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1. Kansas City Chiefs – Luke Joeckel, OT, Texas A&M

The Chiefs have done a masterful job of filling holes through free agency. The Chiefs are reportedly shopping the recently franchised player, Branden Albert. If Albert is dealt before or on draft day, I fully expect this pick to come down to one of the tackles. Not ironically news of the Chiefs interest in Geno Smith broke yesterday as talks of Jacksonville’s interest heated up. The Chiefs aren’t taking Smith but will explore any trade possibility that could come their way.

Luke Joeckel is a day one starter that is capable of manning Albert’s LT spot. We have thought for a long while that Joeckel was the top overall player in the 2013 NFL Draft and this pick makes too much sense to pass on.

Read the rest of this entry » «2013 NFL Mock Draft: Will Matt Barkley make an appearance in round 1?»

We are one month out from the 2013 NFL Draft, yet I get emails almost on a daily basis about 2014 prospects. Many of the questions relate to the quarterback class but there seems to be some major intrigue to a class headlined by Jadeveon Clowney and Teddy Bridgewater.

The 2013 class lacks the top end name that the 2012 class had in spades. But remember this time last year we were hyping guys like Matt Barkley and Logan Thomas as the second coming of the 2012 class. I have no doubts that the 2014 class will be star studded and one to look forward to for another year. Before the end of weekend you will have our entire position by position breakdown of the 2014 prospects.

After the break check out our 2014 NFL Draft offensive prospects. Read the rest of this entry » «2014 NFL Draft Offensive Position by Position Rankings»

Logan Ryan – Rutgers

Height: 5111

Weight: 191

Age when drafted: 22

Hometown: Berlin, NJ

Position: CB

Collegiate Number: 11

Combine notables: 4.56 40 with 1.50 split, 32.5” vertical, 9’8” broad, 6.69 3-cone, 4.06 short shuttle

Games Viewed: 2012 – Arkansas, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Connecticut 2011 – Iowa State

BACKGROUND:

Logan Ryan attended Eastern High School in Voorhees, New Jersey. At Eastern HS, Ryan earned All-State honors at quarterback and cornerback. He was a four-star recruit by Rivals.com.

Ryan redshirted in 2009 as a true freshman. He saw action in all 11 games as a redshirt sophomore making 9 tackles and 1 pass broken up. As a redshirt sophomore, Ryan emerged as one of the top corners in college football. He made 67 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 3 interceptions, and 14 pass break ups. Ryan continued his phenomenal play in 2012. He notched 94 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 4 interceptions, and 17 pass break ups. Read the rest of this entry » «Logan Ryan Scouting Report»

NFL’s Future readers know I have two weekly reads; Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback and Eleven Warriors. Each Monday, I look forward to Peter King dropping NFL knowledge on readers, particularly this time of the year. There’s usually tidbits of draft knowledge from one of the more connected sources in the game. Therefore, when King speaks, I’m all ears.

Today’s MMQB offered a couple very telling paragraphs on what King is hearing as it pertains to four very high profile 2013 draft prospects.

I think with the first round of the draft one month from tonight, I’m hearing doubts on Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner (could drop out of the top five), hopes about West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith (the Jags are interested, preliminarily, at No. 2), no holes on Texas A&M tackle Luke Joeckel (still the odds-on favorite to go No. 1 overall) and one very big workout and interview extravaganza coming on Wednesday: Matt Barkley, the USC quarterback, will throw in earnest for the first time in front of NFL scouts since injuring his shoulder in November.

Peter King, SI.com, Monday Morning Quarterback Read the rest of this entry » «Peter King: “Jags are interested, preliminarily, at No. 2″ on Geno Smith»

Kawann Short – Purdue University

Height: 6027

Weight: 299

Age when drafted: 24

Hometown: East Chicago, IN

Position: DT

Collegiate Number: 93

Combine notables: DNP

Games Viewed: 2012 – Ohio State, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Iowa 2011 – Ohio State, Michigan, Illinois

BACKGROUND:

Kawann Short attended Central High School and was a three star prospect, 24^th defensive tackle nationally.

He redshirted in 2008 before taking over as a full-time starter for four years. Selected to Second Team All Big Ten as a sophomore after recording 6 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss. In 2011 and 2012, his junior and senior seasons respectively, he earned All Big Ten First Team after totaling 12.5 sacks and 31.5 tackles for loss.

The four-year starter considered leaving Purdue after his junior season but a third round grade from the NFL Advisory Committee kept him in school. Read the rest of this entry » «Kawann Short Scouting Report»

Jonathan Cyprien – Florida International

Height: 6002

Weight: 217

Age when drafted: 23

Hometown: North Miami Beach, FL

Position: SS

Collegiate Number: 7

Combine notables: 38.5” vertical

Games Viewed: 2012 – Western Kentucky, Louisville, Florida Atlantic 2011 – Akron

BACKGROUND:

Jonathan Cyprien attended North Miami Beach HS where he was an honor roll student, team captain, and First-Team District 12-6A and Miami Herald All Dade. Cyprien was a lightly recruited athlete that held scholarship offers from FIU and Western Michigan.

Cyprien has been a contributor since stepping foot on the FIU campus in 2009. He started seven games as a true freshman, earning Honorable Mention All-Sun Belt Conference. Cyprien would earn Second Team All-Sun Belt as a sophomore and junior and First Team as a senior. He’s made 45 career starts and holds the FIU record for total tackles (365), solo tackles (213), and forced fumbles (6). He’s picked off seven passes and broke up 22 in his career.

Cyprien took full advantage of Kenny Vaccaro’s absence from the Senior Bowl. Cyprien had a solid week of practice further pushing himself up draft boards. Read the rest of this entry » «Jonathan Cyprien Scouting Report»

It was an eventful week of pro days which included Star Lotulelei participating after a heart condition kept him out of February’s NFL Scouting Combine.

Everyone remembers the tip of the week from last week and courtesy of the RosterWatch team: Buy before the pro day as a good performance will boost the stock. Hopefully you heeded our advice last week and bought in on some Star stock.

As we know, that’s not the only indicator to success in the game but its proven to be a pretty solid bet. This week bulls will feature a few guys who’s stock is currently trading down but we don’t expect it to stay that way. While the bears are comprised of a couple of guys trending north that we think will be heading for a downturn in the near future.

Each week, we throw  out the disclaimer that if you aren’t involved in our league, you should be. This week is no different. This game is addictive as I get emails daily from players on updates to the league. Most important to remember is that the winner gets a 2013 NFL Game Rewind subscription. Sign up here for free. Read the rest of this entry » «Play the Draft Stock Watch: March 22»

Towards the end of March, we release our team by team update of schemes. Last year’s was released on March 28 and remains one of the most highly viewed articles on the site.

From some feedback we received last year, we will do a better job of explaining the specific schemes and what they mean to a team’s draft philosophy. I have spent the last two years on my soapbox about the future of football. It’s my belief that teams are becoming increasingly multiple in formations and schemes. With offenses spreading the field horizontally, defenses are attempting to employ more multiple looks to matchup with situations and teams. It’s been widely publicized that NFL offenses are becoming more college-like in their use of spread zone principles. The goal of those principles is to create space to allow athletes to work in as the game shifts away from the tackle box.

We’ll start with the offense. Two basic offenses are prevelant in the NFL – matchup-precision and vertical-power.

Matchup-precision offenses are rhythm based, west-coast style offenses that are predicated on timing. The ball comes out quickly with routes and drops timed accordingly. The quarterback must be able to diagnose the defense quickly and deliver the ball accurately to receivers that can run after the catch.  Read the rest of this entry » «Team by team offensive/defensive scheme profile»

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1. Kansas City Chiefs – Luke Joeckel, OT, Texas A&M

The Chiefs have done a masterful job of filling holes through free agency. The free agent pickups have allowed them the flexibility to trade Branden Albert to recoup the 2nd round pick they lost in the Alex Smith trade. At this point, it appears a matter of time before Albert is dealt and we can lock a tackle into the No. 1 overall spot.

It’s just a matter of time before we can etch this pick in stone. After spending the better part of the last three months speculating on the No. 1 overall pick, it’s beginning to look like a bit of a forgone conclusion as KC seeks out a trade partner for Albert. Joeckel is a franchise LT that should be a no-brainer in this spot. Eric Fisher will likely get a long look at this spot but Joeckel wins the day.

MORE: Pro Football Talk – Chiefs will listen to Branden Albert trade offers Read the rest of this entry » «2013 NFL Mock Draft: Star vaults himself back into top five contention»

After months of dodging ‘real work’ to evaluate prospects, it has come to the finality stages. My team and I have put in hundreds of hours evaluating prospects, attending events, and arguing over who should be where to develop a list of the top 300 prospects in the 2013 NFL Draft.

All the mock drafts are fun debate but this is where the rubber meets the road. Remembering that mock drafts are best guesses where players land, a ranking of prospects is a true barometer of where you stand as an evaluator of talent.

With tape evaluation completed, Combine and all-star games completed, and arguments settled, we give you our 2013 NFL Draft top 300 prospects. Read the rest of this entry » «2013 NFL Draft Top 300 Prospects»