My favorite time of year could possibly be late April. This is not because of the weather, baseball’s return, or the NBA playoffs (although I do love baseball and NBA playoffs), but because of the NFL Draft. Therefore, it’s only fitting that I return to blogging with a post on the draft.
If you’re new to TorresSports, I welcome you and hope you enjoy what I’m rambling about. If you used to read this blog when I kept up with it, I thank you for taking the time out to read it once again. My last post was on September 4, 2012, and seven-plus months is far too long. I have been lacking the desire to write in the past few months, and you simply viewing this page encourages me to get back into it. For that, I thank you.
Now, back to the topic at hand. Below you will find my 2013 NFL Draft Big Board (it’s more of a long list than an actual big board, but whatever). I originally wanted to do a list of the top 50 players in this draft, but after I listed 50, I kept thinking about other players I really liked. Before I knew it, I had a top 70 list, so I decided to just do my homework and make it a solid 100. I won’t get into detail for every player, but here are some thoughts on my rankings.
The quarterbacks are nowhere close to what we saw last year, but under the right systems, there are a handful that can succeed in the NFL. The running backs in this draft are getting undersold because the NFL is a passing league, but there are several good backs available. I’ve ranked a dozen of them here, and not much separates them, which is why you’ll see a few of them clumped together. If I were an NFL GM, I would love to have any one of them on my team. The draft is not full of stars, but more players with starting capabilities than any draft in recent memory. It is a deep draft for both offensive and defensive line prospects. I really like the top few tight ends available. We’re also getting a worthy safety class, whereas in the past couple of years the safety position has been weak.
Remember, this is all just a matter of opinion. It’s not a prediction of where these players will be drafted. You’ll see rankings vary wherever you go, from NFL.com to Bleacher Report to USA Today. I simply take what I know from the college game, reading and watching videos and present to you 100 players I like in the NFL Draft. Have fun with it: use it while you’re watching the draft to see who my best available player is, argue with me over how much I over/under value someone, or marvel in how awesome I am at ranking these guys. Just kidding. Kind of. Either way, here it is.
1. Luke Joeckel, OT, Texas A&M
2. Eric Fisher, OT, Central Michigan
3. Chance Warmack, OG, Alabama
4. Dion Jordan, OLB/DE, Oregon
5. Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama
6. Lane Johnson, OT, Oklahoma
7. Sharrif Floyd, DT, Florida
8. Jonathan Cooper, OG, North Carolina
9. Alec Ogletree, LB, Georgia
10. Ezekiel Ansah, DE/OLB, BYU
11. Sheldon Richardson, DT, Missouri
12. Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia
13. Star Lotulelei, DT, Utah
14. Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas
15. Jarvis Jones, OLB, Georgia
16. D.J. Fluker, OT, Alabama
17. Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State
18. Sylvester Williams, DT, North Carolina
19. Barkevious Mingo, OLB, LSU
20. Bjoern Werner, DE, Florida State
21. Damontre Moore, DE, Texas A&M
22. Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
23. Zach Ertz, TE, Stanford
24. Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame
25. Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia
26. Robert Woods, WR, USC
27. Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Tennessee
28. Keenan Allen, WR, Cal
29. Matt Barkley, QB, USC
30. Eddie Lacy, RB, Alabama
31. Manti Te’o, LB, Notre Dame
32. Margus Hunt, DE, SMU
33. John Cyprien, FS, FIU
34. Eric Reid, S, LSU
35. Menelik Watson, OT, Florida State
36. Justin Hunter, WR, Tennessee
37. Alex Okafor, DE, Texas
38. Kyle Long, OL, Oregon
39. Johnathan Hankins, DT, Ohio State
40. Johnthan Banks, CB, Mississippi State
41. Kevin Minter, LB, LSU
42. Matt Elam, S, Florida
43. Cornellius Carradine, DE, Florida State
44. Datone Jones, DE, UCLA
45. Kawann Short, DT, Purdue
46. Sam Montgomery, DE, LSU
47. Jamar Taylor, CB, Boise State
48. Arthur Brown, LB, Kansas State
49. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Clemson
50. Terrance Williams, WR, Baylor
51. Jesse Williams, DT, Alabama
52. Barrett Jones, OL, Alabama
53. Travis Kelce, TE, Cincinnati
54. Larry Warford, OG, Kentucky
55. Darius Slay, CB, Mississippi State
56. Giovanni Bernard, RB, North Carolina
57. Stedman Bailey, WR, West Virginia
58. Ryan Nassib, QB, Syracuse
59. Dallas Thomas, OT, Tennessee
60. Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin
61. D.J. Hayden, CB, Houston
62. John Jenkins, DT, Georgia
63. Marcus Lattimore, RB, South Carolina
64. Joseph Randle, RB, Oklahoma State
65. Stepfan Taylor, RB, Stanford
66. Andre Ellington, RB, Clemson
67. Kenjon Barner, RB, Oregon
68. Le’Veon Bell, RB, Michigan State
69. Kevin Reddick, ILB, North Carolina
70. Justin Pugh, OT, Syracuse
71. Travis Frederick, C, Wisconsin
72. EJ Manuel, QB, Florida State
73. D.J. Swearinger, SS, South Carolina
74. Chase Thomas, OLB, Stanford
75. Quinton Patton, WR, Louisiana Tech
76. Marquise Goodwin, WR, Texas
77. Blidi Wreh-Wilson, CB, Connecticut
78. Brandon Jenkins, DE, Florida State
79. Markus Wheaton, WR, Oregon State
80. Jordan Reed, TE, Florida
81. Johnathan Franklin, RB, UCLA
82. Mike Gillislee, RB, Florida
83. Kiko Alonso, LB, Oregon
84. Khaseem Greene, OLB, Rutgers
85. Nico Johnson, ILB, Alabama
86. Terron Armstead, OT, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
87. Christine Michael, RB, Texas A&M
88. William Gholston, DE, Michigan State
89. Mike Glennon, QB, NC State
90. Khaled Holmes, C, USC
91. T.J. McDonald, FS, USC
92. Robert Alford, CB, Southeastern Louisiana
93. Leon McFadden, CB, San Diego St.
94. Brian Winters, OG, Kent State
95. Gavin Escobar, TE, San Diego St.
96. J.J. Wilcox, FS, Georgia Southern
97. Philip Lutzenkirchen, TE, Auburn
98. Ryan Swope, WR, Texas A&M
99. Corey Lemonier, DE, Auburn
100. Tyler Bray, QB, Tennessee
Keep an eye on these players also, because if they get a chance with the right team or system, they can flourish: Zac Dysert, QB, Miami (Ohio), Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma, Tyrann Mathieu, CB, LSU, Bacarri Rambo, SS, Georgia, Denard Robinson, WR, Michigan, Terrell Sinkfield, WR, Northern Iowa.
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