With the draft quickly approaching, the boards around the NFL are set.
There will be some maneuvering. If there is trade, like last season’s blockbuster between the Rams and the Titans for the top pick, that could alter things in the draft, which is set for April 27-29 in Philadelphia.
“You definitely need to stack it as you’re picking first overall,” Rams general manager Les Snead said. “That helps you figure out who might be there at 37.”
The Rams don’t have a first-round pick this season.
“But it is advantageous to start at one and get to your second and third and fourth (rounds) so it helps you map it out and be more efficient,” Snead said.
Former Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson is the top experienced quarterback in the draft. Some NFL personnel men like former North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky better.
“All of these quarterbacks have issues going (into the draft),” ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper said. “”Trubisky is a one-year starter. He needs some time. Watson has accuracy issues. He got settled late in the year, but the accuracy issues are still there. (Texas Tech’s Patrick) Mahomes comes out of a system that hasn’t played well in the transition to the NFL.”
The draft is better for teams, such as San Diego or New Orleans, who can develop a talent behind a veteran quarterback.
“All of those quarterbacks have issues about why they won’t be immediate hole-fillers or immediate standouts at the quarterback position,” Kiper said.
Evaluating quarterbacks has been tough in the NFL.
“To me, when it comes down to a quarterback, it is competitiveness and it is toughness,” said John Elway, Denver’s executive vice president of football operations/general manager. “It’s mental toughness because it is a tough game and it is a tough position.”
The most intriguing athlete in the draft is Michigan’s all-purpose player Jabrill Peppers.
Peppers worked out with the linebackers and the defensive backs at the scouting combine. He also played some running back and option quarterback for the Wolverines. He even returned kicks and punts in college.
“We want to evaluate a player like him, because we did the same thing with Shaq Thompson,” Carolina coach Ron Rivera said. “We had everybody talking to us like, ‘Oh he’s a special teams player,’ to ‘he’s a running back, he’s a safety, he’s a linebacker.’ But we looked at him and thought, ‘where would he best fit us?’ For us it was the linebacker position.”
Peppers believes he’s an NFL safety.
“When you look at Peppers, you look at what he does, wow,” Rivera said. “Here’s a guy that gives you some safety traits. Here’s a guy that can probably come down in the box like a nickel, come down in the box like a linebacker. And if you ever really did need it, you can put him on the offensive side as well.
“He’s got a lot of special-teams value. So you have to really break it down to how does he fit you, and what other special traits he (gives to) the rest of the football team.”
After interviewing several NFL personnel executives, coaches and scouts, here’s our list of the top 100 players in the upcoming draft:
D. LED’S TOP 100: Best Player Available
1. Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M
2. Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson
3. Jonathan Allen, DT, Alabama
4. Malik Hooker, S, Ohio State
5. Marshon Lattimore, CB, Ohio State
6. O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama
7. Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
8. Tim Williams, LB, Alabama
9. Jamal Adams, S, LSU
10. Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford
11. Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama
12. Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State
13. Mike Williams, WR, Clemson
14. Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee
15. Mitch Trubisky, QB, North Carolina
16. Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama
17. Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan
18. Sidney Jones, CB, Washington*
19. Garett Bolles, OT, Utah
20. Charles Harris, DE, Missouri
21. John Ross, WR, Washington
22. Jabrill Peppers, FS, Michigan
23. Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama
24. Tim Williams, LB, Alabama
25. Takkarist McKinley, DE, UCLA
26. Hassan Reddick, DE, Temple
27. Taco Charlton, LB, Michigan
28. Ryan Ramcyk, OT, Wisconsin
29. Dan Feeney, OG, Indiana
30. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford
31. David Njoku, TE, Miami
32. Caleb Brantley, DT, Florida
33. Kevin King, CB, Washington
34. Forrest Lamp, OL, Western Kentucky
35. T.J. Watt, LB, Wisconsin
36. Carl Lawson, DE, Auburn
37. Zach Cunningham, LB, Vanderbilt
38. Evan Engram, TE Mississippi
39. Deshone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame
40. Tre’Davious White, CB, LSU
41. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech
42. Tarell Basham, DE, Ohio
43. Budda Baker, S, Washington
44. Curtis Samuel, RB, Ohio State
45. Jarrad Davis, LB, Florida
46. Duke Riley, CB, LSU
47. Joe Mixon, RB, Oklahoma
48. Jake Butt, TE, Michigan
49. Antonio Garcia, OT, Troy
50. Malik McDowell, DT, Michigan State
51. Teez Tabor, CB, Florida
52. Obi Melifonwu, S, Connecticut
53. Gareon Conley, CB, Ohio State
54. Fabian Moreau, CB, UCLA
55. Chad Hansen, WR, California
56. Jordan Willis, DE, Kansas State
57. Jourdan Lewis, CB, Michigan
58. Davis Webb, QB, California
59. Alvin Kamara, RB, Tennessee
60. Chidobe Awuzie, CB, Colorado
61. Roderick Johnson, OT, Florida State
62. Quincy Wilson, S, Florida
63. ArDarius Stewart, WR, Alabama
64. Marcus Williams, S, Utah
65. Cordrea Tankersley, CB, Clemson
66. Josh Jones, S, N.C. State
67. Cooper Kupp, DT, Eastern Washington
68. Gerald Everett, TE, South Alabama
69. Taylor Moton, OT, Western Michigan
70. Ethan Pocic, OL, LSU
71. Larry Oguniobi, DL, Charlotte
72. Chris Wormley, DL, Michigan
73. Adam Sheehan, TE, Ashland
74. Derek Rivers, DE, Youngstown State
75. Dion Dawkins, OG, Temple
76. Tanoh Kpassagnon, DE, Villanova
77. Chris Godwin, WR, Penn State
78. Pat Elflein, C, Ohio State
79. Carlos Henderson, WR, Louisiana Tech
80. Desmond King, S, Iowa
81. Adoree Jackson, CB, USC
82. Marcus Maye, S, Florida
83. Ryan Anderson, LB, Alabama
84. Zay Jones, WR, East Carolina
85. JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, USC
86. Justin Evans, SS, Texas A&M
87. Raekwon McMillan, LB, Ohio State
88. Tedric Thompson, FS, Colorado
89. Daeshon Hall, DE, Texas A&M
90. Dorian Johnson, OG, Pittsburgh
91. Samaje Perine, RB, Oklahoma
92. Dalvin Tomlinson, DT, Alabama
93. Jordan Leggett, TE, Clemson
94. Isaac Asiata, OG, Utah
95. Dawuane Smoot, DE, Illinois
96. Kendell Beckwith, LB, LSU
97. Jaleel Johnson, DT, Iowa
98. Shaquill Griffin, CB, Central Florida
99. DeMarcus Walker, DE, Florida State
100. Joshua Dobbs, QB, Tennessee
