MadDog49er Best Player Available Top 100 Board Tuesday May 6

Less than 48 hours outside the draft, I am posting my best player available board, with what I perceive are the top 100 graded players going into the draft.

This is not a draft projection, which is my Big 256 board, nor a 49ers board, which would exclude many of these players due to team needs, positions already anchored, or scheme. I will post both of these boardw in the next couple of days.

Couple notes: As stated for some time now, I do not see Clowney as a top 10 graded player entering the draft. Although he has top-level talent, I see holes in his game that push him down the board for me. Could he emerge as the star of this draft? Easily, if he puts the time and energy into it. I just don't see the passion to commit to being elite, so I remain a skeptic.

In addition to swimming against the stream regarding Clowney, I also have Jimmy Garappolo as my top graded QB entering the draft, although he is pushed substantially down the board. My belief in Bridgewater has slipped, mostly due to his Wonderlic score of 20, more than one erratic workout. Add his struggle to maintain weight, I see a number of red flags that push him down.

I do grade Dennard much lower than most, and Gaines much higher.

In the end, I believe the Niners, if they stay at number 30, will select from this list of players: Cody Latimer, Jason Verrett, Joel Bitonio, Allen Robinson, Jordan Matthews,

Cheers,

2014 NFL Draft Best Board
Pick Player School Position
1 Khalil Mack Buffalo DE/OLB
2 Greg Robinson Auburn OT
3 Sammy Watkins Clemson WR
4 Mike Evans Texas A&M WR
5 Aaron Donald Pittsburgh DT
6 Odell Beckham LSU WR
7 Zack Martin Notre Dame OT/G
8 Ryan Shazier Ohio State LB
9 Carlos Hyde Ohio State RB
10 Jake Matthews Texas A&M OT
11 Anthony Barr UCLA LB
12 Brandin Cooks Oregon St WR
13 Jadeveon Clowney South Carolina DE
14 Kyle Fuller Virginia Tech CB
15 Justin Gilbert Oklahoma State CB
16 Taylor Lewan Michigan OT
17 Joel Bitonio Nevada OT/G/C
18 Jason Verrett TCU CB
19 Hasean Clinton-Dix Alabama S
20 Calvin Pryor Louisville S
21 Dee Ford Auburn LB
22 Jimmie Ward Northern Illinois S
23 Jeremiah Attaochu Georgia Tech LB
24 Allen Robinson Penn State WR
25 Xavier Su'a-Filo UCLA G
26 Weston Richburg Colorado St C
27 Eric Ebron North Carolina TE
28 Deone Buchanon Washington St S
30 Jimmy Garappolo Eastern Illinois QB
31 Cody Latimer Indiana WR
32 CJ Mosley Alabama OLB
33 Marcus Smith Louisville LB
34 Marcus Martin USC C
35 Terrence Brooks Florida State S
36 Jace Amaro Texas Tech TE
37 Phillip Gaines Rice CB
38 Darqueze Dennard Michigan St CB
39 Dominique Easley Florida DT
40 Jeremy Hill LSU RB
41 Ja'Wuan James Tennessee OT
42 Morgan Moses Virginia OT
43 Jordan Matthews Vanderbilt WR
44 Blake Bortles Central Florida QB
45 Marqise Lee USC WR
46 Jarvis Landry LSU WR
47 Devanta Freeman Florida State RB
48 Teddy Bridgewater Louisville QB
49 Bishop Sankey Washington RB
50 Bradley Roby Ohio State CB
51 Timmy Jernigan Florida State DT
52 Brandon Thomas Clemson OT/G
53 Scott Crichton Oregon St DE
54 Kyle Van Noy BYU LB
55 Donte Moncrief Arkansas WR
56 Derek Carr Fresno State QB
57 Troy Niklas Notre Dame TE
58 Telvin Smith Florida State SS/OLB
59 Davante Adams Fresno State WR
60 Martavis Bryant Clemson WR
61 Gabe Jackson Mississippi St G
62 Jordan Tripp Montana LB
63 Jared Abbrederis Wisconsin WR
64 Stephon Tuitt Notre Dame DT
65 Louis Nix Notre Dame DT
66 Austin Seferian-Jenkins Washington TE
67 Pierre Desir Lindenwood CB
68 Lamarcus Joyner Florida State CB
69 Terrance West Towson RB
70 Kony Ealy Missouri DE/OLB
71 Stanley Jean-Baptiste Nebraska CB
72 Paul Richardson Colorado WR
73 Jack Mewhort Ohio State OT
74 Demarcus Lawrence Boise St DE/OLB
75 Zach Mettenberger LSU QB
76 Ra'Shede Hageman Minnesota DT
77 Keith McGill Utah CB
78 Robert Herron Wyoming WR
79 Dri Archer Kent St WR
80 CJ Fiedorowicz Iowa TE
81 Carl Bradford Arizona St DE/OLB
82 Johnny Manziel Texas A&M QB
83 Rashaad Reynolds Oregon St S
84 Storm Johnson Central Florida RB
85 Bashaud Breeland Clemson CB
86 Chris Borland Wisconsin LB
87 Kareem Martin North Carolina DE
88 DaQuan Jones Penn State DT
89 Jaylen Watkins Florida CB
90 Kevin Norwood Alabama WR
91 Jordan Zumwalt UCLA LB
92 Dontae Johnson North Carolina St CB/S
93 Charles Sims West Virginia RB
94 Will Clarke West Virginia DE
95 Chris Smith Arkansas DE/OLB
96 Tom Savage Pittsburgh QB
97 Dakota Dozier Furman G
98 Tre Mason Auburn RB
99 Bruce Ellington South Carolina WR
100 Christian Kirksey Iowa LB

Thread title says April 6. It's May 6. You're slipping MD!

Excited to see Beckham, Fuller, and Verrett in the top 20. Beckham is top 10. These are the guys the WZ is really focusing on. I'm confident no matter what, the 49ers are going to pick a very talented player. There will be no A.J. Jenkins screw up this year.

Originally posted by SofaKing:

Thread title says April 6. It's May 6. You're slipping MD!

Thanks for noticing. Long day, passing 12:30 EST. Sleep deprivation taking over.

I admire your decisiveness revealed by not putting Kelvin Benjamin in even top 100. This isn't a sarcasm. Honestly I still cannot completely remove this lazy lady from my wish list.
Have a nice dream.

I know that there are some concerns about his work ethic, but I've never seen him this far down on the charts:

13 Jadeveon Clowney South Carolina DE

Do you really think he's got that much potential to disappoint?

Originally posted by yoshi:
I admire your decisiveness revealed by not putting Kelvin Benjamin in even top 100. This isn't a sarcasm. Honestly I still cannot completely remove this lazy lady from my wish list.
Have a nice dream.

I don't like Benjamin at all, and think he will be one of the great overhyped busts in the draft. He simply cannot move well enough on the field to play WR in the NFL, and will be converted to TE in a few years. I could be completely 100% wrong, but feel very strong in my opinion that he is going to struggle. I have a 5th round grade on him, simply on the concept that he could become a serviceable backup TE with red zone ability at the next level.

Originally posted by socal9er42:
I know that there are some concerns about his work ethic, but I've never seen him this far down on the charts:

13 Jadeveon Clowney South Carolina DE

Do you really think he's got that much potential to disappoint?

Combination of two issues:
1. This is a strong draft. Not as strong as 2011, but think about ranking him in that draft. Would he be better than a JJ Watt, AJ Green, Patrick Peterson, Von Miller, Aldon Smith, Tyron Smith, Robert Quinn, Justin Houston, Colin Kaepernick, Marcel Dareus, etc. While I do not believe 2014 will match the might of 2011, which I stated back then would be the best draft class in our generation, it is going be really strong.

2. My biggest beef with Clowney is that he had a tendency to shut down this year when faced with adversity. Let's face it. The NFL is a monster, and you have to overcome issues such as facing stud OT's who will get the best of you in one-on-one matchups the vast majority of the time. You have to keep fighting. For those who think his stats were a shell compared to 2012 because of double-teaming, get used to it in the NFL. The best are going to get double-teamed a lot. Does someone believe that Mack was not double-teamed in 2013? You still have to be productive in other ways. I simply did not see his game elevate when faced with these challenges. Can you elevate your game in the face of adversity? In the end, I don't see a bust, because I still grade him as the 13th best. I just see a brighter future for a dozen other players.

As for ranking him 13th best, I am a lone wolf, for sure. But, I am always honest in my evaluation, even if it means taking the lonely road. Trust me, if Clowney becomes a monster in the NFL, many people, for sure, will rib me over this analysis.

For those playing at home, my WR board looks like this:
1. Watkins
2. Evans
3. Beckham
4. Cooks
5. Robinson
6. Latimer
7. Matthews
8. Lee
9. Landry
10. Montcrief
11. Adams
12. Bryant
13. Abbrederis
14. Richardson
15. Herron
16. Archer
17. Norwood- who I really like as a mid-round pick.

Originally posted by socal9er42:
I know that there are some concerns about his work ethic, but I've never seen him this far down on the charts:

13 Jadeveon Clowney South Carolina DE

Do you really think he's got that much potential to disappoint?

I don't understand this mind set. Why would thinking someone is one of the dozen or so best players in the draft, instead of literally the best player, mean they will be a bust or "disappoint".

We all know the draft is a complete crapshoot, so ranking someone a few spots higher or lower really means nothing. If you are picked in the first half of the first round, the expectations are the same whether it's number 1 or number 14. You are expected to be a player with difference maker potential.

In the 2011 draft 12 of the top 16 picks became probowlers, with 3 of the players who aren't being QBs that were obviously drafted too early because of position. But in 2012 after the two big QBs were taken, spots 4, 9, 11, and 31 were the probowlers. In 2013 (early results obviously) you didn't see a probolwer until spots 18 (Eric Reid) and 20.

The point being, players get graded up or down all the time based on the latest opinions and/or team needs. All it means is which team they will play for and/or how much money they make. Any first rounder has pretty much the same boom or bust potential. I don't think anyone here will ever forget which QB looks like a HOFer from the 2005 draft. Was it pick 1 or 23?

Anyone worthy of consideration as a first rounder, and especially a top 10-15 slot first rounder is a player that the NFL collectively thinks has the potential to be a stud. It really doesn't matter if they are picked number 1, top 5, top 20 or 32.

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
For those playing at home, my WR board looks like this:
1. Watkins
2. Evans
3. Beckham
4. Cooks
5. Robinson
6. Latimer
7. Matthews
8. Lee
9. Landry
10. Montcrief
11. Adams
12. Bryant
13. Abbrederis
14. Richardson
15. Herron
16. Archer
17. Norwood- who I really like as a mid-round pick.

You have Robinson a little higher than most and listed him among the Niner's potential picks at #30. He seems to be getting less attention than most of the other potential 1st and 2nd round receivers in this class. I'm curious to hear your evaluation of him.

35 Terrence Brooks Florida State LB

Pretty sure Brooks is a safety.

Are you moving him to linebacker?

Originally posted by buck:
35 Terrence Brooks Florida State LB

Pretty sure Brooks is a safety.

Are you moving him to linebacker?

A very good safety. Not sure how that happened. Excel spreadsheet goof.

Originally posted by CornellU49er:

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

For those playing at home, my WR board looks like this:
1. Watkins
2. Evans
3. Beckham
4. Cooks
5. Robinson
6. Latimer
7. Matthews
8. Lee
9. Landry
10. Montcrief
11. Adams
12. Bryant
13. Abbrederis
14. Richardson
15. Herron
16. Archer
17. Norwood- who I really like as a mid-round pick.

You have Robinson a little higher than most and listed him among the Niner's potential picks at #30. He seems to be getting less attention than most of the other potential 1st and 2nd round receivers in this class. I'm curious to hear your evaluation of him.

I was thinking the same thing. I would like to hear MD evaluation also

Charley Casserly raised this point last night on NFLN with regard to the Clowney vs. Mack debate...

Imagine Jadeveon Clowney playing in the MAC.

If Houston drafts Clowney and stands him up on the outside in their 3-4, he will be an absolute force immediately. 13.5 sacks as a sophomore in the SEC is nothing to sneeze at, and he was already getting doubled and chipped consistently then. The way teams schemed around him this year was unlike anything I've ever seen in college football.