Mike Mayock's Updated Positional Rankings

[HtownColt]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000338425/article/mike-mayocks-updated-position-rankings-for-2014-nfl-draft?campaign=Twitter_nfl_cb

Quarterback

1. Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M

2. Blake Bortles, Central Florida

3. Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville

4. Derek Carr, Fresno State

t5. AJ McCarron, Alabama

t5. Jimmy Garoppolo, Eastern Illinois

Rise: Manziel (2), Bortles (3)

Fall: Bridgewater (1)

Running back

1. Bishop Sankey, Washington

2. Carlos Hyde, Ohio State

3. Jeremy Hill, LSU

4. Tre Mason, Auburn

5. Andre Williams, Boston College

Rise: Mason (5)

Fall: Williams (4)

Wide receiver

1. Sammy Watkins, Clemson

2. Mike Evans, Texas A&M

3. Marqise Lee, USC

4. Brandin Cooks, Oregon State

t5. Kelvin Benjamin, Florida State

t5. Jarvis Landry, LSU

t5. Odell Beckham, LSU

Tight end

1. Eric Ebron, North Carolina

2. Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Washington

3. Jace Amaro, Texas Tech

4. Troy Niklas, Notre Dame

5. C.J. Fiedorowicz, Iowa

Center

1. Marcus Martin, USC

2. Weston Richburg, Colorado State

3. Travis Swanson, Arkansas

4. Bryan Stork, Florida State

5. Gabe Ikard, Oklahoma

Guard

1. David Yankey, Stanford

2. Xavier Su'a-Filo, UCLA

3. Brandon Thomas, Clemson

4. Trai Turner, LSU

5. Gabe Jackson, Mississippi State

New entry: Thomas

Rise: Turner (5)

Fall: Jackson (3)

Out: Chris Watt, Notre Dame (4)

Offensive tackle

1. Greg Robinson, Auburn

2. Jake Matthews, Texas A&M

3. Taylor Lewan, Michigan

4. Zack Martin, Notre Dame

5. Joel Bitonio, Nevada

Defensive tackle

1. Aaron Donald, Pittsburgh

2. Timmy Jernigan, Florida State

3. Louis Nix, Notre Dame

4. Ra'Shede Hageman, Minnesota

5. Daniel McCullers, Tennessee

Rise: Donald (3)

New entry: McCullers

Out: Kelcy Quarles, South Carolina (5)

Defensive end

1. Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina

2. Kony Ealy, Missouri

3. Dee Ford, Auburn

4. Scott Crichton, Oregon State

5. Stephon Tuitt, Notre Dame

Outside linebacker

1. Khalil Mack, Buffalo

2. Anthony Barr, UCLA

3. Ryan Shazier, Ohio State

4. Trent Murphy, Stanford

5. Marcus Smith, Louisville

Inside linebacker

1. C.J. Mosley, Alabama

2. Chris Borland, Wisconsin

3. Shayne Skov, Stanford

4. Max Bullough, Michigan State

5. Preston Brown, Louisville

Cornerback

1. Darqueze Dennard, Michigan State

2. Kyle Fuller, Virginia Tech

3. Justin Gilbert, Oklahoma State

4. Bradley Roby, Ohio State

5. Jason Verrett, TCU

Rise: Fuller (3)

Fall: Gilbert (2)

Safety

1. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Alabama

2. Calvin Pryor, Louisville

3. Jimmie Ward, Northern Illinois

4. Deone Bucannon, Washington State

5. Lamarcus Joyner, Florida State

Rise: Clinton-Dix (2)

Fall: Pryor (1)

[aessma33]

no way that Manziel will go in the first round, he will be lucky to go in the 2nd round, in my opinion.

[COLTS449]

Fuller in front of Gilbert? I mean Fuller is going to be really good IMO, but I think Justin Gilbert is the real deal.

[Gavin]

no way that Manziel will go in the first round, he will be lucky to go in the 2nd round, in my opinion.

Manziel has the ability to turn a breakdown on a play into a huge a gain, Some teams will eat that up....If Tebow can go with the 25th pick in the 1st round then Manzield can , he also has a good but not elite arm. Some team will take that bait in the first.

[aessma33]

Manziel has the ability to turn a breakdown on a play into a huge a gain, Some teams will eat that up....If Tebow can go with the 25th pick in the 1st round then Manzield can , he also has a good but not elite arm. Some team will take that bait in the first.

yes, he has the ability to run the ball, but that was because his offense last year was stacked.  The only reason he could run like that was because the offensive line and the only reason he had the passing numbers was because of the skill of the receivers, although I acknowledge that he has a good, accurate arm, im not denying that.

[PaulBearer]

no way that Manziel will go in the first round, he will be lucky to go in the 2nd round, in my opinion.

He will certainly go in the first round. He might even go number one.

[HtownColt]

yes, he has the ability to run the ball, but that was because his offense last year was stacked. The only reason he could run like that was because the offensive line and the only reason he had the passing numbers was because of the skill of the receivers, although I acknowledge that he has a good, accurate arm, im not denying that.

Stacked offense?

[Dustin]

Stacked offense?

Yeah, that offense has a receiver who's going to be taken top 10 and two OT who are going top ten in their respective classes. Even last year he had Joeckel, Swope, and Christine Michael. If you like Manzeil, that's cool, but he played with a ton of talent at A&M.

[bestQBever]

no way that Manziel will go in the first round, he will be lucky to go in the 2nd round, in my opinion.

he shouldn't go in the first round. But he will.

[HtownColt]

Yeah, that offense has a receiver who's going to be taken top 10 and two OT who are going top ten in their respective classes. Even last year he had Joeckel, Swope, and Christine Michael. If you like Manzeil, that's cool, but he played with a ton of talent at A&M.

I know it was stacked in 2012 no denying that, but he is talking about this past season when they barely had a 500 yard rusher and his number two receiver was Malcolme Kennedy.

Only sought out prospects he played with this year was Evans and Mathews. And OT/OG Oghbuei coming out next year

[Defjamz26]

Fuller in front of Gilbert? I mean Fuller is going to be really good IMO, but I think Justin Gilbert is the real deal.

 

IDK, Gilbert reminds me of Patrick Peterson. Really athletic and his measurable are off the chart but he's not a physical in your face guy. Fuller and Dennard are physical corners.

 

Also like they he finally separated the Linebackers into 2 separate groups. I would be very interested in Ryan Shazier in the 2nd if he's there when we pick.

[Jim H.]

Fooled by a scripted pro day, eh?

[NewColtsFan]

IDK, Gilbert reminds me of Patrick Peterson. Really athletic and his measurable are off the chart but he's not a physical in your face guy. Fuller and Dennard are physical corners.

 

Also like they he finally separated the Linebackers into 2 separate groups. I would be very interested in Ryan Shazier in the 2nd if he's there when we pick.

 

To make sure I wasn't mis-remembering, I just double checked with NFL.com and ESPN.com....   both list Fuller as a Zone corner, and not a man/press corner.    In fact, they say he doesn't have the speed to turn and run with WR's.

 

So, I don't see him as a fit.

 

By the way, Sherzier is one of the smaller LB's in the draft,  he's viewed as a 4-3 Will OLB....  he's compared to LaVonte David, who Tampa took last year high in the 2nd round...   again,  not a scheme fit for Indy....

 

Apologies that I've responded to so many of your posts.   I don't mean to be stalking you,  though it may seem like it today!

Not trying to give you a hard time......

[aessma33]

Why can't we trade up and get Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix?

[COLTS449]

Why can't we trade up and get Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix?

 

If we traded up I would like Pryor over Clinton Dix. JMO. As deep as the draft is though, I doubt we trade up into the 1st.

[akcolt]

Ha Ha because he is projected to go at 16 overall what are we going to offer? Howell is going to be a good S.

[akcolt]

I would rather drop back and add a pick or two then try to climb this year.

[Defjamz26]

To make sure I wasn't mis-remembering, I just double checked with NFL.com and ESPN.com....   both list Fuller as a Zone corner, and not a man/press corner.    In fact, they say he doesn't have the speed to turn and run with WR's.

 

So, I don't see him as a fit.

 

By the way, Sherzier is one of the smaller LB's in the draft,  he's viewed as a 4-3 Will OLB....  he's compared to LaVonte David, who Tampa took last year high in the 2nd round...   again,  not a scheme fit for Indy....

 

Apologies that I've responded to so many of your posts.   I don't mean to be stalking you,  though it may seem like it today!

Not trying to give you a hard time......

An All-ACC performer the past three seasons, Fuller is rangy and light-footed with quick movements, long arms and can play man or zone coverage. Fuller is a string bean with limited room to get much stronger, but he plays bigger than he looks with the confidence and instincts to make plays wherever he lines up.- CBSSports.com

 

STRENGTHS: Physical demeanor with good length. Excellent toughness and energy -- plays like he's 25 pounds thicker. Good vertical leap and smooth hip action to flip-and-go.- CBSSports.com

 

There's more but that basically sums him up. I think whether he's man or zone is a matter of preference. Plus if he doesn't have the speed to run with receivers, he's better as a press guy anyways. Guys like Dennard and McGill who are press corners ran about the same 40 (4.49) he did.

 

Also checked CBS on Shazier and they say he can play weak side LB in a 4-3 or an edge rusher is a 3-4. He's only 6-1, so he doesn't scream 3-4 OLB, but neither did Mathis for that matter. He'd be a better fit than Warner was when we drafted him.

 

And thanks for responding and actually creating good discussion. That's what I came to this board for. So it's all good.

[aessma33]

If we traded up I would like Pryor over Clinton Dix. JMO. As deep as the draft is though, I doubt we trade up into the 1st.

cool, thanks for the info

[midmoColtsfan]

If Shazier was there in the second round I think he would be the steal of the draft. He reminds me of Bowman except even more athletic. He would fit just fine as a ilb in our D.

[#BringBobBack]

i wish there was a possibility of trading up to get Calvin Pryor. i know Howell is solid but he would be a great addition. In my opinion he's the best safety in this draft class and i would much rather have him start alongside Howell and bench Landry, he was for the most part a total disappointment. I Know it won't happen but i'm gonna hope that somehow it does. 

[COLTS449]

Ha Ha because he is projected to go at 16 overall what are we going to offer? Howell is going to be a good S.

 

I wouldn't think Howell would start unless he beats out whoever we draft.

[akcolt]

I think Howell might surprise some people this year. That being said S is obviously a position of need and expect it will be addressed in the draft or after.

 

Just no WR don't get sucked into that. Brazil is going to show well this yr the third yr is usually the break out year and Rogers earned a chance to show what he can do. If we do anything on O stick to the line.

 

Grigs is really excited about Lance Louis been watching him since before his injury. Should be an interesting training camp. We could end up with a all new interior O Line counting Thomas as new due to the length of his season.

 

Have to get excited about something with what the Pacer's have managed to do to their season lately.

[NewColtsFan]

Why can't we trade up and get Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix?

 

It's incredibly expensive to trade that far up.     Dix is roughly projected to go somewhere between 15-25, but probably closer to 15.

 

We sit at 59.    So, we'd need to move up roughly 35-45 spaces.   Nearly a round and a half.    It would cost a King's Ransom to move up that far.    We'd have to trade our 2 and 3 this year, and likely our 1 and 2 next year to move up that far.

 

Just way too expensive.

[Valpo2004]

It's incredibly expensive to trade that far up.     Dix is roughly projected to go somewhere between 15-25, but probably closer to 15.

 

We sit at 59.    So, we'd need to move up roughly 35-45 spaces.   Nearly a round and a half.    It would cost a King's Ransom to move up that far.    We'd have to trade our 2 and 3 this year, and likely our 1 and 2 next year to move up that far.

 

Just way too expensive.

 

Considering how few picks we have this year, any trade up is going to seem rather expensive.  

[NewColtsFan]

Considering how few picks we have this year, any trade up is going to seem rather expensive.  

 

True.

 

But the a #1, two #2's and a #3 isn't expensive?

 

I don't care how many picks a team has,  that's full price.    And by the way,  that was a rough guess,  the price might even have to be higher than that....

[BOTT]

Mayock rates Trent Murphy over Marcus Smith and Jeremy Attaochu? They better start drug testing at NFL Network.

[Jason_]

Mayock rates Trent Murphy over Marcus Smith and Jeremy Attaochu? They better start drug testing at NFL Network.

I also thought it was interesting that he has bullough and brown over smallwood

[Gavin]

yes, he has the ability to run the ball, but that was because his offense last year was stacked.  The only reason he could run like that was because the offensive line and the only reason he had the passing numbers was because of the skill of the receivers, although I acknowledge that he has a good, accurate arm, im not denying that.

He could run like that because he had "jitter bug" quickness...not long distance speed...but short area quickness...He often times made his O Line have to work much harder then they should have had to...Its a wonder Jake Matthews was as good as he was if you look at that alone

[Gavin]

Jeremy Hill is my top rb of those expected to go early, overall I like Ka'Deem Carey and Hill and a few of the late round prospects, Not to high on the other rb's on that list

[Defjamz26]

I also thought it was interesting that he has bullough and brown over smallwood

 

He said at the Combine that everyone was overrating Smalllwood, and he was more like a 5th round prospect. He's right with those rankings though. Bullough is a guy who could be a signal caller on a defense after 3 years. Brown is also very underrated. He gets to the ball pretty fast.

[Jason_]

He said at the Combine that everyone was overrating Smalllwood, and he was more like a 5th round prospect. He's right with those rankings though. Bullough is a guy who could be a signal caller on a defense after 3 years. Brown is also very underrated. He gets to the ball pretty fast.

 

Oh don't get me wrong...I'm not saying I disagree with him.  I simply found it interesting.  I've said in other threads that I like both Bullough and Brown and I wasn't exactly enamored with Smallwood.  The only ILB I'd spend an early pick on would be Skov unless by some miracle Mosely fell to us in the 2nd which I don't see happening.  

 

The main reason I was surprised was that everything I've read on them to this point has suggested that Brown and Bullough were more 5th/6th round picks