Actually, this should be titled "Special Eligibility Impact," but it doesn't really have the same ring. Leading up to the Senior Bowl, we'll be talking a lot about some great Senior players in the Draft, but not to be ignored is a look at the underclassmen and others who require special eligibility to enter the 2010 Draft. Special Eligibility includes 4th- and even 5th-year seniors who still have the option to return for another year, usually due to a medical exemption.
Today we'll just get an overview of these players, where they are ranked, and how they are valued. We'll start looking at the offensive side of the ball tomorrow, and continue throughout the following weekend and week.
Let's lead off with a chart to quickly evaluate relative value:
*all numerical rankings refer to nfldraftscout rankings.
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | |
| QB |
Sam Bradford(7) Jimmy Clausen(9) |
Jevan Snead(103) | ||
| RB |
Jonathon Dwyer(18) Jahvid Best(30) |
Ryan Matthews(35) |
Toby Gerhart(86) Joe McKnight(71)
|
|
| WR |
Dez Bryant(11) Golden Tate(16) |
Damian Williams(39) Arrelious Benn(55) Demaryius Thomas(50) |
Dezmon Briscoe(70) Carlton Mitchell(68) |
Mike Williams(114) |
| TE | Jermaine Gresham(37) |
Rob Gronkowski(42) Aaron Hernandez(53) |
||
| OT |
Anthony Davis(20) Bruce Campbell(27) Bryan Bulaga(24) |
|||
| OC | Maurkice Pouncey(38) | |||
| DE |
Carlos Dunlap(13) Derrick Morgan(8) Everson Griffen(14) |
Jason Pierre-Paul(43) | Jason Worilds(67) | Thaddeus Gibson(125) |
| DT | Gerald McCoy(3) | Brian Price(34) | ||
| LB | Rolando McClain(10) | Navorro Bowman(46) | Rennie Curran(89) | |
| CB | Joe Haden(5) |
Dominique Franks(51) |
Donovan Warren(75) Amari Spievey(91) Kareem Jackson(69) |
|
| S |
Eric Berry(2) Earl Thomas(19) |
Morgan Burnett(57) Chad Jones(47) |
Major Wright(78) |
| Round 5 | Round 6 | Round 7 | CFA | |
| RB | Darius Marshall(268) |
Toney Baker(441) Shawnbrey McNeal(392) |
||
| WR | Antonio Brown(206) | Chris Bell(308) | ||
| DE | Kevin Basped (170) | Clifton Geathers(216) | Jerome Hayes(--) | |
| DT | Linval Joseph(180) | Abe Koroma(419) | ||
| CB | Joshua Moore(160) |
Dennis Rogan(416) Jerrell Norton(616) |
||
| S | Reshad Jones(141) |
|