12 0

9 DeAndre McDaniel Clemson 6'1" 210 SS FS -9 0

10 Don'ta Hightower Alabama 6'4" 250 WILB SILB -11 0

11 Jared Crick Nebraska 6'5" 285 DE34 DT43 -2 0

12 Mark Ingram Alabama 5'10" 215 RBF 0

13 Jurrell Casey USC 6'1" 295 DT43 0

14 Jerrod Johnson Texas A&M 6'5" 243 QB 0

15 Clint Boling Georgia 6'5" 310 ROT LOT -13 0

16 Adrian Clayborn Iowa 6'3" 285 DE43 DE34 -1 0

17 Marcell Dareus Alabama 6'3" 306 DE34 0

18 Deunta Williams North Carolina 6'2" 210 FS 0

19 Greg Romeus Pittsburgh 6'5" 270 DE43 OLB34 -3 0

20 Jerrell Powe Mississippi 6'2" 328 DT34 DT43

21 Akeem Ayers LSU 6'4" 255 SILB OLB34 -40 0

22 Von Miller Texas A&M 6'2" 240 OLB34 OLB43 -8 0

23 Mike Pouncey Florida 6'4" 310 OC OG -31 0

24 Ras-I Dowling Virginia 6'2" 200 CB FS -19 0

25 Greg Jones Michigan State 6'2" 235 WILB 0

26 Evan Royster Penn State 6'1" 213 RBF 0

27 A.J. Green Georgia 6'4" 205 WRF 0

28 Anthony Castonzo Boston College 6'7" 295 LOT 0

29 Ryan Mallett Arkansas 6'6" 238 QB 0

30 Travis Lewis Oklahoma 6'2" 232 OLB43 0

31 Michael Floyd Notre Dame 6'3" 220 WRF 0

32 Jake Locker Washington 6'3" 226 QB

 

Here are DraftTek Analyst Rick McGlothlin's preliminary comments about the Top 5 Quarterbacks:

 

Christian Ponder, Sr., 6-3, 227, FSU-Check him out in the game at N. Carolina (one of the best defenses in the nation) as he led his team back from a 24-6 deficit to win the game. Nice, fluid motion. Doesn't get rattled in the pocket- good awareness. Excellent ball skills when utilizing play action fake. Decent arm strength and can make tight, quick passes or drop the longer ones into the hands of the receiver in stride. Could be the sleeper pick of 2011 that ends up being a solid NFL QB.

 

Jerrod Johnson, Sr., 6-5, 243 Texas A&M-I like this kid. Of all the QB's in the college ranks right now, JJ could be slotted with an NFL team today and probably make the most of the opportunity. He has all the throws, long or short, laser or soft, he's accurate and is deadly scrambling out of the pocket. He is a natural at the position, though a bit unorthodoxed at times. Even so, he makes the plays. In two years as a starter, he's tossed 51 TD passes against just 18 picks. In 2009 alone he threw 30 TD's and only 8 INT's. In his two years he's amassed over 6,000 years as the Aggie starter. Sure, he doesn't have quite as strong an arm as say, Michael Vick, or some other powerful NFL gun-slinger. However, the kid can put it where it needs to go. Two major drawbacks for JJ as I see it. 1) His decisions to run rather than pass could cost him a long career in the NFL and 2) he throws off-balance too much for my liking and will ultimately cost his team some critical interceptions. But then again, so did/does Brett Favre. Keep an eye on this guy no matter if he goes pro this year or next, 1st round or later. This is the type of guy the Rams should've waited on while building a dominating defense and special teams unit.

 

Ryan Mallett, Jr., 6-5, 238, Arkansas-Exceptional size and mechanics, with a large amount of upside potential. Excellent touch on the ball, decent to average accuracy but tremendous velocity when needed. Mainly a pure, traditional pocket-passer with marginal mobiltiy. Can make all the throws but at times strays away from the fundamentals and makes some questionable decisions. Needs additional help on his footwork. Passed for over 3200 yards in his sophomore season with Arkansas, for 30 TD's and just 7 INT's. Utilizes many weapons out of the Razorback offense and can hit the big play often, and the bulk of receiving corps were sophomores. Imagine him with some NFL wideouts at his disposal. The negative mark against him early on is being too anxious, which takes away from his accuracy. That will come with more game experience and maturity, but in the interim he is a solid QB with unlimited potential. If he turns it up a notch or two in 2010, an NFL team with a top QB coach would be crazy not to select him in the first-round next April.

 

Jake Locker Sr., 6-3, 226 Washington-When it comes time for the 2011 NFL Draft, it might be interesting to see if Jake Locker is even available. He may opt to go with the Los Angeles Angels baseball team, who has already signed him to a contract. It may have ultimately been the reason he decided to return for his senior season at Washington and could signal his intention to play pro baseball instead of football. Locker isn't the ultimate QB in terms of reading defenses and being able to pick them apart at their weakness. His progression reads need improvement and has only above average arm strength. He does have a quick delivery and knows what's happening around him while in the pocket. His 21-11 TD to INT ratio isn't glamorous, but it's steady. I'm going to go off on a bit of a strange tangent here for a moment.....and tell you where this guy could be playing at the NFL level - tight end. He's pretty elusive with decent speed and does well when he runs the ball. Could be a solid hybrid TE at the next level, but let's wait and see what he does in his final year for the Huskies.

 

Andrew Luck, SO., 6-4, 235 Stanford-I'm going to jump off the Luck bandwagon for the moment, but only as it relates to being drafted in the 2011 NFL draft. The kid is a phenom, but much too young and still a bit wet behind the ears to be an NFL QB at this point. Part of his success in his freshman season can be attributed to a strong running attack behind Toby Gearhart, and also the exceptional coaching from Jim Harbaugh. So I would suggest Luck use at least two more seasons of collegiate play and refine his already solid skills. The thing that jumps out at me when watching tape on Luck is his uncanny accuracy and delivery when rolling out of the pocket at almost a dead sprint. He does it as well as anyone I've seen and can also throw all the other passes with solid consistency.His footwork is good, lets the ball fly on time, has very good awareness while in the pocket and works hard off the field. Again, he needs some more game experience, especially as it relates to reading his progressions. More developmental time with coach Harbaugh would be good too, because he hasn't had to step up and be the team leader to this point. I would say that by the time the 2012 NFL Draft rolls around, he'd be a lock for a top 5 pick.

[Stl Bills]

BLAINE GABBERT!

 

that is all......

 

Seriously though Astro, where is big Blaine's write up?

[Coach55]

The real question is - who is going to be available at pick 32?

[aristocrat]

The real question is - who is going to be available at pick 32?

 

i like where your head is at

[Spiderweb]

i like where your head is at

 

.....up his azzzzz?

 

(Just kidding.......just couldn't resist the blatant setup)

[dollars 2 donuts]

The most impressive stat of all?

 

 

Jerrod Johnson's "...6,000 years as the Aggies starter."

 

 

[N.Y. Orangeman]

Those rankings are atrocious....

[Astrobot]

Those rankings are atrocious....

Awaiting yours.

[CarolinaBill]

can you provide write-ups on stanzi and enderle please, thank you

[mpl6876]

For me, this college season is going to be more fun than ever because I am going to be watching all the top QB's. Then come draft day I will hope and pray we can "land" a franchise QB. My fear is we won't be in position to get the top 1 or 2 Qb's, we will draft the wrong one, or we will do nothing.

 

Either way, I am sure I will find something to B word about. LOL

[Ramius]

I can answer any questions or concerns about Ponder. I'd say that he's the most NFL-ready QB in college right now, and i think he's capable of starting from day 1 for a team.

[Astrobot]

I can answer any questions or concerns about Ponder. I'd say that he's the most NFL-ready QB in college right now, and i think he's capable of starting from day 1 for a team.

That's what McGlothlin is saying as well as many others. Here's Gil Brandt's 2 cents' worth from NFL.com. Brandt has Locker at the top of RD1; he has Ponder at the bottom third, but we're a long way off:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d818e...spects-for-2011

[JohnC]

For me, this college season is going to be more fun than ever because I am going to be watching all the top QB's. Then come draft day I will hope and pray we can "land" a franchise QB. My fear is we won't be in position to get the top 1 or 2 Qb's, we will draft the wrong one, or we will do nothing.

 

Either way, I am sure I will find something to B word about. LOL

 

What if we draft another back? Will that get your juices going? How about drafting a CB in the first round? How about a DE/OLB tweener? LOL

[bartshan-83]

Michael Floyd is the real deal. He's as close to a sure thing WR as you'll get. Only concerns are injury history (has missed time in both seasons). But he's a Larry Fitz waiting to happen.