FanNation

In the year 2008, 18 year olds can play professionally in basketball, baseball, and in sports such as soccer, tennis, and golf.  Athletes have played professionally as early as 14 years old.  Unfortunately, as we learned from the sacrifices of Maurice Clarett and Mike Williams, the NFL continues to enforce it's age limit more rigorusly than the Constitution's decree on presidential candidacies . 

But what if things turned out differently and the NFL had followed the NBA's example regarding Spencer Haywood and Moses Malone over three decades ago. 

If we were honest with ourselves, we'd realize a college degree, nor the academic skills needed to succeed in college, are required to play professional sports. Therefore, requiring academically marginal athletes to attend college in order to participate in professional sports benefits none of the interested parties and is akin to forcing future comedians to attend DeVry.

With the threat of a new league on the horizon, what if the NFL had not countered the Clarett lawsuit and ushered in an entire generation of Marcus Dupree's, who starred in the USFL as a 19 year old phenom.  Despite being considered the most talented running back of all-time, Dupree's name has been lost in the annals of football lore as the result of devastating injuries to his knees, abrupt collapse of the USFL and time.  ("Bo Jackson was also a frosh in '82 and had a phenomenal year. But no one was foolish enough to compare Jackson to Dupree." If you want to get an idea of how good he really was watch this video.) However, whether preps-to-pro's athletes succeed or not should not depend on the decision of the commisioner's arcane rule but rather the choice of the NFL's individual organizations.

As one NFC scout put in 2004, "It's a unique circumstance. We aren't in the business of scouting freshman although, I guess, that might become part of the job if (Clarett) wins his case."

Well, although, it didn't happen then that time has come for the NFL, so welcome to the 1st Annual High School and College Underclassmen Draft.  Besides the occasional infraction for featuring their newest stars in Coors Light Super Bowl commercials, this should go on without a hitch.

The name is long so to condense it we’ll just call it the NFL’s Early Entry Draft. Set just a week before the NFL Draft, this unpredictable draft process, could potentially shape up the next week’s NFL Draft. As most first’s are the kinks still have to be worked out, however, the influx of talent from future NFL Draft selections will make this one of the strongest fields ever.  

So after hours of studying film… on YouTube, I present the 1st Annual Early Entry Draft: Live From Disney World and brought to you by the equally youthful E-Trade baby who shares a philosophy with most of these draft picks. "Alot of people think they're to young to invest the future of a franchise in them but a) don't worry about and b) they just look young and soon you'll be seeing them score touchdowns, No Big Deal!" The picks are reversed from the order of the NFL Draft, therefore the Super Bowl champion New York Giants are on the clock with the 1st pick. Here comes NFL commissioner Roger Goodell:

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After the abrupt retirement of Brett Favre in March, Tebow became the first athlete to leap from the warm confines of Gainesville, Fla. to the frozen tundra of Green Bay, Wisconsin. While some question his potential as a dual threat, once you break through the inpenetrable rule of comparing the black athletes to white athletes, Tebow projects as a rich man’s David Gerrard. He won’t be especially quick or elusive but he will force teams to respect his mobility, strength and straightline speed if they commit too deep in coverage. In sharp contrast to trait which inexplicably made Favre more legendary, Tebow has shown an antipodal mentality for throwing ill advised spirals into tight spots and largely avoided turnovers. Unfortunately, his inability to slide and avoid contact will probably leave him 17 years and 252 games short of Favre’s consecutive starts streak. Last season, the Packers instituted 4-5 receiver sets to appease Favre which should be comfortable for Tebow who spent the majority, if not all of his high school and college career in the shotgun.

4.) Dallas Cowboys- Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri
The Cowboys need a talented receiver to draw the focus of defensive gameplans away from stopping a receiver other than T.O. Maclin finished the '07 season with the freshman record for all-purpose yardage with 2,509 yards and was 2nd overall in NCAA football averaging 209 all-purpose yards per game. He rushed for 309 yards and 4 touchdowns, caught 69 passes for 954 yards and 9 touchdowns, averaged 13.6 yards per punt return (2 touchdowns), and averaged 24.3 yards per kick return (1 touchdown).

5.)San Diego Chargers- Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech
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The selection of Craig Davis in the draft never paid dividends, and while Vincent Jackson is a great supplemental receiver behind Chris Chambers, he’s not a #1 receiver. Despite hitting a mortal pace in the second half of the season, Crabtree had one of the most divine seasons statistically for a wide receiver in the history of the college game, catching 125 passes for 1,861 yards and 21 touchdown passes. Though his numbers have been overlooked because of the Red Raiders pass oriented offense, many of Crabtree's best plays came from yards created after catch, including his near impossible momentum shifting run against Oklahoma .

6.) Jacksonville Jaguars- Percy Harvin, WR, Florida | VIDEO
Even though the Jags recently inked disgruntled ex-Raider Jerry Porter to a mammoth contract, I’m a big believer in regional drafting for salary cap purposes. If your team can draft an impact player who attended college and high school within the vicinity of it’s stadium then they can deduct the usual cross country moving costs from his contract negotiations while he moves out of his dorm and back into the basement at home. In addition to managing the salary cap, the Jaguars get a Steve Smith type slot receiver.

 
7.)Seattle Seahawks- Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia | VIDEO
Coming out of high school Stafford was noted for his slingshot arm with a tendency to squirt the ball into tight spots comparable to another young quarterback Holmgren tethered his legacy to 17 years ago. With Brett Favre walking away from the game, it’s only fitting for Stafford to walk in. Though Matt Hasselbeck is the Seahawks current Pro Bowl qb, there’s a growing sense in Seattle that the prematurely balding signal caller is a good but not great quarterback who can sustain consistency but can’t elevate his game to dominating when the situation arises. Though Stafford has yet to establish himself as an elite quarterback, the glimpses of potential have been evident in his steady progress.

10.)Dallas Cowboys- Eric Berry, CB, Tennessee
Despite the fact Berry wasn't even a full-time cornerback in high school, instead staring as the team's quarterback at Creekside High, Berry paced the nation’s freshman with 83 tackles, made four interceptions along with a school-record 207 return yards including a 96 yard INT touchdown return against Florida. Berry can play either safety or cornerback, however, either way he could drastically improve the Cowboys pass coverage which resembled an airport landing strip for opposing quarterbacks last season.

11.)Washington Redskins- Greg Hardy, DE, Ole Miss
In light of the on field consequences of Sean Taylor’s death, the Skins are in need of an impact free safety, however, the Skins also have lacked a disruptive defensive end since Bruce Smith’s retirement. To put in context, how badly the Skins need an effective pass rusher, Phillip Daniels, their returning defensive end, turns 35 in May, is in the last year of his contract and has only 5.5 sacks the past two years combined. Last season was actually a slight improvement over a unit which posted the fewest total sacks in 2006. Despite missing 2 games in 2007, Greg Hardy was named to numerous All-American second teams and a unanimous All-SEC First Teamer after leading the SEC and tying for sixth nationally in sacks with 10.
His defining performance came when Hardy posted career highs of 13 total tackles, five TFL’s(tackles for loss), three sacks, two forced fumbles and two QB hurries vs. Alabama and 2 sacks.

12.)Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Micah Johnson, LB, Kentucky

13.) Philadelphia Eagles- Myron Rolle, FS, Florida State
While Brian Dawkins prepares for his probable swan song in 2008, his successor can soak it in while learning and waiting in the wings. 

14.) Houston Texans- Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma
I was never a believer that Matt Schaub's 3 starts as a Falcon were proof he was a $48 million difference maker. Bradford led the nation in passing efficiency as a redshirt freshman and barring an injury in the season final against Texas Tech, would likely have played for a BCS National Championship.

15.) Minnesota Vikings- Jermaine Gresham, TE, Oklahoma
While the wide receivers were swept off the board quicker than Goodell can record over his wedding video, the Vikings could abandon their plans for securing an elite wideout by instead acquiring an elite pass-catching target at tightend.

16.)Arizona Cardinals- Chris Wells, RB, Ohio State | VIDEO

After several years of failed free agent experimentations with past their prime running backs, Emmitt Smith and Edgerrin James, the Cardinals should come to the relevation that young teams should build their offense and acquire young tailbacks with fresh legs through the draft. Wells' punishing upright running style harkens back to another great Buckeye back-- Eddie George and in 15 years when he is 35, the Lions may acquire his services to revive their losing franchise with a 7 year $70 million dollar contract offer that will last until he's 42.

17.) Detroit Lions- LeSean McCoy, RB, Pittsburgh | VIDEO
After the release of Kevin Jones capped a disappointing 3 year run where it became apparent that the Lions were unhappy with marquee back who led the NFL's 32nd ranked rushing attack. McCoy had the second best freshman rushing season in Big East history after running for 1,180 yards and established a freshman scoring record with 14 touchdowns.

18.) Chicago Bears- Gerald McCoy, DT, Oklahoma
From an outside perspective, the release of Tank Johnson last off-season seemed irrelevant, however, his absence set off a ripple effect which crippled one of the league’s best run defenses. This is a team built around a defensive philosophy and despite the offensive woes at quarterback, receiver and running backs which make Bad Rex look like the hottest waitress at Denny’s-- he's still ugly but much more attractive in comparison. A run stuffing nose tackle could revitalize the Bears dormant defense and return it to it’s dominant 2006 form.

19.)Carolina Panthers- C.J. Spiller, RB, Clemson | VIDEO
Though Spiller struggled as a sophomore in comparison to his breakthrough freshmen season when he scored 12 touchdowns, including six consisting of 50 yards or more. Spiller’s first score as a collegiate back was a screen play, he sprung for 82 yards en route to eventually leaving defenders in pursuit sprawled on their backs. While struggling to adjust his east-west running style as he fought for carries, Spiller scored five touchdowns that covered at least 44 yards last season - including four of at least 68 yards and returned two kickoffs for touchdowns while averaging 28.8 yards per return though he touched the ball on fewer than 14 plays from scrimmage per game.  However, he late in the season he rediscovered his trademark for elusive length of the field touchdowns.

20.) Denver Broncos- Marvin Austin, DT, North Carolina
On the ends, Elvis Dumervil and the inexperienced Jarvis Moss should anchor the League’s premiere pass rushing duo. However, the Broncos run defense ranked among the most porous units in the NFL allowing 142 yards per game on the ground, good for 30^th in the league. The acquisition of Marvin Austin would supply them with a developing dominant tackle. 

21.) Buffalo Bills- Taylor Mays, S, Southern Cal

22.)New Orleans Saint- Al Woods, DT, LSU
The Saints have addressed their weakness at linebacker by signing Dan Morgan and trading for Jonathan Vilma. Although they signed former Panthers Pro Bowler Kris Jenkins, the Saints 4-3 defense requires 2 good defensive tackles.

23.)Cincinnati Bengal- Maurice Evans, DE, Penn State
The Bengals defense allowed the fewest defensive sacks in the NFL last season BEFORE their best pass rusher Justin Smith signed a six-year, $45 million deal with the San Francisco 49ers. Evans collected 12.5 sacks as a sophomore and would be a perfect fit for the Bengals.  Last season, Coach Joe Paterno gave his team the task of cleaning the stadium, the day after the season opener while the Bengals consist of ahletes who are regularly sentenced to community service under the state parole system. 

24.)Baltimore Ravens- Eric Norwood, DE, South Carolina
Norwood would be the ideal defensive end with great size for the Ravens' vaun ted 3-4 defense.  In 2007, Norwood became just the fourth player in NCAA Division I history to return two fumbles for touchdowns in a single game in a win over the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats.

25.)New England Patriots- Omar Bolden, CB, Arizona St
Regardless of who they select with their 7th overall pick in the draft, they'll likely need another corner in their youthful secondary after losing both Randall Gay and Asante Samuels in free agency.

26.)New York Jets- Kris O'Dowd, C, Southern Cal
O'Dowd became the first true freshman to start at USC at center ever and only the third true freshmen to start on the Trojan OL since World War II.

27.)Kanas City Chiefs- Tyrod Taylor, QB, Virginia Tech | VIDEO
After a few weeks of watching Damon Huard and Brodie Croyle direct the Chiefs stagnant offense, Chiefs fans would probably like to groom his successor right away. For an offense without many playmakers at wideout, Taylor’s scrambling ability would provide some much needed excitement to Kansas City’s dull offense.

28.)Oakland Raiders- Sam Young, OT, Notre Dame
The Raiders could have gone after either LeSean McCoy or DeMarco Murray at running back however, the opportunity to draft McFadden in the NFL Draft has driven their interests elsewhere. . It’s fair to say the Robert Gallery experiment has been a failure. As we’ve seen from Shawn Alexander’s precipitous decline since the free agent loss of Sean Hutchinson how valuable the left tackle is to creating lanes for runner’s and the quarterbacks blindside. In 2006, Young was the first true freshman to start the season opener on the offensive line for Notre Dame since freshmen became eligible in 1972.

29.) Atlanta Falcons- Trinton Sturdivant, OT, Georgia

In his first two games last season Joey Harrington was sacked 13 times, Byron Leftwich was injured after a protection breakdown from his blindside allowed a Saints defender to fall on his ankle and neither is expected to start for the Falcons next season. Regardless of who they draft at quarterback, former Bulldog dual threat QB D.J. Shockley should begin the season as the de facto starter, and Sturdivant protected the blindside on an offensive line which kept the Bulldogs' current starter upright all season.

30.) St. Louis Rams- Clint Boling, OG, Georgia

Boling was named to the Freshman All-American team and was part of an offensive line unit that only gave up one sack per game.
Note to self: Conjure up more phony insight into offensive lineman to disguise my UGA bias.

31.) Miami Dolphins- Everson Griffin, DE, Southern Cal
The day Jason Taylor steps on that hardwood and does the salsa to impress a few judges is the day his career passes away.  Maybe it's all just a rouse to imitate Michael Strahan's karma but If he does return he can take up the task of making Griffin his Mini-Me and teach him the ropes.  As a true freshman in limited snaps, Griffin recorded 20 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery and was named first team Freshman All-American.

Round 2
32.) New York Giant- Lee Ziamba, OT, Auburn

33.)New England Patriots- Rob Gronkowski, TE, Arizona
You’d think the Pats offense was complete with a tall vertical threat at receiver in Randy Moss, a power running game with Laurence Maroney, and Wes Welker doubling as a slot receiver and as their form of short running games, they’ve never had a legitimate pass catching tight end. However, a freshman out of Arizona would complete this offensive juggernaut. As a highly touted true freshman, Gronkowski recorded 26 receptions, for 496 yards and 5 touchdowns.

34.) Indianapolis Colts- Julio Jones, WR, HS I VIDEO

Terrell Owens was molded by Jerry Rice, Randy Moss had Cris Carter and Isaac Bruce polished Torry Holt. While it’s not a popular sentiment, it is a fact that Marvin Harrison is getting older and though I will never dismiss him as an impact receiver because of a lingering injury which ruined his season, he can follow those examples and leave Peyton Manning with a dangerous downfield threat in the long term besides Reggie Wayne.

35.)Green Bay Packers- Joe McKnight, RB, Southern Cal | VIDEO
Ryan Grant was a brilliant discovery for Packers fans but the dual backfield has become commonplace in the NFL and McKnight at running back would allow both to play separate but vital roles. McKnight is a running back with an undefined role who never ran for 1,000 yards in high school but is attracted to the endzone and Ryan Grant is a big, bruising back who usually pounds up the middle and occasionally bounces outside for tough yardage.Meanwhile, McKnight is a quick, shifty tailback coveted at USC for his likeness to Reggie Bush in terms of his soft hands and Houdini-like escapability which allows him to be utilized as a slot receiver as well. With McKnight, the Packers can wreak more havoc on secondaries with their 4 & 5 receiver sets.

36.)Dallas Cowboys- Lawrence Wilson, LB, Connecticut
Wade Phillips' 3-4 defense can never have too many young linebackers.  Wilson finished 2007 with 106 tackles, had 7.5 TFL and 1 INT.

37.)Jacksonville Jaguars- Jermaine Cunningham, DE, Florida
Like I said, the Jags don't have to peruse Priceline.com or Travelocity for specials to fly their scouts to Gainesville on Saturdays and in return get a pass rusher who may improve their defensive pressure. They should just build a figurative gate around Florida's borders and bring Urban Meyer on board as a scout.

38.)Miami Dolphins- Armanti Edwards, QB, Appalachian State | VIDEO
As a sophomore, Armanti Edwards has already claimed consecutive Division I-AA national championships and made mincemeat of the 5th ranked Michigan Wolverines defense. From Parcells' faith in Tony Romo, he has shown the patience to groom talented D I-AA QB prospects.

39.) Cleveland Browns- DeMarco Murray, RB, Oklahoma | VIDEO
Though, Jamal Lewis has the starting position in lock next season, the near future of the Browns running back position appears up in the air. Disguised under the veil of a between the tackles runner, Murray is a highlight reel waiting to happen.  Despite sharing carries with two other backs in OU's crowded backfield Murray distinguished himself as the most elusive runners in the nation.

 40.)Seattle Seahawks- Chad Jones, S, LSU

41.)Tennessee Titans- Donovan Warren, CB, Michigan
The Tennessee Titans have inexplicably given up on Pacman Jones and begun shopping him to the Cowboys so you'd presume they have a plan to replace him.

 
42.)Pittsburgh Steeler- Vidal Hazelton, WR, Southern Cal | VIDEO | VIDEO
Hines Ward has been in a steady decline since 2005.

43.)Tampa Bay Buccaneer- Todd Reesing, QB, Kansas
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again about Reesing. At 5’10 although Kansas utilizes an unconventional shotgun where he stands 6 and 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage to offset his size disadvantage, he doesn’t win team limbo contests walking on stilts. Though he won't turn your boiled eggs into an omelet Reesing possesses shades of Doug Flutie in his scrambling ability.If for no other reason, Reesing to the Bucs is ideal because it would allow him to learn under Jeff Garcia, another quarterback who has thrived despite less than ideal height.

44.) Washington Redskins- Kenny Britt, WR, Rutgers

With Chad Johnson apparently off the trade market, the Redskins are still in desperate need of a tall physical receiver to contrast their duo of Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle-El. While Britt's star was blocked out by Ray Rice's supernova, Britt emerged as a deep threat by recording 62 catches for 1,200 yards and 8 touchdown's for an average of over 20 yards per catch.

45.) Arizona Cardinals- Greg Jones, LB, Michigan State
The Cardinals are desperate of fresh defensive personnel in every aspect, therefore they'd simply select the best player available, regardless of need. Freshman middle linebacker, Greg Jones led the Spartans in tackles with 73, recorded 7.5 TFL and 3.5 sacks.

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Need an explanation for selecting another young quarterback here? What mobile, African American quarterback wouldn’t want to play in the city of brotherly love as the understudy to Donovan McNabb. If anything, from AJ Feeley to Kevin Kolb, cantankerous Philly fans love their backups. Wait, sarcasm isn’t the official state language of Pennsylvania? But seriously, wouldn’t this be a better fit than Kevin Kolb learning under the tutelage of McNabb? There’s a reason Vince Young’s childhood idol was Steve McNair and not lead footed Warren Moon. If quarterbacks learn by osmosis through their predecessors would you honestly trust Kolb and his 5.0, 40 speed to scramble around the pocket when his protection quickly breaks down or when he realizes his blanketed receivers Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis are his only vertical threats. I didn’t think so.

47.)Atlanta Falcons- E.J. Manuel, QB, Bayside HS
At 6-foot-6 and 203 pounds, Manuel is tall and lean and won't approach 300 pounds like some hefty signal callers. Unlike Terrelle Pryor, Manuel is already a polished pocket passer with speed to escape the rush or gain yardage scrambling and unlike that other quarterback on the roster but not with the team, character is not a concern for Manuel.

48.)Minnesota Vikings- Noel Devine, RB, West Virginia | VIDEO

This selection may seem like building a brick wall around a bank vault in fortifying an already established position, but an opportunity to assemble possibly the most difficult backfield to gameplan against in NFL history would leave Brad Childress salivating. How frightening would defensive coordinators be to see the most physically imposing back in the NFL alongside the most elusive playmaker in football?

Last season as a true freshman, Devine averaged a whopping 8.6 yards per carry, had five touchdown runs of at least 10 yards, including a game clinching 65-yarder against Oklahoma in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Devine's breakout performance was an incredible 5 carry, 136 yard performance against Maryland.
The possibility of Adrian Peterson’s physical Eric Dickerson style, paired with Devine’s finesse barry sanders-like agility. Tarvaris Jackson’s dual threat style along with the hypothetical selection of pass catching tight end, Jermaine Gresham would make for an interesting offensive unit. If the two shared careers for the next decade Devine’s diminutive stature would not take as much of a weekly pounding and All Day Adrian Peterson’s could avoid the injuries which hampered his college career and rookie season.

49.)Cincinnati Bengals- Scooter Berry, DT, West Virginia
Right now, the Bengals and the University of West Virginia have developed an image problem throughout the NFL community, for producing the NFL's most delinquent athletes(Quincy Jones-Bengal, Chris Henry- Bengal, Pac-Man Jones-Titan and even punters, Todd Sauerbraun). What better way to alleviate those concerns than by thrusting a 300 lb. defensive tackle named Scooter who also improves the Bengals rushing defense?

50.)Detroit Lions- Davonte Shannon, S, Buffalo
As a true freshman, Shannon made nearly every Freshman All-American First Team playing for Buffalo in the respectable MACConference after making more tackles than any freshman in the nation. Buffalo finished with a 5-7 record this season, so Shannon has no heightened expectations of entering a winning environment and should have no qualms blending into an organization with low expectations.

51.)Chicago Bears- Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois
Anderson is still waiting to post his first NFL sack, but he has started all 12 games, with flashes of playmaking ability. Defensive end Jarvis Moss, Denver's original pick, started just one of six games before going on IR. As much as the Broncos need help on run defense at tackle, Anderson's potential is too good to pass on.

52.)Carolina Panthers- Terrelle Pryor, QB, Jeannette HS | VIDEO

After vacillating for weeks over his collegiate destination, Pryor narrowed his decisions to Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State and Oregon only to spurn them all and declared for the NFL’s 2^nd Annual Early Entry Draft. Delhomme peaked 3 years ago, and the offense is in disarray. Pryor presents shades of Vince Young with his great size, quickness and speed in addition to a good arm and great athletic ability in the pocket. He is also very dangerous in the open field because he has the ability to make a move or run right through would be tacklers.

53.)Denver Broncos- Patrick Robinson, CB, Florida State

54.)Buffalo Bills- Ricky Sapp, DE, Clemson
After dishing out a pair of contracts worth a combined $73 million over 11 years to defensive end's Aaron Schobel and Chris Kelsay, the Bills only got 9 sacks in return for one of the league's least intimidating defensive fronts. Sapp, whose been likened to a taller Dwight Freeney could provide a quicker, more athletic defensive end than the two they currently feature and revamp a Buffalo defense that ranked 29th in 2007 in sacks with just 26.

55.)New Orleans Saints- Martez Wilson, LB/DE, Illinois
By some inexplicable logic, they assume the solution to their pass defense is searching for mediocre defensive backs from Super Bowl teams(Randall Gay & Jason David) to be their shutdown corner. However, the Saints cornerbacks are routinely torched downfield because their lack of pressure allowed quarterbacks to sit in their beach chairs sipping pina coladas while their receivers get open downfield.
The only question for Wilson, is whether he's a linebacker or a defensive end but any team would love to have the same dilemma. Terrell Suggs, Shawne Merriman and DeMarcus Ware are the current heralds of a generation of hybrid defensive end/linebackers and I don't see their respective teams complaining.  It's like worrying about whether your brain surgeon has the expertise to baby sit your kids.

56.)San Francisco 49ers- Scott Lutrus, LB, Connecticut
Patrick Willis has been established as their pass rushing specialist and run support linebacker, the 49ers 3-4 defense requires athletic, linebackers who can also drop into pass coverage. Lutrus displayed his versatility in 2007 by recording 98 tackles, 8 TFL, 4 INT including 2 returned for TD's, and 1 sack.

57.)Baltimore Ravens- Rolando McClain, LB, Alabama

From Ray Lewis, Peter Boulware, to Ed Hartwell, Adalius Thomas and Terrell Suggs, the Ravens have produced linebackers like slot machines in Vegas over the past decade and given their track record, could probably have gotten Gerry Bertier or "Rudy" inducted into Canton. As a true freshman, McClain recorded five tackles for loss, one sack, four pass breakups, two interceptions and 75 tackles including 15 in the regular-season finale at Auburn.

58.)Atlanta Falcon- Thomas Weber, K, Arizona State
If the Falcons could ever settle on a kicker then perhaps they wouldn't have to contact the NFL's oldest grandfather to kick for them every November. Weber was 19/20 on field goal attempts this season with a long of 53.

59.)New York Jets- Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame
The Giants may have the younger, less talented relative in the NFL’s first family under center, but the Jets can one up them by selecting the more talented sibling of college football’s lesser talented first family. From the family that brought you Rick and Casey, the Clausen’s present: Jimmy. Despite his mediocre freshman season, Jimmy is not the Clausen family’s next attempt to fool the public into buying into a false savant at quarterback. Clausen was the starter for one of the youngest teams in the nation, with a running game which played half the schedule with negative rushing yardage. Though his dreams of winning 3 Heisman Trophy’s would be dashed at least he’d be comfortable under the tutelage of another camera shy former Pats coordinator.

60.)Kansas City Chiefs- Tavious Polo, CB, Florida International
The Chiefs stingy pass defense which struck down most incoming passes was among the league's best in 2007, however Ty Law who is creeping up in age, is now a free agent. Finished the season with 7 interceptions on a rising FAU team led by college football’s John Locke, which delivered the program’s first bowl win in it’s first bowl appearance in just it’s first decade of existence.

61.)Oakland Raider- Brandon Spikes, LB, Florida
Spikes has the name of a player destined to become a legend to the legion of fans in the Black Hole and if he doesn' t pan out they can always convert their developing defensive tackle project, Jamarcus Russell.
 

62.)St. Louis Rams-  Cameron Heyward, DE, Ohio State

63.)Miami Dolphins- D.J. Moore, CB, Vanderbilt
As a true freshmen, Moore led the SEC in interceptions with 6 in 2007, played in every game, starting nine straight games at cornerback and even sealed a Commodore road win ...at Duke with a late interception
Unfortunately his draft stock fell when extensive psycological evaluations reveal he's been hampered by the stigma of losing at Vanderbilt for 2 sesasons

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