Thursday, August 28, 2014 – Week 1 NDS TOP-50 DRAFT BOARD THE HOT READ 1. MARCUS MARIOTA – QB – Oregon* By NFL Draft Scout Analyst Dane Brugler (@DPBrugler) 2. LEONARD WILLIAMS – DL – USC* . FOOTBALL IS BACK: School starting back up and summer winding down. Football is back! 3. CEDRIC OGBUEHI – OT – Texas A&M Whether you prefer NFL or college football (or both), the NFL Draft, which no question is a 4. RANDY GREGORY – DE – Nebraska* 365 day process, is the marriage of the two. A lot will change between now and next 5. BRANDON SCHERFF – OT – Iowa spring, but tracking the progress (or lack of progress) of prospects throughout the 2014 6. JAMEIS WINSTON – QB – Florida State* season will help shape how the 2015 NFL Draft plays out eight months from now. 7. SHILIQUE CALHOUN – DE – Michigan State* . YEAR OF THE PASS RUSHER: Every year there is a certain position that emerges as the 8. ANDRUS PEAT – OT – Stanford* strength of each draft class. Looking at the potential prospects in the 2015 crop, some 9. SAMMIE COATES – WR – Auburn* would say the quarterback position is the most stacked unit led by Oregon QB Marcus 10. IFO EKPRE-OLOMU – CB – Oregon Mariota (6-4 | 215 | 4.52 | #8) and Florida State QB Jameis Winston (6-4 | 235 | 4.83 | 11. LANDON COLLINS – FS – Alabama* #5). However, it’s the potential of the pass rush group that has my attention. There are 12. VIC BEASLEY – OLB – Clemson currently 10 defensive ends or pass rush linebackers in NFLDraftScout.com’s pre-season 13. MICHAEL BENNETT – DT – Ohio State top-50: Nebraska DE Randy Gregory (6-6 | 245 | 4.76 | #44), Michigan State DE Shilique 14. AMARI COOPER – WR – Alabama* Calhoun (6-4 | 257 | 4.72 | #89) and Florida State DE Mario Edwards (6-3 | 294 | 4.88 | 15. P.J. WILLIAMS – CB – Florida State* #15) lead the underclassman group and Clemson OLB Vic Beasley (6-2 | 235 | 4.58 | #3) 16. LA’EL COLLINS – OT – LSU represents the seniors. While there is no question that quarterback is the most important 17. MARIO EDWARDS – DE – Florida State* position in football, the player that can collapse the pocket and get to the quarterback is 18. TODD GURLEY – RB – Georgia* second on that list. 19. BRETT HUNDLEY – QB – UCLA* 20. DANTE FOWLER – DE – Florida* . PAC 12’s POISED PASSERS: While the SEC is still college football’s premier conference, the 21. MELVIN GORDON – RB – Wisconsin* Pac-12 has the bragging rights to the top quarterback prospects in the country this season. 22. JAELEN STRONG – WR – Arizona State* Entering the 2014 campaign, Oregon junior QB Marcus Mariota (6-4 | 215 | 4.52 | #8) and 23. MIKE DAVIS – RB – South Carolina* UCLA junior QB Brett Hundley (6-3 | 227 | 4.64 | #17) are considered potential top-10 24. CARL DAVIS – DT – Iowa draft picks and Oregon State senior QB Sean Mannion (6-5 | 220 | 4.94 | #4) is a possible 25. KEVIN HOGAN – QB – Stanford* top-50 prospect. Include Arizona State senior QB Taylor Kelly (6-2 | 211 | 4.84 | #10), 26. T.J. YELDON – RB – Alabama* Stanford junior QB Kevin Hogan (6-4 | 228 | 4.72 | #8) and Washington State senior QB 27. TY MONTGOMERY – WR - Stanford Connor Halliday (6-4 | 198 | 4.87 | #12) and the Pac-12 could realistically have six passers 28. NOAH SPENCE – OLB – Ohio State* drafted in next year’s class. Tracking their progress throughout this season will be an 29. ELLIS McCARTHY – DL – UCLA* interesting storyline for the 2015 NFL Draft. 30. KURTIS DRUMMOND – FS – Michigan State . EAGLES FLYING HIGH: The major college football conferences don’t kick off until Thursday, 31. SHAWN OAKMAN – DE – Baylor* Aug. 28, but the FCS-level is already open for business. Eastern Washington defeated Sam 32. CONNOR COOK – QB – Michigan State* Houston State, 56-35, last Saturday on the red turf and the Eagles showcased a few NFL 33. DeVANTE PARKER – WR – Louisville prospects worth keeping tabs on this season. Senior RT Jake Rodgers (6-6 | 318 | 5.29 | 34. SHAQ THOMPSON – OLB – Washington* #65) has adequate footwork in his kickslide to cut off speed and although he’s more apt to 35. JOSH SHAW – CB – USC absorb than deliver first contact, he can swallow rushers without giving up too much 36. TRAE WAYNES – CB – Michigan State* ground. Senior FS Tevin McDonald (5-11 | 190 | 4.58 | #7), who was dismissed from UCLA 37. DEVIN FUNCHESS – TE – Michigan* due to a violation of team rules in 2013, is a rangy player who pops up quite a bit, throwing 38. A.J. CANN – OG – South Carolina his body around, but his reactionary awareness was disappointing. Junior QB Vernon 39. MARCUS PETERS – CB – Washington* Adams (5-11 | 190 | 4.64 | #3) is the spark plug of the EWU offense, but it was senior RB 40. ERECK FLOWRS – OT – Miami (Fla.)* Quincy Forte (5-11 | 195 | 4.53 | #22) who impressed with his energetic run style, 41. DORIAL GREEN-BECKHAM - WR - Oklahoma* finishing with a game-best 152 rushing yards, averaging 6.6 yards per carry. 42. SPENCER DRANGO – OT – Baylor* 43. JOSH HARPER – WR – Fresno State . SLEEPER ALERT: A transfer from Oregon, senior QB Bryan Bennett (6-2 | 205 | 4.72 | #3) 44. ARIK ARMSTEAD – DE – Oregon* rewrote the Southeastern Louisiana record books last season and is arguably one of the 45. DERRON SMITH – FS – Fresno State top-five senior quarterback prospects for the 2015 class with his Johnny Manziel-like style. 46. DENZEL PERRYMAN – ILB – Miami (Fla.) . INJURY ALERT: Louisville senior WR DeVante Parker (6-3 | 209 | 4.53 | #9) will be 47. RONALD DARBY – CB – Florida State* sidelined for 6-8 weeks due to surgery to repair a broken bone in his left foot. He led the 48. DEVONTE FIELDS – DE – Ex-TCU* Cardinals in receiving last season with 55 catches for 885 yards and 12 scores and is in the 49. JOSUE MATIAS – OG – Florida State discussion to be the top senior wideout drafted, possibly in the top-40 draft picks. 50. LORENZO MAULDIN – DE – Louisville Visit www.NFLDraftScout.com for the best NFL Draft information available! 1 | P a g e DRAFT SLANT – NFL Draft Scout’s Weekly College Football Preview/Review Thursday, August 28, 2014 FILM ROOM NOTES Players catching the eyes of NFL Draft Scout Analysts Rob Rang (@RobRang) and Dane Brugler (@DPBrugler) ILB Darryl Monroe – Washington State, rJR (6-1 | 235 | 4.76 | #13) RB Karlos Williams – Florida State, SR (6-1 | 219 | 4.42 | #9) For many, safety Deone Bucannon was the surprise first round The Seminoles lost Devonta Freeman and James Wilder to the NFL selection of the 2014 NFL Draft. Monroe is another Cougar who is Draft last spring, but Williams returns for his senior season, arguably quietly earning high marks from scouts due to many of the same traits the top back Florida State has had on the roster since Warrick Dunn. that helped his former teammate surprise on draft day - namely speed, Williams moved from safety to running back last season and finished explosive hitting and production. with 730 rushing yards and 11 scores, averaging 8.0 yards per carry. Monroe has recorded 174 tackles, including 16.5 for loss as a starter Williams has light feet and flexible ankles to make strong cuts and over the past two seasons. He sports a chiseled frame and the strength redirect his momentum quickly. But while decisive and smooth, he also gained from time in the weight room is obvious on the field. He's an runs with forward lean and a physical style that makes him a tough guy explosive, aggressive defender whose hits make him an intimidating to slow down once he gains steam. Being a safety-to-back convert, presence up the middle and one of the few traditional inside Williams’ instincts and feel need time to develop as he clearly looks linebackers coming down the pike. Monroe is too willing to lunge to more comfortable on the outside rather than between the tackles. He make the big hit and doesn't possess great balance, which results in also needs to show improvement as a blocker and pass-catcher in some big collisions when he guesses right and some cut-back 2014, two areas where he appeared lackadaisical last season. Williams opportunities when he overruns the play. With improved patience, has the natural burst, agility and hungry streak that makes him Monroe could leap into the top 100 mix – RR appealing to NFL scouts and could land him in the draft’s top-50 – DB DT Michael Bennett – Ohio State, SR (6-2 | 288 | 4.96 | #63) OLB C.J. Johnson – Mississippi, SR (6-2 | 237 | 4.67 | #10) The Buckeyes have a lot of talent on their defensive line and several Johnson ranks among my favorite breakout candidates among seniors possible first round picks, including Bennett. He finished among the this season. He signed with the Rebels as a highly touted prospect and team leaders in sacks (7), tackles for loss (11.5) and forced fumbles (3) looked on the verge of stardom as a sophomore with 55 tackles, last season and projects as a possible first round pick next spring. including eight for loss and a team-leading 6.5 sacks as an edge rusher. Bennett is quick out of his stance and displays outstanding balance Two separate leg injuries a year ago, however, forced Johnson to and coordination through contact to work off blocks and keep his feet redshirt after just four games. When healthy, Johnson has shown to be a factor in the play.