With the Colts looking for a general manager, I felt it was time to make draft rankings for each offensive position with the hope that the Colts will see this and hire me on the spot! In all seriousness, it’s time to switch from regular season to draft mode, so to help you get in the mood, here is a top 8 ranking at each offensive position with players declared for the NFL Draft. There is one important thing to note: these rankings are going to change... a lot over the next few months.
If you’re wondering how am I qualified to scout and/or rank college players:
- I am a certified, Level 2 football coach in Canada. I am an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for a high school varsity team and have had many of my position players go onto to prep schools and universities in Canada and in the New England area. I also train and develop quarterbacks in Eastern Canada.
- I have been to several coaching clinics around the United States (Glazier) and Canada. Clinics were mostly taught by university and college coaches.
- I have submitted draft reports and scouting reports to BLESTO Scouting Services in the past.
- I have also done some draft scouting work on Stampede Blue over the past 2 years and I also covered the draft for Pro Football Spot for 3 years.
- Here is a link to my NFL Draft quarterback rankings over the past several years. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ydVzXVIjWJlLguGJJ6GiiXhVT_ZHHDPtDSccR6awULQ/edit?usp=sharing
Quarterbacks
1. DeShone Kizer -- Redshirt Sophomore — Notre Dame
2. Brad Kaaya — Junior — Miami (Fla.)
3. Deshaun Watson — Junior — Clemson
4. Mitch Trubisky — Redshirt Junior — North Carolina
5. CJ Beathard — Redshirt Senior — Iowa
6. Nathan Peterman — Redshirt Senior -- Pittsburgh
7. Patrick Mahomes -- Junior -- Texas Tech
8. Davis Webb — Senior — California
Class Grade: B
While I do not believe there is a can’t-miss superstar in this draft, there is quite a bit of talent. I’m also not convinced that there is a day 1 starter in this draft class. The spread guys, Watson, Trubisky and Mahomes, need at least a season or two to develop and transition to a pro-style offense while working on their arms. Kizer and Kaaya don’t have that issue, but they have some mechanical and arm kinks to work out.
Running Backs
1. Dalvin Cook — Junior -- Florida State
2. Leonard Fournette — Junior -- LSU
3. Christian McCaffrey — Junior — Stanford
4. Alvin Kamara -- Redshirt Junior — Tennessee
5. Jamaal Williams — Junior — BYU
6. Jeremy McNichols — Junior -- Boise State
7. Joe Mixon — Junior -- Oklahoma
8. D’Onta Foreman -- Junior — Texas
Class Grade: A
This may be the best running back class we’ve seen in a long, long time. Cook and Fournette look like two sure-fire first round picks, but guys like Kamara, Williams and McNichols offer fantastic value in the 2nd and 3rd round.
Wide Receivers
1. Corey Davis -- Senior -- Western Michigan
2. Mike Williams — Redshirt Junior — Clemson
3. Juju Smith-Schuster -- Junior — USC
4. John Ross — Redshirt Junior — Washington
5. Amara Darboh -- Redshirt Senior — Michigan
6. Cooper Kupp -- Redshirt Senior — Eastern Washington
7. Zay Jones -- Senior — East Carolina
8. Ryan Switzer -- Senior — North Carolina
Class Grade: B+
This class has a couple of stars at the top in Davis and Williams, and there is some value in the middle rounds. It’s worth noting, however, that there isn’t a lot to offer, in terms of value, from the projected day 2 guys.
Tight Ends
1. OJ Howard — Senior — Alabama
2. David Njoku -- Redshirt Sophomore -- Miami (Fla.)
3. Evan Engram -- Senior — Ole Miss
4. Jake Butt — Senior — Michigan
5. Jordan Leggett — Senior — Clemson
6. Bucky Hodges -- Redshirt Junior -- Virginia Tech
7. Jeremy Sprinkle — Redshirt Senior -- Arkansas
8. Cole Hikutini — Senior — Louisville
Class Grade: A-
The top 5 guys in the class look like instant starters (assuming Butt is healthy for the 2017 season) and all can be stars in the NFL. After that, there’s a severe drop off and it’s going to be hard to find value in middle rounds. Nevertheless, this is an impressive group with at least 1, maybe 2 first round picks.
Offensive Tackles
1. Ryan Ramczyk — Redshirt Junior — Wisconsin
2. Adam Bisnowaty — Redshirt Senior — Pittsburgh
3. Antonio Garcia — Redshirt Senior — Troy
4. Cam Robinson — Junior -- Alabama
5. Conor McDermott — Redshirt Senior — UCLA
6. Dan Skipper -- Senior -- Arkansas
7. Chad Wheeler -- Redshirt Senior — USC
8. Dion Dawkins -- Senior — Temple
Class Grade: C+
Ramczyk is a stud, but that’s about it. Antonio Garcia is very intriguing from a potential perspective, and there are few others who are intriguing, but all in all, this is a weak class. If Dawkins is the 8th best offensive tackle, that’s not very good.
Offensive Guards/Centers
1. Dan Feeney (Guard) — Redshirt Senior — Indiana
2. Dorian Johnson (Guard) — Senior — Pittsburgh
3. Ethan Pocic (Center) — Senior -- LSU
4. Pat Elflein (Center) -- Redshirt Senior — Ohio State
5. Isaac Asiata (Guard) -- Redshirt Senior — Utah
6. Danny Isidora (Guard) — Redshirt Senior — Miami (Fla.)
7. Zach Banner (Guard) — Redshirt Senior — USC
8. Tyler Orlosky (Center) — Redshirt Senior — West Virginia
Class Grade: C
Like the offensive tackle group, this group looks to be a weak class. There isn’t a star in this group, but rather, Feeney, Johnson and Pocic provide good value for teams in the 2nd round. After that, there are few hidden gems, but it’s going to be hard to find impact players in this offensive line class.