Monday Morning Roundup - 1/04/10

"Football is like life, it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority." - Vince Lombardi

With this being an NFL Draft website, I’ve decided to turn this edition of the Monday Morning Roundup into an draft-edition article with loads of news and notes from around the league:

The success of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow on Saturday night is going to haunt scouts and executives in the NFL for the next four months, and potentially for years to come if they are the ones that get stuck with picking Tebow earlier than he should go. With Tebow’s success, the football world, or those that don’t know what they’re talking about, are all proclaiming that Tebow’s great performance against Cincinnati suggests that he should be drafted in the first round and should be one of the top quarterbacks

selected. This is so beyond being accurate that it makes you wonder how some people have any credibility left. From an NFL standpoint, Tebow has had a very inconsistent career in terms of throwing the ball, and has not shown anything that suggests that he is ready to play quarterback in the NFL. Tebow’s footwork is some of the worst that I’ve seen in awhile and his elongated delivery is going to need to be fixed. Tebow is a project at the quarterback position, that is a given. The only reason why a talent evaluator would feel the need to take Tebow high (Jacksonville) is because of the work that he can do off the field and in the stands, where the Jaguars specifically need to draft a player that will help sell seats, or they risk losing their team to Los Angeles, Toronto, or even London. Bowl games remind me a lot of the Combine. It is merely one small sample that you use to evaluate a player; no good GM or coach would ever use the player’s bowl game or Combine performance as the only thing that you base your evaluation on (unless you’re the Oakland Raiders). The Raiders actually provided us with a perfect example, as quarterback JaMarcus Russell should be the poster boy for those that have one great game and then get drafted far higher than they deserve. The amount of scouting in the NFL by people who don’t actually know how to scout is embarrassing. Why else would we have as many high-end busts as we’ve had in the last five-to-ten years? Tebow provided us with a  very nice game to end his college career; that’s it. I may not even go back and watch Tebow’s performance because I’ve already formulated an opinion on him and this game alone will not change my opinion of his potential in the NFL. Any team that takes Tebow high in the first round is going to be sorry.

The top 12 of the final 2010 NFL Draft order is locked up and has been finalized; the draft order is as follows:

With the final draft order finalized, I plan on updating my mock draft early this week with the first early look at who will go where come April. Continue to check back for updates.

- I’ve been told that Texas A&M linebacker/defensive end Von Miller is strongly considering entering the 2010 NFL Draft. Miller, who led the country in 2009 with 16.5 sacks, is a bit of a tweener who may be too small to play defensive end at the next level, and would likely be a great fit as a 3-4 rush linebacker in the NFL. Miller has the potential to go as high as the second or third round if he works out well at the NFL Combine in February. Keep an eye on whether Miller decides to declare within the next week.

- I’ve been told that Georgia Tech wide receiver Demaryius Thomas is strongly considering entering the 2010 NFL Draft. He is in the process of waiting for his paperwork to return from the NFL advisory committee and will meet with his family to make a decision after this week’s bowl game against Iowa. Thomas is a receiver in the mold of former teammate Calvin Johnson; at 6-3, 230 lbs with very good speed and excellent leaping skills, Thomas compares favorably with Johnson. He isn’t quite as polished, or as dominant of a receiver as Johnson was, however that could be attributed to the fact that he is the star receiver on a triple-option offense. Thomas has the skills of a first-round pick.

- I’ve also been told that Georgia Tech running back Jonathan Dwyer to the NFL could be as close as a "done deal" and that most at Georgia Tech expect him to declare for the 2010 draft. Dwyer would be my third-rated running back in the 2010 draft behind C.J. Spiller of Clemson and Jahvid Best of Cal, and ahead of Ryan Mathews of Fresno State. Dwyer has the talent of a first round pick, however the triple-option offense that he played in at Georgia Tech worries me a bit.

- Other underclassmen who could still declare for the 2010 draft: Georgia Tech RB Anthony Allen, Georgia S Reshad Jones, West Virginia RB Noel Devine, South Florida DE Jason Pierre-Paul, Georgia Tech DE Derrick Morgan, Alabama LB Rolando McClain, Penn State RB Evan Royster, Penn State LB Novorro Bowman, Michigan State LB Greg Jones, Ohio State DE Thaddeus Gibson, Pitt DE Greg Romeus, Iowa OT Bryan Bulaga, USC RB Joe McKnight, Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett, Florida TE Aaron Hernandez, Florida C Maurkice Pouncey, USC C Kristofer O'Dowd, Florida OG Mike Pouncey.

- It has been reported that all five North Carolina juniors who could declare for the draft (DB Deunta Williams, LB Quan Sturdivant, DT Marvin Austin, LB Bruce Carter and DB Kendric Burney) have all decided to return for their senior year. The Tar Heels have the potential to have one of the top defenses in the nation next year, with each player being one of the top prospects at their respective positions. Austin, in particular, has drawn comparisons from some scouts to Warren Sapp, and could potentially be the top defensive tackle drafted in 2011.

- The 2010-2011 potential lockout is becoming a major issue for the 2010 NFL Draft. Within the next two weeks we could see underclassmen start flooding into the 2010 draft class. I’ve spoken to a few sources who think that this year’s class is going to be extremely rich in talent from the amount of players that could potentially declare. When you consider that the 2011 Draft could come with no players getting paid due to a potential lockout, it becomes a “get some while you still can” type of situation for juniors and redshirt sophomores.

- In the next few weeks before the Senior Bowl, I’m planning on releasing a set of articles titled “If I Were GM,” which will take a look at each of the teams at the beginning of the draft order, and explaining what I would do with each team, at each respective position, if I was their General Manager. Keep an eye out for those, which will be coming soon!

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