|
|
1) Florida WR Percy Harvin, Jr. WR Louis Murphy, Sr. WR Riley Cooper, Jr. TE Cornelius Ingram, Sr. Harvin, Murphy and Ingram are all pro prospects. If they each have a strong year, they all could be selected before the close of Day 1 in next year's draft. Cooper is a big target who's progressing nicely as well. They also have WR Carl Moore and TE Aaron Hernandez waiting in the wings. Both are excellent and will contribute when they rotate in. Harvin and Murphy are simply too fast for most any Secondary to contain. Cooper rounds them out nicely, and can be a threat too. They all have solid experience and tenure with one another. Ingram, who is light for a TE, is like an extra WR out there. He's athletic and creates miss-matches against the average LB. 2) Oklahoma WR Juaquin Iglesias, Sr. WR Manuel Johnson, Sr. TE Jermaine Gresham, Jr. Iglesias and Gresham are NFL locks, while Johnson may find a way to sneak in as well. Iglesias is back. He led the team in receptions and yards last season. While Malcolm Kelly is in the NFL, he'll be replaced by the very capable Manuel Johnson. Johnson looked very good in a reserve role last season, snatching 31 passes for 448 yards. Let's also not forget that he was a 4-star recruit who came out of the very strong 2005 class. He would have been a starter on several other teams last year had he not played with the Sooners. In the eyes of many, Gresham may be the best TE in the nation. He led the Sooners receiving corps with 11 TDs last season. Last but not least, Bradford is back to run the show. He's a future NFL talent that'll pull it all together. 3) LSU WR Brandon LaFell, Jr. WR Demetrius Byrd, Sr. TE Richard Dickson, Jr. Byrd and LaFell are already on the NFL, and Dickson, while undersized, will be as well if he has the year folks are expecting. Both Byrd and LaFell have had to take the backseat behind some great WRs over the past couple of years. With both of them now in full-time starting roles, look out. They both have good size and speed to match. Throw Dickson into the mix, and you have a group of studs that will be hard to cover. The O-Line will give the new QB time; he just has to get them the ball. 4) Clemson WR Aaron Kelly, Sr. WR Tyler Grisham, Sr. WR Jacoby Ford, Jr. TE Michael Palmer, Jr. Kelly and Ford have a future in the NFL, while Grisham is very solid. In terms of yards receiving, Harper gets his top 4 targets back. Kelly is a big target who's always good for 4+ catches a game, while Ford is ridiculously fast and will need to be accounted for at all times. While Grisham may get lost in the shuffle when it comes to recognition, he still pulled down 60 passes last season for over 650 yards. These guys will free up Spiller out of the backfield, and vice versa. If Clemson wasn't so prolific at running the ball, these guys would crank out a lot more yardage. 5) Ohio State WR Brian Robiskie, Sr. WR Brian Hartline, Sr. WR Ray Small, Jr. TE Rory Nicol, Sr. Robiskie is one of the most talented WRs out there, and should go Day 1. Hartline is no slouch, and should get draft looks too. Nicol may get late Day 2 looks if he plays to his potential. Boeckman should have a much improved 2008 campaign, and will rip apart many a Defense with Robiskie and Hartline at his disposal. They also have Ray Small who'll rotate in, and make an impact when he does so. This means that the Buckeyes are returning their top 3 targets from last season. With Wells pounding the ball, defenses will have trouble covering both the run and pass. This WR corps will yield some huge benefits from that. 6) Missouri WR Jeremy Maclin, So. WR Tommy Saunders, Sr. WR Danario Alexander, Jr. TE Chase Coffman, Sr. Maclin and Coffman are both Top 5 nationally, maybe Top 3 at their respective positions This unit does lose TE Martin Rucker and WR William Franklin to the NFL. Together, they amassed 133 receptions for 1,543 yards. While it would be hard to get any better after such losses, they won't be terribly far off. Coffman will get even more looks at TE, and may come close to the 100 reception mark. Maclin will again lead the team in yards, and is poised to have another all-star year. While neither Saunders nor Alexander look as good as Franklin did, they combined for 78 receptions across 814 yards. Those numbers will certainly climb in 2008. 7) Rutgers WR Kenny Britt, Jr. WR Tiquan Underwood, Sr. TE Kevin Brock, Sr. Britt and Underwood both have what it takes to get drafted. Four guys on last year's squad accounted for 2,913 receiving yards. They're all back. Possibly the most important aspect to call out within all this is that the starting QB remains. Without Ray Rice in the backfield, Mike Teel and co. may look to air it out even more this year. Britt and Underwood give him a great size/speed mix to work with. While Brock's name hasn't been mentioned much, he's a TE who should get 30+ receptions this year and give nice relief at times. 8) North Carolina WR Hakeem Nicks, Jr WR Brandon Tate, Sr. TE Richard Quinn, Sr. It appears that Nicks and Foster (not listed) may have what it takes to reach the next level. Yates is a year wiser at QB, so he should look better in 2008. This of course assumes that he keeps the starting job. While he did have a 14 to 18 TD to Interception ratio last season, he still carried close to a 60% completion average. If he can get the ball to Nicks and Tate, these guys will put up some yards. While Brooks is currently 3rd on the depth chart just behind Tate, he'll still see the field plenty. He's got some amazing upside as well. Quinn wasn't used all that much last year, but expect his production to increase as well. This won't be a loud group, but they should produce. 9) Penn State WR Jordan Norwood, Sr. WR Derrick Williams, Sr. WR Deon Butler, Sr. TE Mickey Shuler, Jr. Williams could be a Day 1 pick, while Norwood and Butler could later in Day 2 as well. If Quarless can get back in good graces, he'll start at TE and is a pro prospect as well. Every starter at WR is a Senior, and every one of them has seen plenty of action. Last season, the three of them combined for a total of 142 receptions across 1,646 yards. The group is not big as a whole, but has amazing speed. If Defenses crowd one WR, one of the other two will emerge. If Quarless makes it back, this squad very well may move up some spots. If even with a new QB at the helm, these guys should produce. The whole should be greater than the sum of parts. 10) USC WR Patrick Turner, Sr. WR Vidal Hazelton, Jr. WR Damian Williams, So. WR Ronald Johnson, So. USC has former top prospects Turner, Hazelton, and Ausberry (not listed) at their disposal. However, they have a new QB to break-in and are without the services of TE Fred Davis, who led the team in receiving last season. I don't think that will matter though, as they have an explosive backfield that will open up the passing game. Others to watch... Tennessee has its top three WRs back in Taylor, Rogers and Briscoe. When the least productive of the three, Briscoe, has 56 receptions for 557 yards that should say something. If Crompton can adequately fill Ainge's shoes, this group will thrive again. South Carolina will continue to throw the ball as long as Spurrier is around. He's got a good duo of WRs in McKinley and LeCorn, while Cook looks to be the real deal at TE. If whomever they pick to start at QB got get the ball to them, this could easily end up being a Top 10 squad. Maryland's Heyward-Bey could be a Day 1 pick, while Williams could get snagged late Day 2 with good workout numbers. Additionally, many folks say Gronkowski will be a better prospect than Haynos. Florida State has a great 1-2 punch in Carr and Parker. Carr has size, Parker has speed. If Weatherford can start to look like the great prospect he was coming out of High School, this team will be able to produce thruogh the air. Rice just may see 2,500 yards produced from just its starting WR set. Dillard, and NFL prospect, will lead a group of WRs who each had at least 35 receptions for 300+ yards last season. Their starting QB returns for his Senior debut. Watch this squad torch the C-USA. |