Former Fresno State star Derek Carr continues to crash what was once thought to be a three-man party among the draft's elite quarterback prospects, this time in the form of NFL Media draft analyst Mike Mayock's latest update to his position rankings. Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel, UCF's Blake Bortles and Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater, considered weeks ago as the draft's collective top tier of quarterbacks, have been making more and more room for Carr in recent mock drafts and projections.
Mayock now ranks Carr as the draft's No. 3 quarterback, behind Manziel and Bortles, with Bridgewater tied for fifth-best along with LSU's Zach Mettenberger. Eastern Illinois' Jimmy Garoppolo ranks fourth. NFL Media analyst Charles Davis projects Carr to be the first quarterback chosen, No. 11 overall to the Tennessee Titans, in his latest mock draft.
Alabama's AJ McCarron, who previously tied for fifth-best among quarterbacks, fell out of the rankings.
Other notables from Mayock's latest rankings:
Hageman on the move
Minnesota defensive lineman Ra'Shede Hageman rose from No. 4 to No. 2 among defensive linemen, just behind Pittsburgh's Aaron Donald. As difficult as it is to find quality NFL defensive tackles, the 6-foot-6, 318-pound Hageman would figure to be a first-round pick if he is ultimately the second defensive tackle drafted. He has the versatility to be a 3-4 defensive end or a 4-3 defensive tackle, which could help get his name to the podium on May 8 (Round 1) rather than May 9 (Rounds 2-3).
Mayock moved Hageman ahead of Florida State's Timmy Jernigan and Notre Dame's Louis Nix.
Su'a-Filo, Fuller take over top spots
There are new No. 1 prospects at two positions, according to Mayock: UCLA's Xavier Su'a-Filo among the guards, and Virginia Tech's Kyle Fuller among the cornerbacks. Su'a-Filo replaced Stanford's David Yankey (now ranked as the No. 2 guard), while previous No. 1 cornerback Darqueze Dennard of Michigan State also fell to No. 2 to make way for Fuller.
New faces
Enter Boise State's Demarcus Lawrence and BYU's Kyle Van Noy among the draft's top five outside-linebacker prospects. Both have pass-rushing skills, although Lawrence was the more prolific of the two in that regard last season with 10.5 sacks for the Broncos. Stanford's Trent Murphy and Louisville's Marcus Smith, both accomplished pass rushers as well, exited Mayock's top five at the position.
Standing pat
Mayock made no adjustments at four positions: Defensive end, center, safety and running back. His top prospects at each of those positions, respectively, are South Carolina's Jadeveon Clowney, USC's Marcus Martin, Alabama's Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Washington's Bishop Sankey.
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