DraftAce Blog

Year round coverage of the NFL Draft.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Test You Draft Knowledge

Thanks to the folks at Sporcle.com you can now create your own quizzes, so naturally I am taking full advantage of the new feature and creating some NFL Draft quizzes. Up first, two quizzes on the top two college programs of the decade.

Can you name every USC quarterback selected in the draft since 1967?

How about naming every player drafted since Jim Tressel took over at Ohio State?

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Wednesday, September 9, 2009

DraftAce Top 25 - Week 2

Just one week into the season and we already have some major movement in the rankings.

The biggest mover of the week is BYU, which knocked off Oklahoma on Saturday. Heading into the weekend I would have said that a BYU victory would have put them in the top five, but Bradford's injury takes away from the win to an extent. Don't think BYU lucked into that win though; even with Bradford in the game, BYU was right in that game.

Among teams that won on the field, Ohio State was the biggest loser in my rankings. The Buckeyes stumbled to a win over Navy. However, it should be noted that Jim Tressel has a history of holding back the week before big games (see: game vs Ohio in 2008). We'll get a better feel for the Buckeyes this weekend against USC.

Oklahoma falls to No. 10, perhaps not as far others dropped them. The reason is Bradford's injury. Its just one loss, and if he returns healthy before their matchup with Texas, the Sooners could easily run the table.

The biggest different between my rankings the polls is LSU. I simply don't understand what makes LSU a top 10 team. I fully expect them to improve upon last year's disappointing season, but they are not a title contender and last weekend proved it. Washington - the same Washington that went 0-12 last year - put up a serious fight on Saturday and easily could have won that game. The Tigers are worthy of a spot in the top 25, but I can't see them losing any fewer than 3 games.

The three new faces in the crowd this week are Miami, Cincinnati and Missouri. All three looked impressive in big wins over the weekend. Miami may have finally found its quarterback in Jacory Harris. Cincinnati appears ready to run away with the Big East. And Blaine Gabbert has already made Missouri fans forget about Chase Daniel.

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Friday, March 13, 2009

Pro Days: Ohio State

As always, Ohio State's pro day was must-see as four potential first round prospects took the field, along with a slew of others.

Perhaps the most anticipated drill of the day was Beanie Wells' forty-yard dash, and he did not disappoint. Wells, who ran a surprisingly low 4.59 at the combine, was clocked between 4.34 and 4.46 on Friday. While pro day times should always be taken with a grain of salt because of the benefits of running on the home turf, Wells' improvement was even greater than expected. His performance should solidify his place at the top of most team's draft boards at his position.

Unlike Wells, Malcolm Jenkins failed to improve upon his forty time. After posting a disappointing 4.55 in Indianapolis, Jenkins' stock fell considerably. He went from a sure top 10 pick, to hoping to come off the board in the top 15. Jenkins ran between a 4.46 and 4.53 on Friday - not nearly fast enough to improve he stock. He looks like a solid bet to still be on the board for either New Orleans or Houston, both if which could use his services in their secondary.

Other notes from Columbus:
  • Brian Robiskie ran a 4.46 in the forty, but scouts aren't too concerned with his speed. It shouldn't impact his stock and he remains a potential late first-round pick.
  • James Laurinaitis ran a 4.67. Nothing too impressive, but still an improvement over his time at the combine. I still think Laurinaitis is a top 10 talent, but his lack of speed will likely cause him to fall to the end of the first round.

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