Looking for updated news and notes on the 2010 NFL Draft? Look no further than Zobel’s Blog here at Draft Headquarters for frequently-updated information and analysis on all things NFL Draft.

- One of the fastest risers in this year’s draft is Hillsdale offensive tackle Jared Veldheer. After a fantastic workout at the Combine, many are projecting that he could go as high as third-to-fourth round.

- The 1983 NFL Draft is considered one of the best of all-time; how close could this year’s draft be in comparison?

- Oregon’s Walter Thurmond is overcoming a knee injury suffered during the season, which is why he hasn’t been able to workout this offseason. Thurmond is a player that I really like in this year’s draft; he plays very similarly to how his former teammate Jairus Byrd plays, and with Byrd leading the NFL in interceptions as a rookie (nine), Thurmond’s stock could see a rise because of it.

- After pulling his hamstring running the 40-yard dash, Alabama cornerback Javier Arenas should be good to go for the Crimson Tide’s Pro Day next week. Arenas needs to have a good workout there to remain as a mid-round pick in this year’s draft.

- Get on the Linval Joseph bandwagon while you still can. After a great workout in Indianapolis, the pure nose tackle from East Carolina is developing into one of the sleeper’s of this year’s draft.

Three more players have declared for the 2010 NFL Draft: LSU safety Chad Jones, Florida safety Major Wright, and Marshall running back Darius Marshall. With the news that two more safeties have entered the draft, there is suddenly a great class of safeties for the 2010 class. When you consider that as many as six or seven safties have the talent to be taken in the first round, it’s amazing to think that some of them could fall to the third or fourth round due to the large number of players declaring this year. We currently have 43 underclassmen in the draft; there were 50 last year, and we still have four days left for players to declare. This is going to be a very exciting Combine in February.

Chad Jones is an extremely talented player with some of the best athleticism in the 2010 draft. A two-sport athlete in college, Jones has the range to be a free safety in the NFL, but he also plays the run well enough to play strong safety for the team that drafts him. I have Jones rated as a first round pick, ranked between Texas’ Earl Thomas and USC’s Taylor Mays.

Major Wright is another talented, athletic safety that is declaring. Coming into the year, Wright was a bit overrated by some, but he still came away with a solid season. Playing on such a great Florida defense helped to make him look better, however he’s still a solid prospect. I have Wright rated as a third-to-fourth rounder in the 2010 Draft. I have him ranked behind Georgia Tech’s Morgan Burnett and ahead of South Florida’s Nate Allen.

Darius Marshall is a bit of a surprise, coming from a Marshall team that doesn’t produce too many prospects. Marshall is following in the footsteps of Ahmad Bradshaw, who used his success with the Thundering Hurd to propel him into the NFL. Marshall rushed  for 1,131 yards and 11 touchdowns on 227 carries in 2009. I have him rated as a mid-to-late round pick.

I’ve updated my positional rankings at running back and safety. Continue to check back for continued updates as we draw closer to the Friday deadline for players to declare.

It’s been announced that Alabama junior linebacker Rolando McClain and Iowa junior cornerback Amari Spievey have both declared for the upcoming 2010 NFL Draft.

McClain is rated as a lock for the first round, if not Top-10, and should be the first linebacker selected in the 2010 draft. He played inside linebacker in the 3-4 in college, which would also be a great fit for him in the NFL. McClain’s combination of athleticism and intelligence will make him a coveted prospect by teams in the NFL.

Spievey is an underrated prospect who was a shutdown cornerback for the Hawkeyes this season. Spievey finished his career with 122 tackles and six interceptions. He rates as a second-to-third round pick.

I’ve updated my player rankings showing the changes at inside linebacker and cornerback. Continue to check back at Draft Headquarters for updated news and information on the 2010 NFL Draft!

In the past few days we’ve seen six more players declare for the draft. Among the players that have entered the 2010 draft class: Georgia Tech running back Jonathan Dwyer, Georgia Tech defensive end Derrick Morgan, Georgia Tech safety Morgan Burnett, Florida center Maurkice Pouncey, Florida defensive end Carlos Dunlap, and South Florida wide receiver Carlton Mitchell.

Georgia Tech loses three key players, all talented, and all could go within the first three rounds. Dwyer is a strong, powerful back who played fullback in the Yellow Jackets’ triple-option offense. Dwyer has the talent of a first round pick, but I have him rated as a second-rounder, especially with all of the underclassmen entering the draft.

Derrick Morgan is one of the top defensive prospects in the 2010 draft and should be the top defensive end off the board. He’s the top pass rusher in this year’s draft and he offers versatility in what schemes he could play in at the next level. I have Morgan rated as a Top 10 pick.

Morgan Burnett is a ballhawk in the secondary, having intercepted 14 passes in his three-year career at Georgia Tech. He projects as a free safety/center-field type of safety who will be given the chance to prowl the center of the field like he did in college. I have Burnett rated as a second-to-third round pick.

Maurkice Pouncey is the top center in the 2010 draft with him having declared. He has the size to potentially play a position other than center, and his athleticism is his greatest strength. I also have Pouncey rated as a second-to-third round pick.

Carlos Dunlap is one of the more interesting prospects in this year’s draft. Despite being one of the mmost freakishly-athletic prospects in the draft, he also has several question marks. His desire and passion for the game has been questioned and his character off the field has also been questioned, having received a DUI less than a week before Florida’s SEC Championship game. Dunlap has the talent of a first round pick, if not Top 10 pick, but I could see him falling to the second, if not third round if these questions do not get answered. The fact that he’s also been inconsistent on the field this year will not help him either.

Carlton Mitchell projects as a mid-round pick in the upcoming draft. His production hasn’t been outstanding during his career, however his combination of size (6-4, 212 lbs) and athleticism is what scouts will be most interested in.

I’ve updated my rankings at running back, wide receiver, center, defensive end, and safety to show the changes of these underclassmen declarations. Continue to check back at Draft Headquarters for updated news!

With the NFL Draft talk starting to heat up significantly, I’ve decided to talk about a few things that I’ve been hearing and some thoughts on some of the big developments that we’ve seen in the last few days:

- The 2010 NFL Draft is shaping up to be one of the best in the history of the NFL. The amount of underclassmen that are entering the draft is rising very quickly with still a week left for them to declare. With a possible lockout and rookie wage scale looming, many players in college are under the impression that they need to get what they can while they still can. The depth at some of the positions (wide receiver, offensive tackle, defensive tackle, safety) is something that I haven’t since I started officially scouting since 2007. This is going to be a very fun four months as we get ready for the draft.

- In last week’s Monday Morning Roundup, I talked about how Tim Tebow’s performance in the Sugar Bowl has led to him becoming an overrated prospect. With the news that Tebow accepted his invitation to the Senior Bowl, it was also reported that as many as six GM’s had said that Tebow is worth taking in the first round after his performance in the bowl game. Now hold on a second. For four years, scouts have said that Tebow can’t be a quarterback in the NFL. Now, all of a sudden, after having a big game against a defense that ranks 44th nationally in scoring and 67th in total defense, scouts are ready to name Tebow as a first round pick? Get serious. One thing that I was taught in scouting is to NEVER look at one game, or one event (Senior Bowl, Combine), and rate a player based on that. You must use that game or event and compare it with the whole portfolio of information that the player has produced. His play in games, in the all-star games, and how he worked out at the Combine should all be put together to create a final ranking. Rating Tebow as a first round pick after the Sugar Bowl isn’t just dumb and ignorant scouting, it’s proving to us exactly how the Ryan Leaf’s and JaMarcus Russell’s of the world get taken first overall. Ironically, Russell had a great game over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl which resulted in his draft stock soaring signficantly. The Raiders then took him first overall, and it’s been a giant trainwreck since then. If these reports are true, I seriously worry about the state of scouting in the NFL.

- The more that I see Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain, the more I get the feeling that he’s the top linebacker since Patrick Willis was selected 12th overall by the 49ers in 2007. McClain reminds me a lot of Willis in his intelligence, instincts, and leadership on the field. McClain is one of the hottest prospects in the draft and is rising on draft boards as fast as any player in the country. Keep an eye on him in the draft process.

- With the recent news that USC head coach Pete Carroll could land in Seattle with the Seahawks, this has brought up a theory that this move could have a domino effect in several ways: First, with two first round picks in April, Carroll would be in position to draft two of his own Trojans in Taylor Mays, Everson Griffen, Charles Brown, Joe McKnight, and Damian Williams. Seattle could use any of these players, and they are in position to make a play for any of them. Second, this is pure speculation, but if Carroll ends up making the move, and USC can’t get the guy that they want (Oregon State coach Mike Reilly), what if Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian went back to the school that he was the offensive coordinator for and became their head coach; and if he did that, would star quarterback Jake Locker end up deciding to declare for the 2010 draft? It’s a longshot, but something to think about. This past week I spoke to a source who actually thinks that Locker will end up declaring for the draft. Don’t be surprised if it happens. He’d be a lock for the Top 4 and would have a very good chance of going first overall.

- Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz recently made a comment that should spark a lot of interest in who the Lions will take with the No. 2 pick in the draft. Schwartz praised left tackle Jeff Backus for his play this season and talked about how he should have received more Pro Bowl votes. Assuming Schwartz isn’t already giving us a smoke screen in January, it may be safe to assume that the Lions won’t be going with an offensive lineman with their first round pick, essentially ruling out Oklahoma State’s Russell Okung. Lions’ beat writer Tom Kowalski also recently stated that the team could be looking seriously on the defensive side of the ball with their top pick. I currently have Oklahoma’s Gerald McCoy going to the Lions, and I think that it’s looking more and more likely that he could end up being their pick assuming Ndamukong Suh goes to the Rams.

- I’m hearing from several different angles that many people in the league do not think that there is a quarterback (as of now) in the 2010 draft that is worthy of being taken in the first round. I couldn’t agree more with this assessment. The two top quarterback prospects, Jimmy Clausen and Sam Bradford, are both overrated in their own ways, and despite the hype that ESPN tends to give each one of them, it’s beginning to become clear that we may not see a quarterback in the top half of the draft, if not the first round of the draft. With Jake Locker and Ryan Mallett currently slated to be in the 2011 draft, there is absolutely no reason to draft one of these guys with the risk that is associated with taking them, especially when there are far better prospects at other positions on the board.

- With nine underclassmen at the wide receiver position having already declared for the draft, there’s a chance that senior receivers like Eric Decker of Minnesota and Mardy Gilyard of Cincinnati, players who I originally had rated as second-round picks, could fall to as far as the third or fourth round due to the depth of talent that is going to be coming out this year. Add in the fact that in the 2011 draft we could see Julio Jones of Alabama, A.J. Green of Georgia, Michael Floyd of Notre Dame, Jonathan Baldwin of Pittsburgh, and DeAndre Brown of Southern Miss, and the amount of talented wideouts in the next two years is going to give teams a reason to look at another position with their high picks. For example, if you can land one of the top offensive tackles in the first round, and then go wideout in the second round, and get nearly similar value at the position just a round later, then it’d make sense to wait on the position. It’s going to be interesting to see how teams value the receivers this year.

- As you can see in my latest mock draft, the strength of this draft class is going to fall in the trenches, where the offensive and defensive linemen, specifically at tackle, are all strong areas for 2010. There are six defensive tackles that I think you could justify using a first round pick on and there are seven offensive tackles who I think you could make an argument for. What this likely means is that teams at the top of the second round are going to get tremendous value and aren’t going to have to pay nearly as much for the talent that they are aquiring.

- At linebacker, both inside and outside, we are also seeing tremendous depth developing. Outside, Sergio Kindle, Navarro Bowman, Sean Weatherspoon, and Rennie Curran are all going to be coveted in the first two rounds. Inside, Rolando McClain and Brandon Spikes lead the way, while Michigan State’s Greg Jones could be another first rounder if he decides to declare. Teams with a need a linebacker should be able to fill those holes rather easily in 2010.

- One last position that I wanted to touch on is at tight end, where Jermaine Gresham and Aaron Hernandez lead the way. If Arizona’s Rob Gronkowski ends up deciding to declare, then we could potentially have three first round talents in the 2010 draft. From what I’ve been told, Hernandez is going to be extremely impressive at the Combine and that could propel him into the first round. Gronkowski is talented player out of Arizona who missed this season, like Gresham, due to injury. He will decide on whether to declare later this week.

- Last, but not least, I plan on starting up my “If I Were GM” articles for the teams at the top of the draft order, discussing what plan I would have for each respective team if I were the General Manager of the team. Expect to see those start popping up this week. Also, in a few weeks I’ll be heading to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama for a third-straight year. I plan on updating furiously during the trip, and with Twitter becoming a new way for me to reach out to my readers, I’d suggest following me, as I’ll be updating live from practices while I’m in Mobile. Lastly, we’ve started selling pre-orders for the 2010 Draft Preview, which I’ve already started to get working on. Even with the college season officially done, I’m still scouting recordings that I made as well as additional film to try and accumulate as many notes and information as I can on every player. The 2009 Draft Preview was 159 pages with 226 player profiles; I’m anticipating the 2010 one being at least 180 pages with close to 240-250 players, especially with the large number of talented underclassmen declaring for the draft. Thanks to those that have already purchase a copy and thanks to those that will be doing so in the future. The Draft Preview is really what funds the site and helps to pay for hosting and what helps to fund all of the improvements and upgrades that we make to the site. You can purchase a copy here.

It’s been reported that Texas Longhorns safety Earl Thomas, a redshirt sophomore, has declared for the 2010 NFL Draft. Thomas, who intercepted eight passes in 2009, ranks as one of the top safety prospects for 2010.

Thomas is a ball-hawking, free safety type who should be a lock to be taken in the first round. I like Thomas a bit more than other scouts do because I think that he has all of the tools necessary to become a Pro Bowl safety in the NFL.

I’ve updated my safety rankings where I have Thomas rated as the No. 2 safety, behind Tennessee’s Eric Berry and ahead of USC’s Taylor Mays.

It’s also been reported that USC wide receiver Damian Williams has officially declared for the 2010 draft. Last week there was a report suggesting that Williams would enter the draft, and I added him to the player rankings then. With him having officially declared today, I thought that I’d mention that I currently have him ranked as my No. 5 receiver, behind Georgia Tech’s Demaryius Thomas and ahead of Kansas’ Dezmon Briscoe.

Continue to check back at Draft Headquarter for more updates on the 2010 NFL Draft!

Georgia Tech junior wide receiver Demaryius Thomas has declared for the 2010 NFL Draft. Thomas, listed at 6-3, 230 lbs, has drawn several comparisons to former Yellow Jackets teammate Calvin Johnson.

With the combination of size, speed, and athleticism that scouts dream about, Thomas could be a fast riser in the 2010 draft. Thomas caught 46 passes for 1,154 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging an outstanding 25.1-yards per catch. Having put up those stats in a triple-option offense at Georgia Tech shows just how dominant Thomas can be. I have him rated as a mid-late first round pick assuming he works out well at the Combine in February.

I have updated my position rankings at the wide receiver position. I have Thomas rated fourth among wideouts, behind Notre Dame’s Golden Tate and ahead of USC’s Damian Williams. Continue to check back at Draft Headquarters for continued updates.

It’s been announced that USC junior running back Joe McKnight has decided to forgo his senior year and enter the 2010 NFL Draft. McKnight, who has been compared to former Trojan Reggie Bush, carried the ball 164 times for 1,014 yards and eight touchdowns on the year.

McKnight enters the draft as one of the most talented players in the country. I’d expect to see him workout well, as his strengths are his speed, quickness, and explosive play. With recent controversy surrounding McKnight and how he ended up at USC, it’s no surprise that he decided to jump to the NFL as soon as he could. I have McKnight rated as a late-first to early-second round pick.

I’ve updated my rankings at the running back position where I have McKnight ranked third, behind Cal’s Jahvid Best and ahead of Fresno State’s Ryan Mathews. Continue to check back at Draft Headquarters for updated information on the 2010 NFL Draft!

Central Michigan junior wide receiver Antonio Brown has declared for the 2010 NFL Draft. Brown is a smaller wideout who is explosive and excels at playing in the slot. He also offers the team that drafts him value as a returner.

I have Brown ranked as a mid-round pick. Coming from Central Michigan won’t help for exposure purposes, however, NFL scouts certainly have their eye on him. The Combine is going to be key; he has the chance to impress scouts with his great speed and athleticism, which is exactly what will get him drafted. At the next level, he’ll be a playmaker out of the slot.

I’ve updated my receiver rankings to show the change. I have Brown ranked 18th, behind Michigan State’s Blair White and ahead of Kansas’ Kerry Meier. Continue to check back at Draft Headquarters for more updated news and notes.