Strengths of the 2008 NFL Draft

Most college football teams have played a little over half their games, but for NFL Draft purposes the "Draft" season is only one quarter complete. Let me explain, if you give two points to the season, one point to the bowl games and All-Star Games (i.e. Senior Bowl, Shrine Game) and another point to the NFL Scouting Combine and individual "Pro Day" workouts, then you could surmise that the season is only 1/4 over.

So at the one-quarter spot, how does this draft stack up against last years draft and more importantly past drafts? It's to early to draw a whole lot of conclusion from last years draft, but we can speculate a little. Why not, if you follow the NFL Draft as I do do, then speculation is the name of the game.

A few months ago I wrote a piece highlighting the talented juniors that are draft eligible for the 2008 NFL Draft. Why does it seem that there are so many talented juniors this year? Because so many underclassmen entered the draft last year it has diluted the seniors for this year. I expect even more juniors to declare early this year even further diluting the seniors for the 2009 NFL Draft. That is why it has become even more important to identify the top sophomores as early as possible in the evaluating process.

OK, so what are the strengths of this 2008 NFL Draft? I think it's at the running back and offensive tackle positions. When you throw in the top juniors that are likely to declare, then these two positions are incredible indeed. Here is a list (including the juniors) of the running backs that could be drafted in the first three rounds (day one), and all of these prospects could fight for considerable playing time on NFL rosters as rookies: Darren McFadden, Jonathan Stewart, Ray Rice, James Davis, Steve Slaton, Mike Hart, Felix Jones, Tashard Choice, Ryan Torain, Allen Patrick, Kevin Smith, BenJarvus Green-Ellis. As a comparison, last year, (2007 NFL Draft) there were nine running backs drafted in the first three rounds. Yes the quantity is just slightly better, but the quality is a significant upgrade over last year, with a lot of possible franchise type backs on that list.

This group of offensive tackles is also impressive, including the top juniors, we could even see as many as seven tackles selected in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft! Here are some possible first rounders: Jake Long, Sam Baker, Gosder Cherilus, Ryan Clady, Barry Richardson, Michael Oher and Chris Williams. I can't see all seven going in round one, but I would grade all seven as first round talent. Don't know Chris Williams? He is a very athletic lineman from Vanderbilt with excellent size (6' 6" 319 lbs).

The quarterback position needs to be mentioned as well. Quantity and quality, it will be a very strong position in this draft, especially at the very top with Brian Brohm, Matt Ryan and Andre' Woodson all having the potential to be top ten picks. Last year, JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn were the only two quarterbacks selected in the first round and neither has played in the regular season yet. Not everyone is sold on Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan, because he throws so may interceptions and plays against such inferior competition, but I love his potential. If I were an NFL team needing a quarterback and the top three guys were already gone, I would definitely take a chance on Brennan, yes he might burn out and fade away, but the chance that Brennan will be a super star is just to good to pass up. I really like Erik Ainge from Tennessee as a second or third round selection and even though I am not high on either Chad Henne or John David Booty, they will likely be drafted during the same time frame. As a comparison, there were six quarterbacks selected on the first day of the 2007 NFL Draft. It's way to early to draw any final conclusions, but the best quarterback from the 2007 NFL Draft looks like Trent Edwards, and he was the last quarterback selected on day one last year (92nd over-all), and so far, is the first rookie quarterback to secure a starting job, beating out Buffalo's J. P. Losman.