Here's something draft related to chew on this afternoon, especially for you Suh fans out there. Coinciding with Senior Bowl festivities last week, NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock updated his prospect rankings for the top five players at each position, shaking up conventional wisdom in the process.
The big news is that Mayock put Oklahoma's Gerald McCoy above Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh in his defensive tackle ratings. People have been taking it for granted that Suh represents a slam dunk for the best overall talent in the draft. And with good reason. However, McCoy has been getting lots of reconsideration from the chattering classes, and I suspect Mayock is only the first and most prominent member of the prospect talkers to put McCoy on top. At the very least, it's good conversation fodder.
And why does this matter for the St. Louis Rams? Well, it's been widely assumed that the Rams would pick Suh with their first overall pick in this year's draft, the lone spoil of a 1-15 season, except for a few thinking they'll grab a franchise quarterback. It stands to reason that McCoy would be high on the Rams, or anyone's, draft board. I can't help but wonder if the Rams might not even prefer McCoy over Suh since Spagnuolo likes to mix up his defensive line with players who can play DE and DT, something McCoy should be able to do with ease.
On his quarterback list, Mayock has another Oklahoma player on top, Sam Bradford. Take the injury out of the equation and that's a spot on analysis. Our very own 3k had Bradford going first overall to the Rams in his most recent mock draft. For my money, I still think Bradford will put to rest most of the questions about his injured shoulder this spring; that might have been one of the most carefully managed injuries in sports history.
Lots to think about and the Combine next month will muddy the waters even further. April can't get here soon enough.