There are differing approaches that clubs utilizing prepare for and during the NFL Draft.  For the Colts, general manager Bill Polian has the final say.  In New England, its head coach Bill Belichick.  For Baltimore, Ozzie Newsome uses are more collective approach.

Because each approach has yielded excellent results, it is very difficult to argue that each style is any better than the next.  No matter who has the final say during the draft process, there is always one thing in common each and every year.  It never goes exactly as planned….

1. Carolina: Patrick Peterson – He has been the best player on my board since before the combine and nothing has dissuaded me of that.  Carolina has a need at virtually every position, so why not start with the best player in the draft.
2. Denver: Marcell Dareus – Dareus provides instant improvement for the second worst rush defense in the league.  They automatically improve the pass rush with the return of Elvis Dumerveil.
3. Buffalo: Blaine Gabbert – He is a potential franchise quarterback that can learn from Ryan Fitzpatrick, but he won’t help them win right away.
4. Cincinnati: A.J. Green – With Green, both Owens and Chad Johnson are expendable, and Green is a future star. Maybe this will be enough to convince Palmer to play, if not, they address the quarterback vacancy through free agency.
5. Arizona: Von Miller – The Cardinals would covet Blaine Gabbert here, but with him off the board, they will immediately upgrade their pass rush with Von Miller off the edge.
6. Cleveland: Julio Jones – Cleveland may have the worst receiving corps in the entire league, and Jones gives them an immediate upgrade.  Jones runs the best intermediate routes in the draft and will be a tough over the middle option for Colt McCoy.
7. San Francisco: Prince Amukamara – With Nate Clements and the addition of Amukamara, the 49ers will have bookend press cover corners.
8. Tennessee: Nick Fairley – If they question his work ethic, Fairley’s former DL coach from Auburn is right down the hall.  If Tracy Rocker gives the thumbs up, this will be the obvious pick.
9. Dallas: Anthony Castonzo – Smith’s potential may have a higher ceiling, but Castonzo gives them a consistent presence from day one.
10. Washington: Cam Newton – Newton gives them instant playmaking ability and will probably win them some games with his legs. Three years from now, they realize they have no consistency and are back to where they started.
11. Houston: J.J. Watt – With Wade Phillips’ transition to the 34 defense, either Cam Jordan or Watt make sense here.  I give them the bigger, stronger Watt.
12. Minnesota: Robert Quinn – He is the best pass rusher in the draft from the defensive end position and Minnesota’s scheme will allow him to play his natural position.  CB is also a need, but as a cover-2 team, they find value in the later rounds of the draft.
13. Detroit: Tyron Smith – Whether its Smith or Castonzo, Detroit needs to protect its franchise quarterback.  Whoever Dallas leaves on the board will be the pick in Detroit.
14. St. Louis: Aldon Smith – St. Louis would love to see Julio Jones drop to them, instead, they will upgrade their pass rush with Aldon Smith.  The Rams will now have to address the WR position in the second round.
15. Miami: Mark Ingram – All three running backs in Miami are free agents, and Ingram is the best RB in the draft.  Interior OL is an option here, but I like the Heisman winner with this pick.
16. Jacksonville: Ryan Kerrigan – Kerrigan is scheme diverse and Jacksonville has played both a 34 and 43 defense over the last two seasons.
17. New England: Gabe Carimi – Carimi could start immediately at right tackle, but could also be kicked inside to guard.  New England loves this type of versatility along the offensive line.
18. San Diego: Cameron Jordan – Jordan is the most experienced 5-tech in the draft.  This card gets turned in quickly.
19. New York Giants: Mike Pouncey – He can play guard immediately and provide the versatility to play center if needed.
20. Tampa Bay: Adrian Clayborn – Bowers could be an option here, but his medical concerns are greater than that of Clayborn.
21. Kansas City: Nate Solder – Kansas City could also go with a defensive lineman or a pass rusher opposite Tamba Hali, but Solder gives them better value with this pick.
22. Indianapolis: Derrek Sherrod – Sherrod has the best finesse game of all the tackles in this draft.  He will be protecting Manning’s blind-side for the remainder of his career.
23. Philadelphia: Corey Liuget – The value of Liuget here outweighs the need along the offensive line.
24. New Orleans: Da’Quan Bowers – How does New Orleans justify taking the medical gamble in Bowers?  The same way they did with Drew Brees when few other clubs were willing.
25. Seattle: Mohammad Wilkerson – With free agency looming, Seattle will shore up its defensive line with the versatile Wilkerson.
26. Baltimore: Jimmy Smith – Reminiscent of the Chris McCallister era in Baltimore, John Harbaugh will rely on his senior leadership in the locker room to help Smith transition as a professional.
27. Atlanta: Justin Houston – The hometown kid will provide a pass rush opposite the aging John Abraham, and then he eventually replaces him.
28. New England:  Cam Heyward– Trading back is an obvious option here, but if they stay in this position, Cam Heyward provides them with depth along the front line.
29. Chicago: Danny Watkins – Before they look to replace Tommy Harris, Chicago needs to upgrade their offensive line.  To do so, they take the best available offensive lineman, no matter if he’s a guard or tackle, and that leaves them with Watkins.
30. New York Jets: Phil Taylor – Rex Ryan loves space eating defensive tackles, and he will draft one in Phil Taylor.  Taylor replaces the aging and oft-injured Kris Jenkins.
31. Pittsburgh: Aaron Williams – Williams will be a better safety in the NFL, but he will play nickel immediately in Pittsburgh and give them instant depth in the secondary and push for a starting role.
32. Green Bay: Mikel LeShoure – Outside linebacker is a real possibility here, but I grade LeShoure higher than Akeem Ayers.  They finally get a stable backfield with a healthy Ryan Grant and the addition of LeShoure.

Of all the quarterback prospects, Ponder has the most experience being under center and has great fundamentals.  He is an accurate passer that relies on great timing and coverage recognition, more so than a huge powerful arm.  Talent scouts have dubbed him a West Coast quarterback, which basically means, he is a smart accurate passer, but has absolutely no arm strength.

Christian Ponder showed up to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama in the shadows of Jake Locker and Colin Kaepernick as they seemed to be garnering the most attention.  By the end of the week, Ponder had proved during each practice that he was the most NFL ready quarterback at the Senior Bowl and backed it up by being named the game’s MVP.  He showed a certain level of comfort taking snaps from under center and had very impressive elusiveness inside the pocket.  By that, I mean, he recognized pressure and had a calm pocket presence in which he made  subtle movements to elude tacklers, reset his feet, and throw a strike to his receiver downfield.

With Ponder as my fourth best quarterback prospect and 45th overall, he may be a key cog in the gamesmanship of teams trading up into the late first round or early second round to pick him up.   Whichever team that is, they will be getting a very intelligent player both on and off the field.  Ponder received his degree from FSU in just 2.5 years, and that same level of intelligence shows up on the field as well.  One major concern for teams evaluating Ponder will be his injury filled college career.  Just last season, he battled an elbow injury all year, and capped off his college career with a concussion in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl.

When I watch Ponder play, he shows flashes of both Chris Simms and Colt McCoy, but the player he most reminds me of is Brodie Croyle who was selected 85th overall by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2006.  Croyle and Ponder have similar arm strength, but I think Ponder’s mental capacity and patience as a passer elevate him into the top 50 of the 2001 draft.  Ponder may grow into a future stater in this league, but in the interim, he will make a solid back-up that will be snap ready without needing a ton of reps throughout the week to gain an understanding of the offense.

Mallett will need to mature most on the mental side of the game.  For a professional athlete, especially a franchise quarterback, this mental maturation process is both off the field and on the field.  Off the field, his character has been dissected and his unwillingness to answer drug related questions at the NFL Combine only fueled the fire.  To me, this is awfully reminiscent of Ryan Leaf as he struggled to find his way in the NFL.  I hope that Mallett can mature and handle the media attention that goes along with being a professional quarterback, right now, i questions if he can.

On the field, his mental development needs to occur in the film room.  On tape, he missed blitzing schemes in which his lineman were out manned and he needed to throw the ball “hot”.  He will be counted on the check out of plays that are already set up to fail just by the pre-snap alignment of the defense.  He will need to read elaborate coverage schemes by NFL defenses, and make good decisions as Pro Bowl pass rushers are in his face.  In order to do all these things, he will need to spend hours and hours in film study and commit himself to nothing other than football season after season.  I am not sure he is mentally prepared for that right now.

Again, he has all the physical skills needed to be successful, and maybe is the most pro-ready quarterback just from a physical attributes perspective.  He played in a pro-style offense at Arkansas, and the throws he made as an amateur will translate very well at the next level.   I would like to see him develop lighter feet in the pocket and use his size like Ben Roethlisberger to make it difficult to bring him down in the pocket.

It is no secret that Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks have struggled to be successful at the next level, and I have a feeling that Newton will have those same struggles.  When you look at the history of the NFL, a quarterback with his skill-set has yet to win a Super Bowl championship.  Yes, I do think that he can bring immediate excitement and playmaking ability to a team, but in the long run, he will have to develop his pocket presence and look to make plays with his arm rather than his legs.  You can look at Vince Young as a recent example with the Tennessee Titans drafting him with the third overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft.  At that time, general manager Floyd Reese was quoted: ““Last night at 11:35, I was on my knees praying … he will rewrite the position. This guy physically is such a combination of arms and legs”.  Well, Young hardly rewrote the quarterback position, and in fact, just 5 years later, he most likely won’t even be on the Titans roster.

In all fairness to Cam Newton, he has better throwing action than both Young and Tim Tebow and he is much more NFL ready than both prospects were in their respective draft years.  As I mentioned when analyzing Blaine Gabbert, the college spread offense makes it very difficult to estimate how ones games with translate into the NFL, and with Newton it is even more difficult.  He has only 292 passing attempts on his resume, and as one quarterback coach recently told me, only about 10% of throws in a spread offense are comparable to NFL style routes.  That means that we are asking a club to play this young man almost 50 million dollars based off game analysis of just 30 throws.

Finally, as has been discussed over and over, Newton’s off the field problems are a major red flag to me.  With football being the ultimate team sport, having a quarterback with a diva mentality, makes its very difficult for team cohesion.  He obviously proved he can win at Auburn, but the NFL is very different, full of former college superstars.  With his “icon and entertainer” comments, and his pre-draft media only workout, he will need to check his ego at the locker room door.

Gabbert is an outstanding athlete that shows great leadership and intelligence on the field, but he is inconsistent in his mechanics and doesn’t throw an overly impressive deep ball.  I do like the fact that he can make plays with his legs and doesn’t have to have both feet set to get good zip on the ball, but in todays NFL with teams stretching the field vertically, having a better deep ball would definitely make him even more attractive.  He does have a slight hitch in his throwing motion that if removed, would allow for a much quicker release of the ball.

Coming from the spread offense, many times, a quarterback is only given a single read or, at the most, two routes to read before pulling it down and running.  This is true for Gabbert as well, so him being able to read the defense and go all the way through his route progressions and even dumping the ball off to a check down tight end or running back will be a great maturation in his game.  When compared to Cam Newton, who is also drawing attention as the first quarterback to be selected, Gabbert has a total of 933 passing attempts to evaluate on tape to Newton’s 292 (12 of them coming from his time at Florida in 2007 and 2008).  Having that bigger body of work, makes me more comfortable in determining how his game will translate to the NFL and deciding if he can make all the NFL style throws.

I have heard other comparing Gabbert to Matt Ryan, but I struggle to crown him franchise ready from day 1 like Matt Ryan was.  I think he can get there, but there will be much more of a transition period.  Specific to this year’s draft, I do think he is worthy of consideration for the first overall pick, but I think Carolina would be better off going with a defensive stalwart.  To me, Gabbert makes most sense at three overall to Buffalo or five to Arizona.

Murray checked-in at the combine measuring 5’11 5/8 and 213 pounds.  He ran a 4.41 forty-yard dash and jumped a 34.5 inch vertical.  Those numbers were surprising to me, because when you watch him on tape, he doesn’t seem to play that fast or that explosive.  At the Senior Bowl, he wasn’t as elusive in space, and you only saw his speed once he got to the open field.  He didn’t get the edge as well as I thought he would, and didn’t hit the hole as quickly as I would have liked to see.  In pass protection drills, which is critical for the success of the running back at the next level, he often dropped his head and eyes and lost his guy just before contact.  That is understandable, considering he had an impressive 71 receptions as a senior at Oklahoma, suggesting that he rarely, if ever, was asked to stay in and protect the passer.  Those soft hands and ability to impact the passing game will be a huge asset, but he will need to firm up his technique in max protection situations.

One thing he did well at the Senior Bowl, he ran hard and physical almost as if to prove to NFL scouts he wasn’t as injury prone as his college career may suggest.

I think Murray has value in the NFL as a third down back with potential to share some first and second down carries later in his career, but to compare him to Adrian Peterson wouldn’t even be close.  I have him as my eighth best running back prospect in 2011.

At the combine, Bradford ran a 4.58 forty yard dash which was an excellent time for weighing in at 242 pounds, but I would have liked to see a more explosive vertical jump than the 29 that he posted.  On tape, he is a patient runner with deceptive speed and quickness.  I really like the way he keeps his feet churning after contact and runs through tackles.  With that physicality, he is hardly brought down with just an arm tackle.  He doesn’t have elite breakaway speed once he is the open field, but he will fight for the tough yardage and get hard earned first downs.  One thing he will want to prove to NFL staffs, is his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and have some presence in the passing game.  Bradford only had 14 career receptions during his time at USC, and with the pass friendly systems of the NFL, he will want to prove he has that skill-set in order to be an every down back.

The moor and more I evaluate Allen Bradford, the more the comparison to LaGarette Blount comes to mind.  Blount had a breakout season for the Tampa Bucs, and I think Bradford can provide that same type of physical running style to his future team.  I look for him to be selected in the late third to mid fourth round of the NFL Draft.

Surprisingly enough, Rodgers may be a better inside runner than outside.  His 4.64 speed is not extraordinarily fast, but he has excellent quickness and acceleration that make him a great inside back.  Additionally, he uses his lack of height to his advantage, as the defense often loses him behind the offensive line, and before they know it, Rodgers has shot through a hole and is speeding down the open field.  He shows excellent start/start jukes and rarely takes a hit square on.  In pass protection, he often tries to cut down rushers with a chop block, but in the NFL he will want to establish a counter block or defenders will anticipate and jump over his blocks on their way to the quarterback.  He does show adequate hands out of the backfield to be an impact in the passing game, but more in the flat and screen game than downfield.

I like Rodgers to go in a system with an established running back that will take the majority of the work load and allow him to steadily increase his responsibility.  Again, similar to MJD when Fred Taylor showed him the ropes of the NFL.

I compare Kendall Hunter to Brian Westbrook in the fact that he can be a third down back right away, and has the potential to work himself into a starting role as a featured back.  When watching Hunter at the Senior Bowl, I saw a competitive player that was physical, quick, and passionate.  In my opinion, he performed the best and showed he was possibly the most complete running back of all at the Senior Bowl.  He was really quick into the hole and ran physical when needed, but also was an excellent route runner out of the backfield.  Like Westbrook, Hunter will be a matchup nightmare for defenses in the screen game and in man coverage, trying to cover him with just a linebacker.

While he may be a little undersized at 5’7 1/4 and 199 pounds, Hunter proved his durability his senior year by having nine 100-yard rushing games, and carrying the ball for a total of 271 attempts.

He uses his strong lower body to power through tackles and often gains additional yards after contact and is rarely taken down by an arm tackle.  He runs with a low pad level and nice balanced forward lean so that even when he is taken down, he will fall forward.  Like a lot of power runners that fight for that extra yardage, he will need to stay focused on ball security as he did have six fumbles in the past two seasons.  In addition to his power running style, he shows a certain flexibility in his hips that allow him to cut at close to full speed.  With his 4.61 forty yard dash, he has the rare ability to get to the edge with quickness and then shows the vision to cut back if a lane opens up.  Because of this versatility, he can be an effective inside and outside runner that is valuable in the NFL.  Like most rookie running backs, he will need to prove he can be an asset as a pass protector, but he has shown the ability to get out and catch the ball from the backfield.

Overall, I like the skill-set that Williams brings to the table.  As running back needy teams consider drafting Ingram or LeShoure in the mid-first to early second round, they will want to consider the value they could get later in the draft with such backs as Ryan Williams.