Kiper's Latest Top-10 at Every Position....

[NewColtsFan]

So Mel Kiper is out with his post-combine Top-10 at every position.     And there have been some changes.     Scroll around and see what looks interesting to you....

 

Enjoy!           

 

 

The NFL combine is in the rearview mirror, and while I've written about some big winners from Indy, I wanted to give an updated look across every position coming out. Later in the process, I'll go deeper than 10 players per position, but I have more evaluations to do.

These aren't deep scouting reports below. I'll just reflect movement since the last batch of these rankings in January.

An asterisk means the player is a junior (one more season of college eligibility); two asterisks means the player is a third-year sophomore (two more seasons of eligibility).

---

Quarterbacks

1. *Jared Goff, California
2. Carson Wentz, North Dakota St.
3. *Paxton Lynch, Memphis
4. Connor Cook, Michigan St.
5. *Christian Hackenberg, Penn St.
6. Dak Prescott, Mississippi St.
7. *Cardale Jones, Ohio St.
8. Brandon Allen, Arkansas
9. Jacoby Brissett, NC St.
10. Jeff Driskel, Louisiana Tech

Believe it or not, I haven't made a single change among the top eight here since January. I know my most recent mock has Wentz going before Goff, but these are my rankings, not a predicted order. Brissett and Driskel are the two guys who were not a part of the previous top 10.

Running backs

1. *Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio St.
2. *Derrick Henry, Alabama
3. *C.J. Prosise, Notre Dame
4. *Alex Collins, Arkansas
5. *Paul Perkins, UCLA
6. Kenneth Dixon, Louisiana Tech
7. Devontae Booker, Utah
8. *Jordan Howard, Indiana
9. Tyler Ervin, San Jose St.
10. Jonathan Williams, Arkansas

The combine definitely made me take a hard look at this list. Explosiveness, agility and speed are simply too important at this position, and what happens in Indy at this position makes you really go back to the tape. The biggest jump here was made by Henry. Yes, I have concerns about whether he has the necessary vision and shake to succeed without great blocking, but the combination of size and speed is significant. Not much movement beyond that.

Fullbacks

1. Dan Vitale, Northwestern
2. *Glenn Gronkowski, Kansas St.
3. Dakota Gordon, San Diego St.
4. Derek Watt, Wisconsin
5. Soma Vainuku, USC
6. Andy Janovich, Nebraska
7. Quayvon Hicks, Georgia
8. Chris Swain, Navy
9. Joe Kerridge, Michigan
10. Trevon Pendleton, Michigan St.

No changes here. Not saying the combine doesn't matter for this group, but there wasn't a performance that made you re-think the tape.

Wide receivers

1. *Laquon Treadwell, Mississippi
2. Josh Doctson, TCU
3. *Will Fuller, Notre Dame
4. *Corey Coleman, Baylor
5. Sterling Shepard, Oklahoma
6. *Michael Thomas, Ohio St.
7. Leonte Carroo, Rutgers
8. *Tyler Boyd, Pitt
9. *Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina
10. Charone Peake, Clemson

The most notable change here is the rise of Fuller, who has propelled himself into first-round consideration for a number of teams, thanks to confirming the tape with a blazing 40 at the combine. Shepard also moves into the top five with a solid combine that backs up the film. The new name: Peake.

Tight ends

1. *Hunter Henry, Arkansas
2. Jerell Adams, South Carolina
3. Nick Vannett, Ohio St.
4. *Austin Hooper, Stanford
5. Ben Braunecker, Harvard
6. Tyler Higbee, Western Kentucky
7. Devon Cajuste, Stanford
8. Thomas Duarte, UCLA
9. David Morgan, UTSA)
10. Henry Krieger Coble, Iowa

Adams performed extremely well in Indy, while neither Henry nor Hooper ran. Adams now projects as a likely second-rounder with at least an outside shot at Round 1. That said, it's still a relatively lean group overall and there are no first-round promises.

Offensive tackles

1. *Laremy Tunsil, Mississippi
2. *Ronnie Stanley, Notre Dame
3. *Jack Conklin, Michigan St.
4. Taylor Decker, Ohio St.
5. Jason Spriggs, Indiana
6. *Shon Coleman, Auburn
7. *Germain Ifedi, Texas A&M
8. Willie Beavers, Western Michigan
9. Dominique Robertson, West Georgia
10. Le'Raven Clark, Texas Tech

The top four remain in the same order going back to January, while Spriggs has jumped ahead of Coleman. If the combine changed anything, I think it pushed Conklin up to a point where I don't think there's much of a drop-off on most boards after Stanley.

Guards

1. Cody Whitehair, Kansas St.
2. Joshua Garnett, Stanford
3. Christian Westerman, Arizona St.
4. Sebastian Tretola, Arkansas
5. Vadal Alexander, LSU
6. Isaac Seumalo, Oregon St.
7. Spencer Drango, Baylor
8. Joe Dahl, Washington St.
9. Connor McGovern, Missouri
10. Landon Turner, North Carolina

No change at No. 1, though Garnett has impressed and he rises from No. 4. Dahl played left tackle and I think some teams could consider him as a swing tackle, but short arms are a reason he's inside.

Centers

1. Ryan Kelly, Alabama
2. Nick Martin, Notre Dame
3. Max Tuerk, USC
4. Graham Glasgow, Michigan
5. Jack Allen, Michigan St.
6. Matt Skura, Duke
7. Austin Blythe, Iowa
8. Evan Boehm, Missouri
9. Jake Brendel, UCLA
10. Kyle Friend, Temple

Kelly remains at No. 1 (and a possible first-round pick), while Martin jumps ahead of Tuerk. The top riser here is Glasgow, who was at No. 10 in January. Brendel is a guy I didn't previously have ranked here.

Defensive ends

1. *Joey Bosa, Ohio St.
2. DeForest Buckner, Oregon
3. Sheldon Rankins, Louisville
4. *Shaq Lawson, Clemson
5. Jonathan Bullard, Florida
6. *Emmanuel Ogbah, Oklahoma St.
7. Jihad Ward, Illinois
8. *Kevin Dodd, Clemson
9. Carl Nassib, Penn St.
10. Shilique Calhoun, Michigan St.

It's crazy, but down to about No. 9, it wouldn't surprise me if any of these guys were taken in the first round. Even Calhoun is going to get looks late in Round 1. It's just reality this year. I have Rankins with this group because I think he could end up as a 3-4 defensive end, where his quickness will really play. I know some have him listed with the D-tackles, but that happens this time of year.

Defensive tackles

1. *A'Shawn Robinson, Alabama
2. *Robert Nkemdiche, Mississippi
3. Jarran Reed, Alabama
4. *Kenny Clark, UCLA
5. *Austin Johnson, Penn St.
6. Javon Hargrave, South Carolina St.
7. *Andrew Billings, Baylor
8. Vernon Butler, Louisiana Tech
9. Adolphus Washington, Penn St.
10. *Chris Jones, Mississippi St.

I know the off-field questions will factor into where Nkemdiche lands, but he put on a show at the combine and it now seems absurd to think he could fall out of Round 1. The biggest jump here is Hargrave, a guy many fans haven't seen but could come off the board early in Round 2.

Inside linebackers

1. *Myles Jack, UCLA
2. Reggie Ragland, Alabama
3. Antonio Morrison, Florida
4. Kentrell Brothers, Missouri
5. Nick Kwiatkoski, West Virginia
6. Cassanova McKinzy, Auburn
7. *Scooby Wright, Arizona
8. *Dominique Alexander, Oklahoma
9. B.J. Goodson, Clemson
10. Blake Martinez, Stanford

Jack stays in the top spot. He didn't work out at the combine but should be fine for his pro day in March. Ragland came to Indy trimmed down from where he was at the Senior Bowl, and I think his workouts did nothing to hurt him. Kwiatkoski rose the most, jumping to No. 5 from No. 10 in January.

Outside linebackers

1. *Jaylon Smith, Notre Dame
2. *Noah Spence, Eastern Kentucky
3. **Darron Lee, Ohio St.
4. *Leonard Floyd, Georgia
5. Deion Jones, LSU
6. *Kamalei Correa, Boise St.
7. *Su'a Cravens, USC
8. Joshua Perry, Ohio St.
9. Jordan Jenkins, Georgia
10. Kyler Fackrell, Utah St.

I'm going to keep Smith at No. 1 until I have more clarity on the status of his knee. Lee moves to No. 3 after an absolutely sparkling performance in Indy, where he showed he'll be one of the most explosive athletes in the draft regardless of position. I think he locked himself into Round 1 status.

Cornerbacks

1. *Jalen Ramsey, Florida St.
2. *Vernon Hargreaves, Florida
3. **Eli Apple, Ohio St.
4. William Jackson III, Houston
5. **Kendall Fuller, Virginia Tech
6. **Mackensie Alexander, Clemson
7. *Artie Burns, Miami (Fla.)
8. KeiVarae Russell, Notre Dame
9. *Zack Sanchez, Oklahoma
10. Eric Murray, Minnesota

The debate will rage regarding whether Ramsey will end up at safety, but while he'll have growing pains at cornerback, he's such a gifted athlete and competitor that I have no worries that he'll be a great player in time. Hargreaves is going to be viewed as the likeliest bet to be a solid rookie. Top riser: easily Jackson.

Safeties

1. *Vonn Bell, Ohio St.
2. Karl Joseph, West Virginia
3. Jeremy Cash, Duke
4. Sean Davis, Maryland
5. Darian Thompson, Boise St.
6. *Tyvis Powell, Ohio St.
7. Miles Killebrew, Southern Utah
8. *Keanu Neal, Florida
9. KJ Dillon, West Virginia
10. Justin Simmons, Boston College

There is not a great deal of excitement about this safety class, and I can't promise that you'll see one come off the board in Round 1. Joseph moves ahead of Cash for No. 2. The biggest mover is Davis, who wasn't ranked in the top 10 in January.

 

Kickers

1. *Roberto Aguayo, Florida St.
2. Brad Craddock, Maryland
3. Ka'imi Fairbairn, UCLA
4. Jaden Oberkrom, TCU
5. Conrad Ukropina, Stanford
6. Ross Martin, Duke
7. Marshall Koehn, Iowa
8. Andrew Baggett, Missouri
9. John Lunsford, Liberty
10. Zach Matics, Appalachian St.

Punters

1. Drew Kaser, Texas A&M
2. Riley Dixon, Syracuse
3. *Eric Enderson, Delaware
4. Nick O'Toole, West Virginia
5. Will Monday, Duke
6. Cason Beatty, Florida St.
7. Alex Kinal, Wake Forest
8. Tom Hackett, Utah
9. Lachlan Edwards, Sam Houston St.
10. Ben LeCompte, North Dakota St.

Long-snappers

1. Jeff Overbaugh, San Diego St.
2. Jimmy Landes, Baylor

[COLTS449]

Bet we take Jeff Overbaugh in round 1. What do you say? LOL. Thanks for posting NCF.

[OffensivelyPC]

The rise of William Jackson is no surprise to me.  I watched him in his bowl game and the guy was all over the place and made several big plays.  

[Traines]

22 minutes ago, COLTS449 said:

Bet we take Jeff Overbaugh in round 1. What do you say? LOL. Thanks for posting NCF.

I'm going to go with Jimmy Landes in Round 1...slightly better name IMO