***Gil Brandt Top 100***
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Gil Brandt
Top 100
NOTE I: Rankings
from the previous edition of The Hot 100 are in parentheses.
NOTE II: If he
were 100 percent healthy, South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore would be
ranked somewhere between No. 15 and No. 20.
1) Luke Joeckel,
OT, Texas A&M (Prior rank: 1)
He'll be able to
start and contribute in the NFL right away, thanks to his excellent technique;
he understands hand placement. Joeckel was extremely well-coached at Texas
A&M, where he'd been a starter since Day 1.
2) Ezekiel
Ansah, DE, BYU (11)
Way back in
October, before anyone really knew who he was, I picked Ansah as a prospect to
watch; I've enjoyed watching his rise since. The relative football newbie is a
unique individual in terms of how quickly he seems to have taken to the game.
Some guys can play for years without grasping the nuances of competing on the
defensive line as well as Ansah has in this early phase of his career.
3) Dion Jordan,
OLB/DE, Oregon (10)
Just a few years
ago, Jordan was a reserve tight end who was called in and informed he'd be
switching to defense. So what did he do? Turn himself into one of the hottest
defensive prospects in the draft. I'm still impressed with this, too: Rather
than hide behind a torn labrum, Jordan postponed surgery so he could work out
at the NFL Scouting Combine. That really speaks highly of a guy.
4) Sharrif
Floyd, DT, Florida (12)
Floyd is
explosive and has very good quickness. I think he'll be a Pro Bowl-caliber
football player. He reminds me a lot of former Chicago Bears player Tommie
Harris when he first came out of Oklahoma, size-wise and quickness-wise.
5) Eric Fisher,
OT, Central Michigan (7)
I think what
really cemented me on Fisher was how well he played against Michigan State last
season. That's what you look for when you're evaluating guys from small schools
and lesser conferences: How do they stack up against better teams with better
players? Well, in his test, Fisher didn't blink.
6) Dee Milliner,
CB, Alabama (8)
Milliner is a
very good blitzer; he reminds me of Pittsburgh Steelers CB Ike Taylor when he
comes off the corner. He's also very instinctive. There are guys who can cover
but aren't instinctive; for example, they don't time their jumps right, giving
their man room to make a play. You don't see Milliner letting that kind of
thing happen.
7) Geno Smith,
QB, West Virginia (4)
I've watched
this young man grow and mature over the past year as a player and a person, and
he's left a very good impression on me. He used to be kind of a shy guy, but
when you talk to him now, he comes across as much more authoritative. I don't
question his work habits and I know he has a strong arm and good accuracy. He's
also been very durable. Anyone who doubts him should just pop in tape of West
Virginia's 2012 Orange Bowl matchup against Clemson, during which Smith logged
six touchdown passes.
8) Cordarrelle
Patterson, WR, Tennessee (17)
Patterson, who
has just one year of major college experience under his belt, is a high-risk,
high-reward prospect. His old coach at Tennessee, current Dallas Cowboys
receivers coach Derek Dooley, told me that Patterson can be a head coach's
delight -- though whoever becomes his offensive coordinator will have to coach
him to bring his talent out.
9) Xavier
Rhodes, CB, Florida
State (28)
Rhodes has a
history of struggling with off coverage, which was why I ranked him at No. 28
in February. Since then, however, he's done a great job working to get better,
recognizing his weakness and doing his best to fix it; everybody who works him
out now says he's improved in off coverage quite a bit.
10) Barkevious
Mingo, DE, LSU (15)
Mingo is a very
good person. Whenever I need to get ahold of a player at LSU, I call Mingo, and
in about 10 minutes, I've got the guy on the phone. He possesses tremendous
speed and quickness, but needs to get stronger. Here's the question: Is Mingo
-- who didn't lift at LSU's Pro Day or at the combine -- the kind of guy who will
put in the work in the weight room? I think the answer is yes.
11) Lane
Johnson, OT, Oklahoma (14)
Any time you
take somebody who has hopes of being a quarterback at a major college program
and tell him he's going to play another position -- which is essentially what
happened to this former high school/junior college signal-caller at Oklahoma,
where he bounced from tight end to offensive tackle -- that person's going to
have to deal with quite a culture shock. The Sooner coaching staff --
specifically strength coach Jerry Schmidt -- should get credit for doing a
tremendous job with Johnson, making him stronger and turning him into a top
prospect. I won't be surprised if the Miami Dolphins trade up from No. 12 to
draft him.
12) Tyler
Eifert, TE, Notre Dame (25)
A very good
receiver, Eifert worked hard to improve his blocking and now excels at that, as
well. He doesn't have any weaknesses and is also a quality person.
Incidentally, that seems to be a trend in this draft class; I haven't run into
any bad apples yet.
13) Chance
Warmack, OG, Alabama (3)
Warmack has no
trouble getting to the second level as a blocker. He isn't a blazer, but he
does play faster than his timed speed would indicate. Interesting to note: He
and Cam Newton played on the same team as youngsters.
14) Jonathan
Cooper, OG, North Carolina (22)
With 48 college
starts under his belt, Cooper's another guy who can contribute right away as a
rookie. Historically, when a guy starts more than 40 games in college, he's
almost a cinch to compete at a high level in the NFL. Cooper can play either
center or guard.
15) Sheldon
Richardson, DT, Missouri (13)
One thing I
really like about Richardson: When I asked him why he went to junior college,
he told me it was because he didn't pay enough attention to academics in high
school, and he said he'd learned his lesson. It stands out when a guy owns up
to something like that. He's also strong, long-armed, athletic and quick, and
he plays hard.
16) D.J. Fluker,
OL, Alabama (24)
Big players look
small next to the gargantuan Fluker (6-foot-5, 339 pounds), a strong offensive
lineman with good punch. According to his coaches, his best position is right
tackle.
17) Tavon
Austin, WR, West
Virginia (38)
I've said it
before, but it bears repeating: Austin is going to be a huge matchup problem in
the NFL. You don't normally like small players (Austin measures 5-foot-8 1/2),
but he can do everything, whether it's catching passes, lining up in the
backfield or returning kicks and punts. He doesn't always catch the ball
cleanly, but he's very competitive. I'm not sure he'll play every down, but
he'll definitely make an impact. I can see him coming in on third down and
running draws and screens. With his quickness and speed, he has the potential
to dominate.
18) Sylvester
Williams, DT, North Carolina (39)
Williams has a
great story: After high school, he spent some time working a manufacturing job
before heading back to the gridiron, making his way to North Carolina via
Coffeyville Community College in Kansas. Williams is very, very competitive and
has good work habits.
19) Alec
Ogletree, LB, Georgia (19)
I wonder about
him because he moves around really well, but doesn't seem to make the tackles
you would expect a guy with his ability to make. Still, he could turn out to be
very good. He's another risk-reward guy.
20) Manti Te'o,
LB, Notre Dame (20)
Of all the
players in this class, I probably had the hardest time evaluating Te'o. Watch
him against Oklahoma, and he's really good; watch him against Alabama, and he's
not. He started all four years and can play all three linebacker spots. You
worry some about his speed, but he's another guy who plays faster than his
times. He's going to be scrutinized very hard when he enters the league.
21) Matt
Barkley, QB, USC (31)
I respect
Barkley and think we've been too harsh on him. I think he's going to prove a
lot of us wrong. I'm not saying he's necessarily going to be all-world or
anything, but he's going to be a good quarterback. Barkley is dedicated to the
game and has great work habits.
22) Star
Lotulelei, DT, Utah (5)
A heart problem
kept him from working out at the combine, but that appears to be behind him
now. Still, Lotulelei wasn't consistently competitive in college; he'd do some
really good things, and then he'd kind of take a little rest sometimes. That's
the kind of thing that guys grow out of, of course, but I'm just grading these
players based on what I've seen, and not necessarily on what they might do in
the future.
23) Menelik
Watson, OT, Florida State (54)
Watson must have
serious leadership qualities; at Marist College, the native of England was
named a captain of the basketball team. He also must be a quick learner; the
football novice played just one season on the gridiron after transferring to
Saddleback College before becoming a starter at Florida State. I think he can
play left tackle in the NFL.
24) Kenny
Vaccaro, S, Texas (18)
Vaccaro showed
me something the other day. In Austin to interview with an NFL team, he left early,
explaining that he had to get back to his young son in Brownwood, about three
hours away. After visiting another team the other night, he again went straight
to his son rather than going to Austin. You have to admire a guy who does that.
He's a quick player with good cover skills. Vaccaro just needs to be on his
best behavior from now until the draft.
25) Eddie Lacy,
RB, Alabama (29)
Lacy is a
complete back with outstanding instincts for a runner. His nickname is
"circle button," thanks to his trademark spin move. He's a good
blocker with outstanding strength who doesn't get knocked back. Lacy's hands
are good, though not great, and he's very quick.
26) Bjoern
Werner, DE, Florida State (2)
27) EJ Manuel,
QB, Florida State (36)
28) Jarvis
Jones, OLB, Georgia (9)
29) Margus Hunt, DE, SMU (35)
30) Desmond
Trufant, CB, Washington (40)
31) Darius Slay, CB, Mississippi State (NR)
32) Damontre Moore, DE, Texas A&M (6)
33) Zach Ertz,
TE, Stanford (23)
34) Robert
Woods, WR, USC (51)
35) Eric Reid,
S, LSU (52)
36) Kawann
Short, DT, Purdue (41)
37) DeAndre
Hopkins, WR, Clemson (26)
38) Johnthan
Banks, CB, Mississippi State (32)
39) John
Jenkins, DT, Georgia (30)
40) Kyle Long,
OG, Oregon (68)
41) Keenan Allen, WR, Cal (16)
42) Cornellius
Carradine, DE, Florida State (63)
43) Dwayne
Gratz, CB, Connecticut (NR)
44) Johnathan
Hankins, DT, Ohio State (21)
45) Travis
Frederick, C, Wisconsin (46)
46) Montee Ball,
RB, Wisconsin (47)
47) Sam
Montgomery, DE, LSU (34)
48) Terrance
Williams, WR, Baylor (37)
49) Blidi
Wreh-Wilson, CB, Connecticut (72)
50) Ryan Nassib,
QB, Syracuse (64)
51) D.J. Hayden,
CB, Houston (NR)
52) Terron
Armstead, OT, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (99)
53) John
Cyprien, S, Florida International (65)
54) Matt Elam,
S, Florida (50)
55) Le'Veon
Bell, RB, Michigan State (NR)
56) Christine
Michael, RB, Texas A&M (NR)
57) Justin
Hunter, WR, Tennessee (48)
58) David
Amerson, CB, N.C. State (84)
59) Justin Pugh,
OT, Syracuse (75)
60) Kiko Alonso,
LB, Oregon (74)
61) Kevin
Minter, LB, LSU (27)
62) Tyrann
Mathieu, CB, LSU (NR)
63) Gavin
Escobar, TE, San Diego State (67)
64) Brian
Winters, OG, Kent State (79)
65) Dallas
Thomas, OT, Tennessee (66)
66) Landry
Jones, QB, Oklahoma (57)
67) Jesse
Williams, DT, Alabama (42)
68) Bacarri
Rambo, S, Georgia (95)
69) Jamar
Taylor, CB, Boise State (82)
70) Markus
Wheaton, WR, Oregon State (NR)
71) T.J.
McDonald, S, USC (NR)
72) Vance
McDonald, TE, Rice (55)
73) Barrett
Jones, OG, Alabama (61)
74) Corey
Lemonier, DE, Auburn (73)
75) Quinton
Patton, WR, Louisiana Tech (43)
76) Mike
Glennon, QB, N.C. State (59)
77) Khaseem
Greene, LB, Rutgers (49)
78) D.J.
Swearinger, S, South Carolina (92)
79) Arthur
Brown, LB, Kansas State (53)
80) Robert
Alford, CB, Southeastern Louisiana (77)
81) Andre
Ellington, RB, Clemson (62)
82) Phillip
Thomas, S, Fresno State (81)
83) Jamie
Collins, LB, Southern Miss (NR)
84) Brandon
Williams, DT, Missouri Southern State (70)
85) A.J. Klein,
LB, Iowa State (NR)
86) Leon
McFadden, CB, San Diego State (NR)
87) Chase
Thomas, LB, Stanford (87)
88) Stedman
Bailey, WR, West Virginia (NR)
89) Tyler
Wilson, QB, Arkansas (71)
90) Matt Scott,
QB, Arizona (NR)
91) Larry
Warford, OG, Kentucky (45)
92) Datone
Jones, DE, UCLA (33)
93) Giovani
Bernard, RB, North Carolina (60)
94) Tharold
Simon, CB, LSU (NR)
95) Stansly
Maponga, DE, TCU (NR)
96) Kevin
Reddick, LB, North Carolina (96)
97) William
Gholston, DE, Michigan State (97)
98) Michael
Buchanan, DE, Illinois (98)
99) Marquise
Goodwin, WR, Texas (58)
100) Jeff Locke,
P, UCLA (100)
