The 2011 NFL Draft begins two weeks from tonight. While the entire draft landscape is still extremely fluid - and will remain that way until just hours before the draft begins - things are undeniably starting to firm up. That includes my opinions on the prospects at the top of the draft class.
Consider this a little experiment. Like everything else, my Top 34 board is still very fluid - but I'm posting it tonight anyway. I'll do it again a few hours before the festivities begin on April 28; I'm just curious to see how much my opinions change in that time frame. More after the jump.
Nos. 1-3: This small portion of the big board is dedicated solely to the players that I'd take if I were the Buffalo Bills. Three picks, three players. Given the face smiling at you at the top of this post, you shouldn't be surprised who "my guy" (for the moment) is.
Nos. 4-34: The bulk of the board is not quite "BPA," but it has that type of feel. You'll notice an emphasis on safe picks, clean prospects, and immediate-impact guys (with the exception of the quarterbacks.) It is decidedly less about "the Bills must take someone on this list with their second-round pick," and more about who I like the most in this draft class.
Again, I'll be posting a Top 34 big board once more, on the night of April 28. Ideally, we won't see much movement. (You're almost certain to not see much movement in the Top 3, I'll tell you that.) This is entirely my opinion, and is not meant to be a predictive device. It'll be interesting to see what things look like after a fortnight.
No. | Name | Pos. | College |
1 | Marcell Dareus | DT | Alabama |
2 | Von Miller | OLB | Texas A&M |
3 | Patrick Peterson | CB | LSU |
4 | A.J. Green | WR | Georgia |
5 | Julio Jones | WR | Alabama |
6 | Prince Amukamara | CB | Nebraska |
7 | Cameron Jordan | DE | California |
8 | Aldon Smith | DE | Missouri |
9 | J.J. Watt | DE | Wisconsin |
10 | Nick Fairley | DT | Auburn |
11 | Robert Quinn | DE | North Carolina |
12 | Da'Quan Bowers | DE | Clemson |
13 | Blaine Gabbert | QB | Missouri |
14 | Tyron Smith | OT | USC |
15 | Kyle Rudolph | TE | Notre Dame |
16 | Anthony Castonzo | OT | Boston College |
17 | Jake Locker | QB | Washington |
18 | Jimmy Smith | CB | Colorado |
19 | Cam Newton | QB | Auburn |
20 | Akeem Ayers | OLB | UCLA |
21 | Adrian Clayborn | DE | Iowa |
22 | Stephen Paea | DT | Oregon State |
23 | Mike Pouncey | OG | Florida |
24 | Corey Liuget | DT | Illinois |
25 | Brandon Harris | CB | Miami (FL) |
26 | Ryan Kerrigan | DE | Purdue |
27 | Derek Sherrod | OT | Mississippi State |
28 | Muhammad Wilkerson | DT | Temple |
29 | Danny Watkins | OG | Baylor |
30 | Mark Ingram | RB | Alabama |
31 | Gabe Carimi | OT | Wisconsin |
32 | Marvin Austin | DT | North Carolina |
33 | Jabaal Sheard | DE | Pittsburgh |
34 | Bruce Carter | OLB | North Carolina |