And now, a look to 2005
For those draft junkies out there in need of a fix just a little over a month removed from this year's draft, we have some information that will ease your withdrawal symptoms.
The National Scouting Combine recently completed its meetings at Long Boat Key, Fla., and came away with its 2004 player rankings, which SportsLine.com has obtained. The rankings include only seniors-to-be, so many of the top underclassmen that will go in the first round are not included.
The top-ranked player is Auburn running back Carnell "Cadillac" Williams. He is an elusive runner who thought about entering this year's draft but opted to return to school.
The rest of the top 10, in order, are:
Antrel Rolle, CB, Miami
David Pollack, DE, Georgia
Alex Barron, T, Florida State
Braylon Edwards, WR, Michigan
Shaun Cody, DE, USC
Barrett Ruud, LB, Nebraska
Mark Clayton, WR, Oklahoma
Terrence Murphy, WR, Texas A&M
Craphonso Thorpe, WR, Florida State
As you can see, there isn't a quarterback ranked in the top 10. No quarterback, in fact, was given a first-round grade. The highest-rated quarterback was Dan Orlovsky of Connecticut, who received a second-round grade.
Two big quarterback surprises were Arizona Stare quarterback Andrew Walter (fourth-round grade) and Florida State quarterback Chris Rix (seventh).
"Walter might be the first quarterback picked," said one NFC personnel director. "And to look at Rix, with all those tools, and think he won't be a high pick is ridiculous. He could be like Kerry Collins when he came out and have a big senior year and move way up the board."
The National Scouting Grades are usually just a starting point for the teams in that combine and not taken for anything more than that. The combine scouts are considered by many teams to be younger scouts learning the business, so there are a lot of missed and bad grades. But they do a lot of the legwork to get the scouts started, which his where the value comes in.
For those draft junkies out there in need of a fix just a little over a month removed from this year's draft, we have some information that will ease your withdrawal symptoms.
The National Scouting Combine recently completed its meetings at Long Boat Key, Fla., and came away with its 2004 player rankings, which SportsLine.com has obtained. The rankings include only seniors-to-be, so many of the top underclassmen that will go in the first round are not included.
The top-ranked player is Auburn running back Carnell "Cadillac" Williams. He is an elusive runner who thought about entering this year's draft but opted to return to school.
The rest of the top 10, in order, are:
Antrel Rolle, CB, Miami
David Pollack, DE, Georgia
Alex Barron, T, Florida State
Braylon Edwards, WR, Michigan
Shaun Cody, DE, USC
Barrett Ruud, LB, Nebraska
Mark Clayton, WR, Oklahoma
Terrence Murphy, WR, Texas A&M
Craphonso Thorpe, WR, Florida State
As you can see, there isn't a quarterback ranked in the top 10. No quarterback, in fact, was given a first-round grade. The highest-rated quarterback was Dan Orlovsky of Connecticut, who received a second-round grade.
Two big quarterback surprises were Arizona Stare quarterback Andrew Walter (fourth-round grade) and Florida State quarterback Chris Rix (seventh).
"Walter might be the first quarterback picked," said one NFC personnel director. "And to look at Rix, with all those tools, and think he won't be a high pick is ridiculous. He could be like Kerry Collins when he came out and have a big senior year and move way up the board."
The National Scouting Grades are usually just a starting point for the teams in that combine and not taken for anything more than that. The combine scouts are considered by many teams to be younger scouts learning the business, so there are a lot of missed and bad grades. But they do a lot of the legwork to get the scouts started, which his where the value comes in.
