Kiper 1st Look: Top-10 Players at all Offensive Positions....

[NewColtsFan]

Because it's never too early to start thinking about the next draft....   Piper is already turning out material....    I'm sure its at his editor's urging, he and Todd do not like doing this way too early looks.....     they say so on the air all the time.

 

But here is Mel's first look at the top-10 players at all OFFENSIVE positions......    again, a top-5 seniors,  and a top-5 underclassman

 

Hope you enjoy!!

 

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Last week, I released the Way-Too-Early 2017 Big Board, but that short list was pulled from a huge number of players currently in the evaluation pool for next year's draft. We have a long way to go, but here's an early look at prospects for every position

This is a mix of seniors and underclassmen, but early on, I separate the two so you see more senior players, as those are guys certain to be in the draft. By "underclassmen," I mean players who technically could return to school for another season. Those are true juniors and third-year sophomores. I've denoted the third-year sophomores with asterisks.

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Quarterbacks

Seniors

1. Davis Webb, Cal
2. Mitch Leidner, Minnesota
3. Chad Kelly, Mississippi
4. C.J. Beathard, Iowa
5. Cooper Rush, Central Michigan

Underclassmen

1. Deshaun Watson, Clemson
2. Brad Kaaya, Miami (Fla.)
3. Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State
4. J.T. Barrett, Ohio State
5. Pat Mahomes, Texas Tech

Watson and Kaaya are the top two names in this class, but don't bet against Webb and Leidner as first-round possibilities. Webb in particular has an NFL skill set and is a player NFL teams will watch closely. He could thrive in the draft process. (He also isn't officially committed for 2016 but should be this week.)

Running backs

Seniors

1. Justin Davis, USC
2. Donnel Pumphrey, San Diego State
3. Corey Clement, Wisconsin
4. Elijah McGuire, Louisiana-Lafayette
5. Shock Linwood, Baylor

Underclassmen

1. Leonard Fournette, LSU
2. Nick Chubb, Georgia
3. Jalen Hurd, Tennessee
4. Dalvin Cook, Florida State
5. Christian McCaffrey, Stanford

The talent at the junior level is significant, but mileage and injury concerns are obvious. Fournette had 300 carries last season, and Chubb will be coming back from a knee injury. Cook can move to the top; he's a major talent.

Fullbacks

Seniors

1. Freddie Stevenson, Florida State
2. Prescott Line, SMU
3. Nate Iese, UCLA
4. Sam Rogers, Virginia Tech
5. Kenneth Goins Jr., Maryland

Underclassmen

1. Chris Herndon, Miami (Fla.)
2. Jaylen Samuels, NC State
3. Dimitri Flowers, Oklahoma
4. J.D. Moore, LSU
5. Austin Ramesh, Wisconsin

This is another relatively anonymous group, but with a sneaky impressive level of production. Samuels is the envy of many in the fullback fraternity, as he piled up 16 touchdowns last season and has shown the ability to catch the ball.

Wide receivers

Seniors

1. Corey Davis, Western Michigan
2. Mike Williams, Clemson
3. Cooper Kupp, Eastern Washington
4. Josh Reynolds, Texas A&M
5. Travin Dural, LSU

Underclassmen

1. JuJu Smith-Schuster, USC
2. Malachi Dupre, LSU
3. Darren Carrington, Oregon
4. Isaiah Ford, Virginia Tech
5. KD Cannon, Baylor

Smith-Schuster can be a monster at times; he is physical, fast and fearless. LSU is clearly not short on talent, but somebody has to do a better job of getting these guys the ball. Williams is one to watch. A neck injury last season cost him a chance to enter the 2016 draft, and he should have a huge year with Deshaun Watson.

Tight ends

Seniors

1. Jake Butt, Michigan
2. O.J. Howard, Alabama
3. Jeremy Sprinkle, Arkansas
4. Jordan Leggett, Clemson
5. Evan Engram, Mississippi

Underclassmen

1. Bucky Hodges, Virginia Tech
2. DeAndre Goolsby, Florida
3. Brandon Lingen, Minnesota
4. Troy Fumagalli, Wisconsin
5. Jeb Blazevich, Georgia

The 2016 draft class was pretty thin at this position, but 2017 looks to be better, mostly because both Butt and Howard returned. Butt was super productive, but Howard is more of an enigma. People who saw the championship game were seeing him look good yet left uncovered. It'll be interesting to see if he can follow that game with a better season.

Offensive tackles

Seniors

1. Zach Banner, USC
2. Conor McDermott, UCLA
3. J.J. Dielman, Utah
4. Adam Bisnowaty, Pitt
5. Jon Heck, North Carolina

Underclassmen

1. Cam Robinson, Alabama
2. Roderick Johnson, Florida State
3. Tyrell Crosby, Oregon
4. Mike McGlinchey, Notre Dame
5. *Orlando Brown, Oklahoma

Obviously, Robinson got himself into trouble this past week, but I'm not going to speculate on where that's headed or make a change here until we know more. I had him, Johnson and Crosby on my initial 2017 Big Board. Banner is absolutely huge -- even by tackle standards -- and could really improve his stock with a consistent season.

Guards

Seniors

1. Pat Elflein, Ohio State
2. Dorian Johnson, Pitt
3. Greg Pyke, Georgia
4. Dan Feeney, Indiana
5. Nico Siragusa, San Diego State

Underclassmen

1. Brian Allen, Michigan State
2. Braden Smith, Auburn
3. Tyrone Crowder, Clemson
4. Damien Mama, USC
5. Billy Price, Ohio State

Elflein will be one to watch this season, as he has been surrounded by talented players and will need to be a leader for them up front. Allen has been consistently good for Sparty.

Centers

Seniors

1. Ethan Pocic, LSU
2. Dan Voltz, Wisconsin
3. Kyle Fuller, Baylor
4. Tyler Orlosky, West Virginia
5. Cameron Tom, Southern Mississippi

Underclassmen

1. Mason Cole, Michigan
2. Nick Linder, Miami (Fla.)
3. Alan Knott, South Carolina
4. Austin Golson, Auburn
5. *Ross Pierschbacher, Alabama

I have Cole projected to center because that's where he'll be moving, but Michigan fans know him as a tackle. Linder should be a familiar name to those who follow the draft, as Nick's older brother, Brandon, went to Miami and is now a guard with Jacksonville.

[loudnproudcolt]

I can't believe Dalvin Cook is number 5 and Christian McCaffrey is number 5 in the underclassman. I would have Fournette 1st regardless of upper or underclassman and then Cook and McCaffrey. Obviously the RB class is stacked, and we should get a very good one in the third or fourth round next year. I believe after we go defense on our first two picks, we will look for a RB, but if one drops into the second who we like, you never know.

 

I know we are not going to take an OL, at least I doubt it, but the kid out of USC, Zach Banner. He is

6'7'' tall and weighs 365 lbs. He is incredibly athletic also. Can you imagine that coming at you. Think of

Baylor's tackle last year who also played TE at times who was 400 lbs. and could move. Banner is like the

Ferrari version of that kid.

[Track Guy]

I'm glad it's a strong running back class shaping up next year. We might be able to get an impact player there in the back half of round 2 or something - with Gore's age we can pretty safely say that running back will be a position we may need to address for 2017. 

[akcolt]

The RB class is so deep Royce Freeman isn't even in the top 5. If we could get him in the 3rd...