Here's their take on the Tigers NFL talent. Of course this is based on if all chose to come out this year, which we know will not happen. Name Pos # Yr Rnd Report Joseph Addai RB 10 5Sr 2\3 Athletic ball carrier and high character prospect. Great physical skills yet never proved himself to be a #1 running back. Dwayne Bowe WR 80 3Jr 1\2 Nice sized receiver in the mold of Michael Clayton. Alley Broussard RB 22 3Jr 1\2 Carried a first round grade coming into the season before tearing a knee ligament. Craig Davis WR 3 3Jr 3\4 Skyler Green WR 5 4Sr 3\4 A #4 wide out in the NFL whose main duties will be as a return specialist. Kenneth Hollis OLB 56 5Sr FA David Jones TE 82 5Sr FA Solid tight end with a complete game yet limited upside for the next level. LaRon Landry S 30 3Jr 2nd Complete safety showing continual progress. Nate Livings G 71 4Sr 6\7 Utility lineman that can handle several blocking positions. Rudy Niswanger C 64 5Sr FA Melvin Oliver DT 90 5Sr 6\7 Underrated prospect that can be used in the three-technique or possibly as a two-gap lineman. Ronnie Prude CB 8 5Sr FA JaMarcus Russell QB 4 3So 3\4 Developing young passer with big upside. Cameron Vaughn OLB 50 4Sr 6\7 Solid competitor with starting potential in a number of NFL schemes. Justin Vincent RB 25 3Jr 6\7 One time celebrated back presently second string. Andrew Whitworth T 76 5Sr 3\4 A first round pick in '04 now struggling through a poor campaign and watching his stock drop. Kyle Williams DT 95 4Sr 4\5 Hard working lineman who is not as good as his headlines. Claude Wroten DT 98 4Sr 1\2 Lacks classic size yet a first round pick who could be the second tackle drafted in '06. Only one I really disagree with is Craig Davis. I just don't see him going that high at all, much less if he came out a year early. Also, here is a list of the Tigers that got an invite to the combine on the first list. Addai Skyler Whitworth Oliver as DT Wroten Williams Vaughn as OLB
I think Kyle has a good chance to move up in the draft to the 3rd round with a good showing at the Senior Bowl.
Why no description for Craig Davis? I think he's going to be a very good receiver in the NFL, but I think it would be in his best interests to stay one more year. He doesn't get much recognition right now with us having a struggling offense, but he's been our most consistent WR despite some injuries through the season. 4th round sounds about right to me if he came out early, & he could probably move up to 2nd with another solid year. Bowe, on the other hand, gets too much recognition despite not having the break out year we have been expecting for 2 seasons now. His body is protypical & NFL scouts would love that, but 1st or 2nd round is too early for him to go after he struggled this season. He would be looking at the early 3rd round IMO, and that would mostly be due to his physical size etc. I think Prude might get drafted in the 7th round... Tough to tell with him. I don't think Vincent would be drafted if he came out this year... I don't think scouts are going to care about what happened 2 years ago too much, but he won't be coming out early any way. Has Witworth's stock really dropped all the way down to 3/4th round? I figured he had dropped down to 2nd, maybe early 3rd. JaMarcus is still fairly raw, so 4th round would probably be the highest he would go after this season, even with his promise. I think his draft stock will drastically increase over the next season or two.
I was wondering about the no description on Davis as well. I have no doubt Bowe will be drafted that high NEXT YEAR, even if he has a sup par year, He will be drafted on measurements and potential. I too think Prude had a good enough year that someone may give him a shot in the 7th. On Vincent, I really don't think he has lost as much as some say. He lived in the doghouse in '04 and our Oline pretty much sucked this year, so I don't know. He is probably another potential guy. If you ask me Whitworth played lazy all season long. Almost like he was going through the motions just getting through the season. Why he came back this year I don't understand. Especially if he wasn't going to give 100%. JR will go top five next year if he stays on the same trail, continued improvement and shows off his Champion will. I have heard some analyst say they think he would be the 5th or 6th QB drafted this season depending on whether Quinn and/or Young come out early. Hope we don't have to find out though.
Even after 3 straight years of inconsistency? You just don't draft a skill position guy that high based off his physical attributes if he hasn't proven anything at the college level. He's going to have to prove something if he wants to move up his draft stock. He didn't get put in the doghouse until the 3rd game or so in 04, and he didn't perform before then. I think he's better this season than last, but a good running back would have done better even with a lackluster Oline. Scouts aren't going to take him just because the Oline didn't give him holes to run through. He's got to prove that he can be a solid RB all over again. I doubt scouts will think about 03 very much.
Exactly. No NFL team is going to draft him because he was good as a freshman. Seems there was another kid that was a good freshman, and that didn't turn out so well. JV is going to have to make marked improvements in his game to get NFL looks. With guys like Samkon Gado, some teams probably won't bother wasting picks on RBs if they already have a starter.
You have to realize we as Tiger fans are harder on these guys even than NFL scouts. We just want to win and dominate. Scouts see other things about players that you probably never think about. He has not been as inconsistent as we make him out to be, and he has been the leading receiver on a top tier SEC team for two years now. I agree he has to cut down on the drops, but even that won't keep him out of the 2nd round. NFL scouts and coaches have big egos and believe if a guy has all the tools, but one little quirk they do not like, they can coach it out of him. I agree here. That is why I said he would be a potential guy. don't really know how they will look at him.
Your probably right about how hard we are on Bowe. But I just don't see Bowe being drafted before a bunch of receivers that have actually proved a lot more just because of his physical attributes. It will easily put him above players that have similar numbers to him, I just don't know if it will be enough to put him in the 2nd round. I agree that the NFL will feel they can coach him up to the level they want because he has the body, but they typically don't take players like that in the 2nd round...
I'm not saying he is the greatest or anything either, but all the scouts seem extremely high on him, probably because of height, speed, blocking, and willingness to catch the ball in traffic. I don't know for sure what it is. Here's two from last year for you though. Troy Williamson? very similar to Bowe, probably faster though. Matt Jones? drafted on speed and height. Both unproven but drafted in first round based only on potential. Actually every draft pick is based on potential. What a guy does in college is a good indicator, yet they don't use it as a concrete decision making tool.
