MadDog's Best Player Board 1-30 March 11 Edition

Greetings all! Revving up more daily for the draft. Suckered into another year of round the clock futility in ranking/grading players and evaluating where I believe they will land during draft weekend.

In this post, I make an initial evaluation of a Generic Best Player Available Board. This would be slightly different from a Best Player Available for the 49ers, as selecting a QB or a 43 DE wouldn't make much sense.

As always, this board will be in motion, so expect movement through the draft season. The evaluation process is a long journey. That being said, my positional rankings at the top tier don't tend to shift much, if at all. Carlos Hyde has been since mid-season, and will be, through the draft weekend, my best available RB, and I feel the same way about Bridgewater.

Here is my top 30, matching the Niners' selection position in the first round.

2014 NFL Draft Best Board
Pick Player School Position
1 Greg Robinson Auburn OT
2 Sammy Watkins Clemson WR
3 Khalil Mack Buffalo DE/OLB
4 Aaron Donald Pittsburgh DT
5 Mike Evans Texas A&M WR
6 Carlos Hyde Ohio State RB
7 Odell Beckham LSU WR
8 Dee Ford Auburn LB
9 Justin Gilbert Oklahoma State CB
10 Brandin Cooks Oregon St WR
11 Teddy Bridgewater Louisville QB
12 Zach Martin Notre Dame OT/G
13 Ryan Shazier Ohio State LB
14 Jadeveon Clowney South Carolina DE
15 Jake Matthews Texas A&M OT
16 Anthony Barr UCLA LB
17 Calvin Pryor Louisville S
18 Darqueze Dennard Michigan St CB
19 Jason Varrett TCU CB
20 Jimmie Ward Northern Illinois S
21 Xavier Su'a-Filo UCLA G
22 Dominique Easley Florida DT
23 Timmy Jernigan Florida State DT
24 Blake Bortles Central Florida QB
25 Hasean Clinton-Dix Alabama S
26 Kyle Fuller Virginia Tech CB
27 Eric Ebron North Carolina TE
28 Joel Bitonio Nevada OT/G
29 Taylor Lewan Michigan OT
30 Telvin Smith Florida State SS/OLB

Pretty high on Telvin Smith, huh. OLB in a 4-3 scheme, do you like him best?

Do you really believe, in this draft as deep as it is, that Clinton-Dix is in the top 25 of all prospects? I find that so hard to believe, I guess because I think hes very overrated in his coverage abilities and I don't think he does anything extremely well. Would like to know more on your thoughts of him.

Thanks MD...always fun to read your analysis. There are so many things I have zooming around my head this year...including 9er needs and the chance that some of these guys will be huge busts! You have four WRs in the top ten and then none in the next twenty. Then one QB in the top ten, two in the top thirty...but we know that there may be four going in the first fifteen of the draft.

I don't disagree with your rating...don't know enough to venture there...but it is always fascinating that top athletes are not synonymous with mock value, or even actual draft value. We see this every year. QBs usually drift up, while TEs tend to drift down...etc.

When will you have a mock out?

beckham, cooks, and fuller are ten or so picks too high. bitonio? is he that good?

Originally posted by SFL49ER:
Pretty high on Telvin Smith, huh. OLB in a 4-3 scheme, do you like him best?

Do you really believe, in this draft as deep as it is, that Clinton-Dix is in the top 25 of all prospects? I find that so hard to believe, I guess because I think hes very overrated in his coverage abilities and I don't think he does anything extremely well. Would like to know more on your thoughts of him.

Like Smith a lot. Simply makes a ton of plays. Definitely a Tampa 2 type OLB at the next level.

As for Clinton-Dix, I am starting to come around more on the kid. Tend to believe, and see play out, that Alabama defenders get overdrafted and flame out in the NFL, but can't make blanket judgment on all Bama defenders. I think he ends up as a starting FS right away and has a nice career. Had a good combine and I am sure a fine Pro-Day. That being said, I have Pryor and Ward over him as safeties.

Originally posted by dtg_9er:
Thanks MD...always fun to read your analysis. There are so many things I have zooming around my head this year...including 9er needs and the chance that some of these guys will be huge busts! You have four WRs in the top ten and then none in the next twenty. Then one QB in the top ten, two in the top thirty...but we know that there may be four going in the first fifteen of the draft.

I don't disagree with your rating...don't know enough to venture there...but it is always fascinating that top athletes are not synonymous with mock value, or even actual draft value. We see this every year. QBs usually drift up, while TEs tend to drift down...etc.

When will you have a mock out?

Full draft Big Board coming in the next week. Looking at the last round now. The seventh round is a graveyard for all people who try to slot people in.

QBs tend to be overdrafted yearly. That being said, I think Manziel is in for a real slide. Bridgwater, Bortles, Carr should all go top 8, but thinking that the talent is so strong at the top of the draft, that some teams with QB needs with bypass and look for second tier guys in rounds 2 and 3.

Would lay money the team is drafting CB in the first this year. Varrett and Fuller should be in that area.

Originally posted by xcfan:
beckham, cooks, and fuller are ten or so picks too high. bitonio? is he that good?

This is my personal grading, not where I feel they will end up being drafted. I do grade the list you presented higher than I expect them to be selected.

Bitonio is good, really good. He will be talked about as a pontential late first rounder in the next few months. Great career at Nevada, versatile as an OT or G, excellent Senior Bowl week and studly Combine. Checking all the boxes. One of the safer picks in the top 50.

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
Full draft Big Board coming in the next week. Looking at the last round now. The seventh round is a graveyard for all people who try to slot people in.

QBs tend to be overdrafted yearly. That being said, I think Manziel is in for a real slide. Bridgwater, Bortles, Carr should all go top 8, but thinking that the talent is so strong at the top of the draft, that some teams with QB needs with bypass and look for second tier guys in rounds 2 and 3.

Would lay money the team is drafting CB in the first this year. Varrett and Fuller should be in that area.

This, may try to trade up if one of the top 2 CB slide, which I doubt.

Originally posted by LottOfDefense:

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
Full draft Big Board coming in the next week. Looking at the last round now. The seventh round is a graveyard for all people who try to slot people in.

QBs tend to be overdrafted yearly. That being said, I think Manziel is in for a real slide. Bridgwater, Bortles, Carr should all go top 8, but thinking that the talent is so strong at the top of the draft, that some teams with QB needs with bypass and look for second tier guys in rounds 2 and 3.

Would lay money the team is drafting CB in the first this year. Varrett and Fuller should be in that area.

This, may try to trade up if one of the top 2 CB slide, which I doubt.

I will add that Marqise Lee is probably someone the team will take a long look at as well.

your list is based on what pick they will be drafted at right?

so u think Clowney goes 14th and no Manziel in the first?

Hey, MD, have been out of action for 3 months and just found out about founders 49ers Gold. Congratulations, and well deserved. Somehow I have a feeling Jonathan Martin gets back to Stanford ability, with his old coach, but still, if there is one of those OLs out there we could snag, I bet we do. We need DBs most, but TB likes OLs, which is fine by me.

Originally posted by Amir:
your list is based on what pick they will be drafted at right?

so u think Clowney goes 14th and no Manziel in the first?

I think that's a different list of his. This is simply BPA, his ranking of the players not where he thinks they will land.

Originally posted by GoldenJoe:

Originally posted by Amir:
your list is based on what pick they will be drafted at right?

so u think Clowney goes 14th and no Manziel in the first?

I think that's a different list of his. This is simply BPA, his ranking of the players not where he thinks they will land.

ahh ok. gotcha.

Thanks Mad Dog, this lists is sort of what I had in mind for a Niners draft board. Who do they think are their list of players and as they get checked off the list they would just pick the next player in line because of how they rate players and who they think that they need. So a lot of players would be automatically off their list before the draft even started. Thanks again for all of your work.

So if there was a nice run on QBs and OTs in the first round of the draft it would potentially push Gilbert, Dennard, Pryor, Varret T. Smith, Clinton-Dix into a range that we could trade up to get? Thanks again for the info.