After a fast-paced first day of the 2009 NFL draft, it's time for all 32 teams to take stock of the players still on their draft boards as they get ready for Rounds 3-7 on Sunday. We can do the same.
Here's a look at the top-ranked players from my Hot 100 prospects. This list, presented in tiers of 10, was compiled a few weeks ago and there certainly was time for things to change. There are still five players from my top 50 out there:
Tier 3: Michael Johnson, DE, Georgia Tech
Tier 4" Jamon Meredith, OT, South Carolina
Tier 5: Jarron Gilbert, DE, San Jose State; Cornelius Ingram, TE, Florida; D.J. Moore, CB, Vanderbilt
I had a feeling that Johnson was going to slip, but I'd say he is probably the best player still out there as we get set for Day Two. Johnson has tremendous pass-rush ability -- it's just a question of toughness for him. But you can be sure you will hear his name early Sunday morning.
As teams evaluated Florida State DE Everette Brown -- a player in my second tier -- they saw a productive college player who might not have the height and speed to be worthy of a first-round pick. Still, the Carolina Panthers ended up trading away next year's first-round pick to get Brown with the 11th pick in the second round.
As the second round drew near its end, I was surprised that Connecticut OT William Beatty was still available. He's a player that needs to be developed slowly, but he has a lot of upside. And he ended up in the perfect situation -- with a Giants team that is set with its starting offensive linemen. The Giants can bring him along slowly and then down the road they'll have their replacement for David Diehl at left tackle.
There were actually three players drafted today that weren't in my top 100 at all: Ohio DB Michael Mitchell (Raiders, round 2), Hawaii DE David Veicune (Browns, round 2), and Houston OT Sebastian Vollmer (Patriots, round 2). Mitchell went 47th overall to Oakland and that was easily the biggest surprise of the day to me. Mitchell is a guy who looked pretty good at Ohio's Pro Day. He worked out at Deion Sanders' facility -- maybe that is what got him noticed.
Here are the players I had rated from 51-100 who are still available:
Tier 6
Jared Cook, TE, South Carolina
Louis Murphy, WR, Florida
Shawn Nelson, TE, Southern Miss
Duke Robinson, OT, Oklahoma
Derrick Williams, WR, Penn State
Tier 7
Kevin Barnes, CB, Maryland
James Casey, TE, Rice
Rashad Johnson, S, Alabama
Mike Mickens, CB, Cincinnati
Tier Eight
Gerald Cadogan, OL, Penn State
Juaquin Iglesias, WR, Oklahoma
Ricky Jean-Francois, DT, LSU
Alex Magee, DL, Purdue
Stephen McGee, QB, Texas A&M
Kraig Urbik, OT, Wisconsin
Chip Vaughn, S, Wake Forest
Donald Washington, CB, Ohio State
Tier 9
Travis Beckum, TE, Wisconsin
Andre Brown, RB, N.C. State
Coye Francies, CB, San Jose State
Marcus Freeman, LB, Ohio State
Michael Hamlin, S, Clemson
Lawrence Sidbury, DE, Richmond
Brandon Williams, DE, Texas Tech
John Parker Wilson, QB, Alabama
Tier Ten
Darry Beckwith, LB, LSU
Rhett Bomar, QB, Sam Houston State
Jasper Brinkley, LB, South Carolina
Antoine Caldwell, G, Alabama
Anthony Hill, TE, N.C. State
Keenan Lewis, DB, Oregon State
Chris Owens, CB, San Jose State
DeAngelo Smith, CB, Cincinnati
