The NFL draft is coming soon and the means Mel Kiper Jr. and his Big Board will take center stage and this season his 2014 rankings has a number of top ranked prospects and players, with Teddy Bridgewater, Jadeveon Clowney, Johnny Manziel and Blake Bortles as some of the names that are likely to go in the first round of the draft in April.
The draft has a number of narratives leading up to it and players like Manziel and Clowney will get the attention in workouts and at the combine, but keep an eye on Kiper's board, as he usually finds some gems in the draft that teams should be looking at. This season the quarterback position and the skill positions on offense are deep and names like Teddy Bridgewater, Blake Bortles and Johnny Manziel could be first round picks, while tossers like Zach Mettenberger, Aaron Murray and Derek Carr could also factor in on the first day of the draft.
The running back position has a number of top names coming out as well, including Tre Mason, Ka'Deem Carey, Jeremy Hill, Bishop Sankey and Lache Seastrunk and even though those players are not projected to be first round picks, they should factor into the early rounds. Last year there were no running backs taken in the first round and in the second names like Giovani Bernard, Eddie Lacy and Le'Veon Bell were taken and that could happen again.
Kiper has been moving players like Clowney up and down his board since the season has ended and at the wide receiver position, players like Marqise Lee, Kelvin Benjamin and Mike Evans are considered to be the top names to go. The top of the draft has the Houston Texans picking first and while many projections see the team taking Teddy Bridgewater, workouts could change that and the team also could decide to trade out of that pick as well.
In a recent mock draft and big board, Kiper had Clowney as the top ranked player and in the top five there were some various options coming in and out over the weeks before and after, including Bruins star Anthony Barr, offensive lineman Jake Matthews and Louis Nix III from Notre Dame. One player to watch going forward will be Blake Bortles of UCF, as he will be rising up draft boards and he had a great game against Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl.
Click here for a look at the Mel Kiper Big Board for this season.