2010 NFL Draft Rankings: Quarterbacks and Running backs

Quarterbacks:

1. Jimmy Clausen- 1^st round, Notre Dame
2. Sam Bradford- 1^st round, Oklahoma
3. Tony Pike-2^nd round, Cincinnati
4. Colt McCoy-2^nd-3^rd round, Texas
5. Tim Tebow-2^nd-3^rd round, Florida
6. Jevan Snead-2^nd-4^th round, Ole Miss
7. Dan LeFevour-3^rd-4^th round, Central Michigan
8. Sean Canfield-4^th round, Oregon State
9. Bill Stull-4^th-5^th round, Pittsburgh
10. Jarrett Brown-5^th round, West Virginia
11. John Skelton-5^th-6^th round, Fordham
12. Max Hall-6^th round BYU
13. Tim Hiller-7^th round, Western Michigan
14. Zac Robinson-FA, OK State
15. Joe Webb-FA, UAB
16. Levi Brown-FA, Troy
17. Ryan Perrilloux-FA, Jacksonville St
18. Jon Compton-FA, Tennessee
19. Mike Kafka-FA, Northwestern

Right now Jimmy Clausen has separated himself from the pack and should be the top quarterback taken in April. His big arm, and ability to play in a more pro style offense moves him ahead of Sam Bradford. Bradford’s arm injury also should give teams in the early part of Round 1 some cause for concern. While there are some holes in their games, I do think both Clausen and and Bradford are first round talents and could be Franchise quarterbacks down the line. While most people think the quarterback talent stops after Bradford in this class, I feel a couple of these arms will surprise some people. It would not shock me at all to see 3-4 of these quarterbacks (outside the first rounders) end up as good starters 3 years from now. Pike and McCoy are the next closest from the bunch, and may be ready to start within a year. Neither one possesses incredible arm strength, but both have the intangibles needed for the NFL. McCoy in particular reminds me of a right-handed Mark Brunell. Jevan Snead has taken a beating for coming out early, but he has all the tools needed to succeed at the next level if he finds a team that will be patient with him. Dan LeFevour I think could be the best quarterback of this group, and I see him developing into a top notch quarterback. LeFevour has a good (but not great) arm, and always makes smart decisions. He also has the mobility and foot speed to pick up chunks of yards on the ground, when nothing is open down field. Two senior quarterbacks, Sean Canfield and Bill Stull, stepped up their games this year and moved themselves into mid-round consideration. As for late-round targets, two names to keep an eye on are John Skelton and Max Hall. Hall is a gamer, and an extremely accurate passer. Unfortunately for Hall he stands just about 6 feet tall, making it unlikely he can transition into the pro game as a starter. Skelton on the other hand has no problems with his 6’5″ size, just his mechanics. His arm strength is spectacular (probably the best in the class), but he is a very raw prospect, that will need plenty of work to turn into a starter.

Running backs:

1. C.J. Spiller-1^st round, Clemson
2. Jahvid Best-1^st-2^nd round, California
3. Jonathan Dwyer-1^st-2^nd round, Georgia Tech
4. Montario Hardesty-2^nd round, Tennessee
5. Antonio Dixon-2^nd round, Mississippi State
6. Toby Gerhart-2^nd-3^rd round, Stanford
7. Joe McKnight-2^nd-3^rd round, USC
8. Ryan Mathews– 2^nd-3^rd round, Fresno State
9. Ben Tate-3^rd round, Auburn
10. Charles Scott-3^rd-4^th round, LSU
11. Javarris James-4^th round, Miami
12. James Starks-4^th-5^th round, Buffalo
13. Dexter McCluster-4^th-5^th round, Ole Miss
14. Chris Brown-5^th-6^th round, Oklahoma
15. Stafon Johnson-6^th round, USC
16. Keiland Williams, 6^th round, LSU
17. LeGarrett Blount,6^th-7^th round, Oregon
18. Curtis Steele, 7^th round, Memphis
19. Damion Fletcher, 7^th round, Southern Miss
20. Keith Totson, 7^th round, OK State
21. Shawnbrey McNeal, 7^th round, SMU
22. Brandon Minor, 7^th round, Michigan
23. Brandon James, 7^th round, Florida
24. Joique Bell, 7^th round-FA, Wayne State
25. Trindon Holliday, 7^th round-FA, LSU

This year’s running back class, lacks ‘star’ power and overall depth, but has a lot of interesting guys in the top 15. Any of the top 8 backs could be a feature back by year two. Spiller and Best are the home run hitters of this class, and have the added benefit of being return men. Dwyer and Dixon are your grind it out running backs, capable of getting the ball 25 times a game. Hardesty is a tough back that really seems to be getting overlooked in some circles. Gerhart should be in the mix with Dwyer and Dixon, but he’s the type of player that is consistently underrated. He might not have top end speed or the best short shuffle time, but when he runs, he runs like John Riggins and I think he has that high of a ceiling. Ryan Mathews is another back who should probably go higher then I have him rated, and he should have a bright future in the NFL, but he needs to learn some of the finer points of being a running back. His vision and decision making are average at best, and will need to improve to become an every down runner. McKnight is a back that has all the physical skill, size and speed, but lacks the intangibles to be an elite prospect. I still think he’ll come off the board in the 2nd or 3rd round given his pedigree (possibly by his old college coach Pete Carroll), but has a major bust label looming. One mid-round guy that warrants more attention is McCluster, a running back/receiver/return man hybrid. He will never be an every down back at the next level, but should excel in a specialty role (similar to Sproles and L. Washington), and in fact might be even better given his work as a wide receiver. Blount and Fletcher are two late-round guys, who should be going 4-5 rounds higher if not for off the field incidents. If they can show that they have pulled their lives together, they could end up being good late round steals.

Remember this is just a first look at where these guys should rank. We will get into greater detail on players and positions as the draft gets closer.