MadDog's 2014 NFL Draft Pre-Combine Big 100 Board

Draft Fever is right around the corner, and this is my first attempt in 2014 to project where I think the best prospects will land. This is not a grading board, nor a mock draft. It is a ballpark estimation of where I feel players will land (in the general vicinity). Trades dramatically alter the location of where teams select, so I tend to look more at an overall projection than a specific slot to a specific team picking a specific player.

Couple notes: Dominique Easley is not on my Big 100 Board. After a second torn ACL, I feel his medicals will push him into the 4th round (even though he is a terrific player). I tend to be a bit skeptical of high rankings for underclassmen, after the top tier is selected. Most are also shocked on draft weekend. Yearly, we see guys who think they are a first rounder, and many also project in the first round, slide into the third. Many might be angered with my placement of Jordan Matthews. Matthews is the perfect student of the game, and a terrific college talent. I am not so sure he breeches the top 50 picks due to speed and explosiveness limitations. Thus, closer to the end of the second round than the first.

Of course, there is still a LOT of fluidity on the board, and the combine and campus workouts will alter the placement of players. For now, this is where I think they stand.

Cheers,

2014 NFL Draft 255 Big Board
Pick Player School Position
1 Teddy Bridgewater Louisville QB
2 Blake Bortles Central Florida QB
3 Jadeveon Clowney South Carolina DE
4 Jake Matthews Texas A&M OT
5 Sammy Watkins Clemson WR
6 Anthony Barr UCLA LB
7 Johnny Manziel Texas A&M QB
8 Derek Carr Fresno State QB
9 Greg Robinson Auburn OT
10 Khalil Mack Buffalo DE/OLB
11 Mike Evans Texas A&M WR
12 Darqueze Dennard Michigan St CB
13 Justin Gilbert Oklahoma State CB
14 Kony Ealy Missouri DE/OLB
15 Zach Martin Notre Dame OT/G
16 Cyrus Kouandjio Alabama OT
17 Taylor Lewan Michigan OT
18 Dee Ford Auburn LB
19 CJ Mosley Alabama OLB
20 Ra'Shede Hageman Minnesota DT
21 Ryan Shazier Ohio State LB
22 Eric Ebron North Carolina TE
23 Scott Crichton Oregon St DE/OLB
24 Kelvin Benjamin Florida State WR
25 Aaron Donald Pittsburgh DT
26 Jace Amaro Texas Tech TE
27 Hasean Clinton-Dix Alabama S
28 Morgan Moses Virginia OT
29 Louis Nix Notre Dame DT
30 Kyle Van Noy BYU LB
31 Marqise Lee USC WR
32 Timmy Jernigan Florida State DT
33 Stephon Tuitt Notre Dame DT
34 Calvin Pryor Louisville S
35 Xavier Su'a-Filo UCLA G
36 Brandin Cooks Oregon St WR
37 Jason Varrett TCU CB
38 Ka'Deem Carey Arizona RB
39 Jimmie Ward Northern Illinois S
40 Jimmy Garappolo Eastern Illinois QB
41 Allen Robinson Penn State WR
42 David Yankey Stanford G
43 Marcus Roberson Florida CB
44 Bradley Roby Ohio State CB
45 Ed Reynolds Stanford S
46 Tre Mason Auburn RB
47 Jaylen Watkins Florida CB
48 Jackson Jeffcoat Texas DE
49 Carl Bradford Arizona St DE/OLB
50 Gabe Jackson Mississippi St G
51 Carlos Hyde Ohio State RB
52 Austin Seferian-Jenkins Washington TE
53 Jordan Matthews Vanderbilt WR
54 Chris Smith Arkansas DE/OLB
55 Pierre Desir Lindenwood CB
56 Jarvis Landry LSU WR
57 Odell Beckham LSU WR
58 Will Sutton Arizona St DT
59 Charles Sims West Virginia RB
60 Stanley Jean-Baptiste Nebraska CB
61 Deone Buchanon Washington St S
62 Antonio Richardson Tennessee OT
63 Jack Mewhort Ohio State OT
64 Keith McGill Utah CB
65 Mike Davis Texas WR
66 Jeremy Hill LSU RB
67 Kyle Fuller Virginia Tech CB
68 Yawin Smallwood Connecticut LB
69 Robert Herron Wyoming WR
70 Jared Abbrederis Wisconsin WR
71 Marcus Smith Louisville LB
72 Jeremiah Attaochu Georgia Tech LB
73 Trent Murphy Stanford LB
74 Joel Bitonio Nevada OT/G
75 Lamarcus Joyner Florida State CB
76 Davante Adams Fresno State WR
77 Trevor Reilly Utah DE
78 Kelcy Quarles South Carolina DT
79 Paul Richardson Colorado WR
80 Troy Niklas Notre Dame TE
81 Josh Huff Oregon WR
82 Marcus Martin USC C
83 Bishop Sankey Washington RB
84 Brandon Thomas Clemson OT/G
85 Travis Swanson Arkansas C
86 Cyril Richardson Baylor G
87 Chris Borland Wisconsin LB
88 DaQuan Jones Penn State DT
89 Cameron Fleming Stanford OT
90 Anthony Johnson LSU DT
91 Michael Sam Missouri DE/OLB
92 Louchiez Purifoy Florida CB
93 Telvin Smith Florida State SS/OLB
94 Weston Richburg Colorado St C
95 Billy Turner North Dakota St OT
96 Christian Jones Florida State LB
97 Dion Bailey USC S
98 Chris Davis Auburn CB
99 CJ Fiedorowicz Iowa TE
100 Zach Mettenberger LSU QB[/u]

I think you are 15 spots too low on Marquise Lee. Not a chance he lasts to the 31st pick but I would be VERY happy if he did and the Niners grabbed him with their first.

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:
I think you are 15 spots too low on Marquise Lee. Not a chance he lasts to the 31st pick but I would be VERY happy if he did and the Niners grabbed him with their first.

I agree. I also assume that if he is falling into the late 20's, some other team is going to trade up ahead of us to get him.

MD, do you believe some of these longer corners are going to be over-drafted, based on where their skill-set implies they should be, due to the success of Seattle?

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:

I think you are 15 spots too low on Marquise Lee. Not a chance he lasts to the 31st pick but I would be VERY happy if he did and the Niners grabbed him with their first.

I don't think his measurables will impress enough to warrant a top 15 pick. Probably will come in at 6', 190, and run a 4.55 forty. No doubt the kid was a really good college players. Just not sure the combine will be his place to shine, thus dropping him slightly. Tough to gauge with juniors since there is no post-season game/practice to see them matched up against the other college all-stars.

Originally posted by RollinWith21n52:

MD, do you believe some of these longer corners are going to be over-drafted, based on where their skill-set implies they should be, due to the success of Seattle?

Absolutely. I wouldn't grade Jean-Baptiste as a second rounder (I think he is a bit tight), but I think the trend is to go with these jumbo-sized CB to matchup with the bigger WR's in the NFL. This also impacts terrific, but shorter CB's like Joyner. At 5'8", it is a nightmare matchup against guys 5-8 inches taller.

I believe McGill and Desir are nice prospects, but both are really raw.

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:
I think you are 15 spots too low on Marquise Lee. Not a chance he lasts to the 31st pick but I would be VERY happy if he did and the Niners grabbed him with their first.

I don't think his measurables will impress enough to warrant a top 15 pick. Probably will come in at 6', 190, and run a 4.55 forty. No doubt the kid was a really good college players. Just not sure the combine will be his place to shine, thus dropping him slightly. Tough to gauge with juniors since there is no post-season game/practice to see them matched up against the other college all-stars.

He may drop to the early 20s but no way to 31. I watched this kid every game and he is a special talent in my opinion. When he was healthy and had a good QB throwing to him he was unstoppable.

Always interesting to see your BBs, MD.

Some intriguing values for me...

too high:
16 Cyrus Kouandjio Alabama OT
23 Scott Crichton Oregon St DE/OLB
28 Morgan Moses Virginia OT
81 Josh Huff Oregon WR
82 Marcus Martin USC C

too low:
57 Odell Beckham LSU WR
71 Marcus Smith Louisville LB
75 Lamarcus Joyner Florida State CB
100 Zach Mettenberger LSU QB

other notes: Love that you have Jimmie Ward high, and puzzled that Ego Furgeson doesn't make your 100.

Originally posted by Mr.Mcgibblets:
Always interesting to see your BBs, MD.

Some intriguing values for me...

too high:
16 Cyrus Kouandjio Alabama OT
23 Scott Crichton Oregon St DE/OLB
28 Morgan Moses Virginia OT
81 Josh Huff Oregon WR
82 Marcus Martin USC C

too low:
57 Odell Beckham LSU WR
71 Marcus Smith Louisville LB
75 Lamarcus Joyner Florida State CB
100 Zach Mettenberger LSU QB

other notes: Love that you have Jimmie Ward high, and puzzled that Ego Furgeson doesn't make your 100.

I would say that he is just about right here. Mettenberger is heavily injured and I wouldn't say that he was SO good this season.

I like Beckham jr. but he is very light and he dropped some passes, I've read sth. about 7% which is high. I assume that MD would set him higher IF the wr-class were much thinner than it actually is.

Joyner is just 5-8. I mean, the avg CB is about 5-10 but even this is sometimes a disavdantage against bigger receivers, not to mention against TEs. Said that, Joyner is even smaller. An early 3rd-round pick is ok, though he could go in the late 2nd round as well.

Seems like folks are going overboard on the scouting of these tall corners. But It's not like Seattle just got successful. They were last year as well. It's just hard to find tall good corners. I actually think Baptiste and McGill are 3rd/4th rounders. But folks seem to be really hype on these guys being drafted fairley early for thier skillset. These dudes are super raw. I like Baptisite a little bit more than McGill but i don't see much seperation between the two. I need to look more into Desir.

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by RollinWith21n52:
MD, do you believe some of these longer corners are going to be over-drafted, based on where their skill-set implies they should be, due to the success of Seattle?

Absolutely. I wouldn't grade Jean-Baptiste as a second rounder (I think he is a bit tight), but I think the trend is to go with these jumbo-sized CB to matchup with the bigger WR's in the NFL. This also impacts terrific, but shorter CB's like Joyner. At 5'8", it is a nightmare matchup against guys 5-8 inches taller.

I believe McGill and Desir are nice prospects, but both are really raw.

Can Joyner succeed in the NFL? We always hear about guys that drop due to size and flourish in the NFL (Wilson, Atkins, etc.), what we don't hear often about are small players, the drop due to size, and rightfully so, as they don't succeed. So hard for me to gauge which one this guy will be...

Thank you for the big 100. I think I ask you about this every year but maybe this year we will get it from you. Any plans on your evaluation board and any plans for your personal draft board after the combine? Any plans about your evaluation of what you think that the Niners will go for? Thanks for all of your input I think they are great.

1) I hope they are able to trade a few picks to continue to get more picks next year.
2) Is there someone they love that they move to get, like they did with Reid and Davis?
3) Or do they trade down and start working the magic on 2nd and 3rd round guys?

(Could they walk away with Bucannon, Gabe Jackson, Kyle Fuller, Davante and a Travis Swanson?)

Originally posted by ninergold:
1) I hope they are able to trade a few picks to continue to get more picks next year.
2) Is there someone they love that they move to get, like they did with Reid and Davis?
3) Or do they trade down and start working the magic on 2nd and 3rd round guys?

(Could they walk away with Bucannon, Gabe Jackson, Kyle Fuller, Davante and a Travis Swanson?)

Wrong thread.

Originally posted by lamontb:
Seems like folks are going overboard on the scouting of these tall corners. But It's not like Seattle just got successful. They were last year as well. It's just hard to find tall good corners. I actually think Baptiste and McGill are 3rd/4th rounders. But folks seem to be really hype on these guys being drafted fairley early for thier skillset. These dudes are super raw. I like Baptisite a little bit more than McGill but i don't see much seperation between the two. I need to look more into Desir.

Just curious, what makes you think guys like Baptiste, Desir, Dontae Johnson or Walt Aikens are more "raw" than other non-first round corners? SJB and Aikens have played CB for 3 years now, Desir has played corner for his entire career and Dontae Johnson has 2+ years of experience at the position, which is the same as Lamarcus Joyner. Not sure anyone would consider Joyner "raw."

The only guy who legitimately can be called raw is McGill with only one season of big-time college football as a corner and injuries have been the bigger issue with him not getting enough action.