MadDog's Early Big 100 Board

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by krizay:
You have Benn ahead of Tate and Shipley ahead of Gilyard?


I actually like all 4 but Tate/Gilyard/Benn Shipley order. But can see the Benn ahead of Gilyard.

But back to my original question. Really?

Speed, brother. Watch Benn burn the turf in Indi, and make a rise up the board. Good NFL body, as well. Scouts know that playing with Juice Williams was impossible for his productivity, and he didn't complain during this year. That REALLY impressed scouts and coaches.

I am very concerned about Gilyard's forty time, and I believe this is going to drop him down the board. He's got to run sharper routes and get off the LOS better. Terrific college player, no doubt. As for Shipley, he has Indi's Anthony Gonzalez written all over him.

After the Sugar Bowl your order will change.

Originally posted by krizay:

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by krizay:
You have Benn ahead of Tate and Shipley ahead of Gilyard?


I actually like all 4 but Tate/Gilyard/Benn Shipley order. But can see the Benn ahead of Gilyard.

But back to my original question. Really?

Speed, brother. Watch Benn burn the turf in Indi, and make a rise up the board. Good NFL body, as well. Scouts know that playing with Juice Williams was impossible for his productivity, and he didn't complain during this year. That REALLY impressed scouts and coaches.

I am very concerned about Gilyard's forty time, and I believe this is going to drop him down the board. He's got to run sharper routes and get off the LOS better. Terrific college player, no doubt. As for Shipley, he has Indi's Anthony Gonzalez written all over him.

After the Sugar Bowl your order will change.

We'll soon see. This will be a big game for him, as the Florida secondary is pretty good.

Golden Tate is much better than the 20s.

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
Everything looks just about right to me, MD. I think this is a very accurate assessment.

I do, of course, have some small disagreements that I must mention.

Discrepancies: (I will only post discrepancies of approx. 10 spots or greater)

Arrelious Benn (-20), by "-20" I see him going about 20 spots later.
Brian Price (+10)
Dwyer (+20)
Canfield (-10)
Fox (+10) -- Even despite the injury.
Gresham (+10)
Colt McCoy (+10)
Tebow (-10)

That's about it. And lastly.

Typos:

Wootton instead of Wooten.

Again, still very good. It's still early obviously, but I agree with this list just about all around.

Thanks for the spelling on Wootton. Another mindless spelling error.

One cheating note living in Big Ten land. During the year, there was a ton of talk about Benn, who just didn't put up the numbers he expected. The beat writers for Illinois spoke to scouts who really like the kid a lot, and feel that his best football is ahead. This scout thought Benn would be a top 15 lock if he played for vitually any team in the country outside of Illinois. And, he's a really good kid. Final note: I had the chance to watch him play live this year, and he can really run. Ran a 9 route right through the secondary and had some serious jets.

Being one of Benn's biggest fans, I have to agree that with a real QB at the helm, he would probably be considered a 1st round lock. Top 15, though, I'm not sure about that. He'd have to absolutely torch the 40.

Benn has insane acceleration; the way he can stop and hit full speed immediately just astounds me. He looks like Adrian Peterson playing wide receiver. If he runs 4.45 or lower, he may go in the late 1st (20-30 range), a la Hakeem Nicks. I think he has the tendency to drop some easy catches though, letting the ball get into his body.

After some serious thought over the past couple of weeks, I think the order of the top WR's selection spots this year is going to be very interesting, and concede Gilyard may fall to the early 2nd. My thoughts are: Will his incredible production and versatility land him in the 1st? Or will his good-but-not-blinding speed push him just far enough down to make him go in the 2nd, especially considering the super-fast DeSean Jackson went there himself? My conclusion: I just don't know.

I believe Gilyard is the most polished Senior wideout, but guys like Tate and Bryant are almost surely going to go in the 1st. If he slides to the 2nd, I see Cleveland pulling the trigger on Mardy immediately.

Originally posted by Reckless:
Golden Tate is much better than the 20s.

He doesn't seem like a to 15 pick to me.

Originally posted by jta854:

Originally posted by Reckless:
Golden Tate is much better than the 20s.

He doesn't seem like a to 15 pick to me.

Yeah, he is good but he isn't one of the best in the draft.

Is Gilyard multi-dimensional - can he catch punts, and kickoffs, and does he have enough speed to stretch the defense?

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by dmatt:
I admit to being ill informed about this draft, but you have a guard at 20 and a center at 27. That seems highly unlikely to me.

Very fair statements.

Let's start with the center position. In three of the last five drafts, a center was selected in the first round. In fact, two centers were drafted last year in the first round, including Alex Mack with the 21st overall ( the second, Eric Wood, has been moved to guard).

As for Iupati, many scouts and coaches think that he will transition to OT in the NFL. He is a unique talent at guard, and has the quickness to make this move, in my opinion. I've seen him play in three games this year, and am always surprised by how well he moves. The closest comparison I can make is from five years ago, in the 2004 NFL draft, when the Eagles trade up with the Niners in order to select Shawn Andrews at number 16 overall. They debated playing him at OT, but did have him settle at OG.

In the 2006 NFL Draft, the Bucs drafted Davin Joseph 23rd overall to play guard. And Joseph is not nearly as talented.

In certain drafts, players at specific positions have increased value. In this draft, the top senior center is probably a third rounder. So, if a team needs a center, they better take a long look at Maurkice Pouncey, at 6'5", 320 pounds. He's a new generation center, who is clearly the cream of this draft class. It looks very likely that he is coming out.

I hope the info helps.

there is a utube video showing mike iupati knocking usc ilb rey maluaga rigth off his cleats---a decleater--with a hand punch to the chest----very impressive given that maualaga was one of the real physical linebackers in college football

Originally posted by Ninefan56:
Is Gilyard multi-dimensional - can he catch punts, and kickoffs, and does he have enough speed to stretch the defense?

Gilyard's forty time is going to be watched very closely. My lower than expected projection is based on a pedestrian time. I've got a feeling this time is going to hurt his chances of being a top 50 pick.

One note: Bruin Report Online has stated that UCLA DT Brian Price will be entering the draft

MD any reports on Fox out of Miami. I know they reported he had surgery but is he expected to miss the combine?

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
One note: Bruin Report Online has stated that UCLA DT Brian Price will be entering the draft

Late 1st early 2nd?

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by ishkabibel:
MadDog -- I noticed you have Iupati listed as OT/G. you figure he's quick enough to move outside?

That is the whispering going on in scouting circles. He is really athletic, with terrific footwork. I'd have no problem with the team converting him to RT. He's just a good football player.

GBN report is today touting Iupati as OT possibly LT. Great call MD.

Originally posted by jta854:

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
One note: Bruin Report Online has stated that UCLA DT Brian Price will be entering the draft

Late 1st early 2nd?

There so many teams with DL issues that it would be surprising for Price to fall beyond the first handful of picks in the second round. So, your guess of a late 1st-early 2nd is probably spot on.

Price will compete with the other DT's in this draft to be the third DT off the board, after Suh and McCoy.

Originally posted by ishkabibel:

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Originally posted by ishkabibel:
MadDog -- I noticed you have Iupati listed as OT/G. you figure he's quick enough to move outside?

That is the whispering going on in scouting circles. He is really athletic, with terrific footwork. I'd have no problem with the team converting him to RT. He's just a good football player.

GBN report is today touting Iupati as OT possibly LT. Great call MD.

He's got a big game today. This is undoubtably the first nationally televised game of his career. So, it should be fun for the country to watch. I've seen him play three times this year, and I believe that his play is going to really generate interest from fans across the country.