Talent still plentiful in second and third rounds
NEW YORK -- The NFL's first foray into Thursday night primetime television for the draft provided plenty of drama: trades, unexpected picks and plenty of divisive Florida quarterback Tim Tebow.
Friday night also promises to have plenty of thrills, even if the prospects don't hold quite as much cache with fans as the first rounders. The league is treating this as basically a "second first round," giving it a primetime Friday slot and inviting second-tier prospects like Wake Forest cornerback Brandon Ghee and Texas defensive tackle Lamarr Houston to come to the stage just like in the first round.
And with Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen still on the board, the NFL will certainly get the ratings it wants. Chances are that he won't last long, however, with Minnesota having the second pick in the round (via its first-round trade with Detroit) and Cleveland (No. 38), Oakland (No. 39) and Buffalo (No. 41) not far behind. Former Irish head coach Charlie Weis may also try to talk his new friends with the Chiefs into taking his three-year quarterback at No. 36.
Clausen isn't the only legitimate first-round pick who fell due to team needs and the strong talent available this year. Scouts talked about USC free safety Taylor Mays as a top 10 pick in the 2009 draft, but now he may be lucky to be a top 40 selection because of concerns about his coverage abilities. Texas outside linebacker Sergio Kindle should be coveted by 3-4 teams looking for a pass rusher, while USC defensive end/outside linebacker Everson Griffen is inconsistent but athletic enough to make an impact for both 4-3 and 3-4 teams. Charles Brown (USC) and Rodger Saffold (Indiana) should also be picked up early in the second as potential starting left tackles.
UCLA defensive tackle Brian Price could have gone late in the first, but the Rams may select him with the first pick in the second round after trading Adam Carriker to Washington. The likelihood of that happening is small, however, as teams line up to offer their current second-round pick/future first-round pick plus a third/future second-pick to get one of the players listed above. St. Louis will probably receive an offer it can't refuse.
History has shown that second-round picks can be very successful; take defensive ends Mark Gastineau and Howie Long and middle linebackers Rickey Jackson and Mike Singletary as examples. Last year, second-round picks including free safety Jairus Byrd (No. 42, Buffalo), free safety Louis Delmas (No. 33, Detroit), middle linebacker James Laurinaitis (No. 35, St. Louis), running back LeSean McCoy (No. 53, Philadelphia), cornerback Sean Smith (No. 61, Miami) and offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer (No. 58, New England) played significant roles for their new teams as rookies.
The depth of this draft means the third round will be fruitful, as well. They may not have Hall of Fame careers like late third-round picks quarterback Joe Montana and offensive tackle Jackie Slater, but 2009 draftees cornerback Derek Cox (No. 73, Jacksonville), running back Shonn Greene (No. 65, NY Jets), wide receiver Mike Wallace (No. 84, Pittsburgh) and cornerback Lardarius Webb (No. 88, Baltimore) look to be long-time contributors.
Watch for a number of the players below to hear their names called Friday night. (Asterisk = underclassmen).
Rank, Player (School), Ht., Wt., 40-yard dash
Quarterbacks
1. *Jimmy Clausen (Notre Dame) 6-3/222/4.76
2. Colt McCoy (Texas) 6-1/216/4.79
3. Tony Pike (Cincinnati) 6-6/223/4.90
4. Dan LeFevour (Central Michigan) 6-3/230/4.60
5. Jonathan Crompton (Tennessee) 6-3/222/4.85
6. John Skelton (Fordham) 6-6/243/4.85
7. Levi Brown (Troy) 6-4/229/4.93
8. Jarrett Brown (West Virginia) 6-3/224/4.50
Running backs
1. Toby Gerhart (Stanford) 6-0/231/4.50
2. Montario Hardesty (Tennessee) 6-0/225/4.49
3. *Jonathan Dwyer (Georgia Tech) 5-11/229/4.64
4. Ben Tate (Auburn) 5-11/220/4.34
5. Anthony Dixon (Mississippi State) 6-1/233/4.67
6. *Joe McKnight (USC) 6-0/198/4.40
Fullbacks/H-backs
1. Clay Harbor (Missouri State) 6-3/252/4.62
2. Rashawn Jackson (Virginia) 6-1/239/4.75
Wide receivers
1. *Golden Tate (Notre Dame) 5-10/199/4.42
2. *Arrelious Benn (Illinois) 6-1/219/4.57
3. Dexter McCluster (Ole Miss) 5-09/172/4.53
4. *Damian Williams (USC) 6-1/197/4.52
5. Eric Decker (Minnesota) 6-3/217/4.54
6. *Carlton Mitchell (South Florida) 6-3/215/4.46
7. Brandon LaFell (LSU) 6-3/211/4.58
8. Jordan Shipley (Texas) 5-11/193/4.60
9. Taylor Price (Ohio) 6-1/204/4.40
10. Marcus Easley (Connecticut) 6-3/210/4.39
11. Mardy Gilyard (Cincinnati) 6-0/187/4.61
12. Andre Roberts (Citadel) 5-11/195/4.40
13. Jacoby Ford (Clemson) 5-09/186/4.22
14. Joe Webb (UAB) 6-3/223/4.46
15. Emmanuel Sanders (SMU) 5-11/180/4.40
16. Dezmon Briscoe (Kansas) 6-2/207/4.66
Tight ends
1. *Rob Gronkowski (Arizona) 6-6/258/4.68
2. Jimmy Graham (Miami (FL)) 6-6/260/4.53
3. Ed Dickson (Oregon) 6-4/249/4.59
4. *Aaron Hernandez (Florida) 6-3/245/4.64
5. Dennis Pitta (BYU) 6-5/245/4.68
6. Tony Moeaki (Iowa) 6-3/245/4.69
7. Dorin Dickerson (Pittsburgh) 6-2/226/4.40
Centers
1. Matt Tennant (Boston College) 6-5/300/5.15
2. Ted Larsen (North Carolina State) 6-3/304/5.19
3. J.D. Walton (Baylor) 6-3/300/5.19
Offensive guards
1. Jon Asamoah (Illinois) 6-4/308/5.07
2. Mitch Petrus (Arkansas) 6-3/310/5.34
3. Mike Johnson (Alabama) 6-5/312/5.37
4. Zane Beadles (Utah) 6-5/310/5.28
5. Marshall Newhouse (TCU) 6-4/319/4.99
Offensive tackles
1. Rodger Saffold (Indiana) 6-5/316/5.21
2. Charles Brown (USC) 6-6/303/5.24
3. *Bruce Campbell (Maryland) 6-7/314/4.75
4. Vladimir Ducasse (Massachusetts) 6-5/332/5.21
5. Jared Veldheer (Hillsdale) 6-8/312/5.06
6. John Jerry (Ole Miss) 6-6/328/5.15
7. Ed Wang (Virginia Tech) 6-5/314/5.18
8. Selvish Capers (West Virginia) 6-5/308/5.11
Defensive ends
1. *Everson Griffen (USC) 6-4/273/4.65
2. Alex Carrington (Arkansas State) 6-5/285/4.92
3. *Carlos Dunlap (Florida) 6-6/278/4.68
4. Corey Wootton (Northwestern) 6-6/270/4.92
5. Austen Lane (Murray State) 6-6/276/4.84
6. Brandon Lang (Troy) 6-4/266/5.00
7. Greg Hardy (Ole Miss) 6-4/281/4.82
8. Jermaine Cunningham (Florida) 6-4/266/4.86
9. Daniel Te'o-Nesheim (Washington) 6-4/263/4.73
10. C.J. Wilson (East Carolina) 6-3/290/4.83
Defensive tackles
1. *Brian Price (UCLA) 6-1/303/5.12
2. Terrence Cody (Alabama) 6-4/349/5.71
3. Lamarr Houston (Texas) 6-3/305/4.84
4. *Linval Joseph (East Carolina) 6-5/328/5.09
5. Torrell Troup (Central Florida) 6-3/314/5.12
6. Cam Thomas (North Carolina) 6-4/330/5.16
7. Al Woods (LSU) 6-4/309/5.15
8. Corey Peters (Kentucky) 6-3/300/4.98
9. D'Anthony Smith (Louisiana Tech) 6-2/304/5.02
10. Geno Atkins (Georgia) 6-2/293/4.75
11. Arthur Jones (Syracuse) 6-3/301/5.04
Inside linebackers
1. Sean Lee (Penn State) 6-2/236/4.71
2. Brandon Spikes (Florida) 6-3/249/5.05
3. Donald Butler (Washington) 6-1/245/4.62
Outside linebackers
1. Daryl Washington (TCU) 6-2/230/4.58
2. Koa Misi (Utah) 6-3/251/4.75
3. *Jason Worilds (Virginia Tech) 6-1/254/4.65
4. *Thaddeus Gibson (Ohio State) 6-2/243/4.78
5. Eric Norwood (South Carolina) 6-1/242/4.71
6. Ricky Sapp (Clemson) 6-4/252/4.65
7. *Rennie Curran (Georgia) 5-11/235/4.75
8. Dekoda Watson (Florida State) 6-2/226/4.55
9. O'Brien Schofield (Wisconsin) 6-2/221/4.63
10. Perry Riley (LSU) 6-1/239/4.69
Cornerbacks
1. Chris Cook (Virginia) 6-2/212/4.45
2. Brandon Ghee (Wake Forest) 6-0/192/4.37
3. Jerome Murphy (South Florida) 6-0/196/4.50
4. *Dominique Franks (Oklahoma) 5-11/194/4.46
5. Akwasi Owusu-Ansah (Indiana (PA)) 6-0/207/4.32
6. *Amari Spievey (Iowa) 5-11/195/4.52
7. Javier Arenas (Alabama) 5-09/197/4.60
8. Walter Thurmond (Oregon) 5-11/189/4.53
9. Perrish Cox (Oklahoma State) 6-0/195/4.58
Free safeties
1. Taylor Mays (USC) 6-3/230/4.31
2. Nate Allen (South Florida) 6-1/207/4.50
3. *Morgan Burnett (Georgia Tech) 6-2/209/4.51
4. Myron Lewis (Vanderbilt) 6-2/203/4.42
5. Kam Chancellor (Virginia Tech) 6-3/231/4.62
6. *Major Wright (Florida) 6-0/206/4.44
Strong safeties
1. Chad Jones (LSU) 6-2/221/4.59
2. T.J. Ward (Oregon) 5-11/211/4.56
3. *Reshad Jones (Georgia) 6-1/214/4.51
4. Darrell Stuckey (Kansas) 6-0/205/4.46
5. Kurt Coleman (Ohio State) 5-10/192/4.55
Chad Reuter is a Senior Analyst for NFLDraftScout.com, distributed by The Sports Xchange.
