While Buffalo Bills fans were fretting over the latest Jairus Byrd news on Monday, NFL Network draft analysts Mike Mayock and Daniel Jeremiah were releasing updates to their respective prospect evaluations. Let's take a moment to discuss some of the changes.
Mayock keeps a top five list at each position throughout the spring months. Regarding positional groups that the Bills may target early in the 2014 NFL Draft, Mayock's newly updated rankings did not change much from his initial set, released prior to the NFL Combine.
At offensive tackle, Mayock did end up flipping Greg Robinson of Auburn ahead of Jake Matthews of Texas A&M. He and Jeremiah had previously differed on that, but now both analysts rank Robinson ahead of Matthews. Jeremiah, who updates a Top 50 prospects list, has Robinson as the No. 3 overall prospect, with Matthews hot in pursuit at No. 5.
Jeremiah refers to Robinson as a "dominating run-blocker" that is "very quick working up to the second level," while also noting that he's athletic enough to handle NFL-caliber speed rushers, particularly after refining his hand technique. He very clearly rates Robinson ahead of Matthews because he is a superior physical talent, but notes that Matthews more than makes up for fewer athletic tools, calling him "very technically sound" and noting that he "plays with good balance and knee bend."
The other notable change on Mayock's lists: he'd previously listed Texas A&M wide receiver Mike Evans third at his position, behind both Sammy Watkins of Clemson (who remains the top receiver) and USC's Marqise Lee. That changed after Evans' strong Combine showing, and Mayock now ranks Evans ahead of Lee.
Jeremiah has both receivers rated highly, as well. Watkins is his No. 2 overall prospect ("capable of scoring from anywhere on the field"; "attacks the ball in the air" and "can high-point in traffic"), while Evans moved up to No. 7 ("rare size and ball skills"; "multiple contested catches in every game I studied" and "overall skill set is very favorable to Alshon Jeffery").
Other players that rank in Jeremiah's Top 10: quarterbacks Teddy Bridgewater and Johnny Manziel, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, linebackers Khalil Mack and Anthony Barr, and cornerback Justin Gilbert.