playmaker (n.) - a player who leads the offense for a team (as in basketball or hockey)
What is a playmaker? Is it the above definition from Merriam-Webster? Is it someone with "ball skills?" Is it one of those things that you can't define unless you're Michael Irvin? I dunno.
Van discussed the recent mock draft from NFL Mocks yesterday that had us moving down to take Notre Dame WR Michael Floyd at #12 overall. But is Floyd as much of a playmaker as, say, LSU CB/DB/ATH/HB (Honey Badger, not halfback) Tyrann Mathieu?
There's an aspect of playmaker ability that has to do with pure athleticism, speed and instincts. But there's not a stat that really quantifies that anywhere near a reliable level.
So with that said and without any real definition and having no interest in really explaining how we ranked them, here's a playmaker big board for all potential 2012 NFL Draft prospects from buckeyefan55 and myself after the jump. (h/t to Infemousss for the idea. Thanks, Info)
| buckeyefan55 | 3k | |||||
| Rank | Name | Pos. | School | Name | Pos. | School |
| 1 | *Robert Griffin III | QB | Baylor | *Robert Griffin III |
QB | Baylor |
| 2 | *Trent Richardson |
RB | Alabama | *LaMichael James |
RB | Oregon |
| 3 | *LaMichael James |
RB | Oregon | *Denard Robinson |
QB (but not in the NFL) |
Michigan |
| 4 | *Morris Claiborne |
CB | LSU | *Tavon Austin | WR | W. Virginia |
| 5 |
Chris Rainey |
RB | Florida | *David Wilson |
RB | Va. Tech |
| 6 | *Lamar Miller |
RB | Miami | Chris Rainey/Jeff Demps (same little person) |
RB | Florida |
| 7 |
Janoris Jenkins |
CB | N. Alabama | *Trent Richardson |
RB | Alabama |
| 8 |
Jarius Wright |
WR | Arkansas | Jarius Wright |
WR | Arkansas |
| 9 |
Kendall Wright |
WR | Baylor | T.Y. Hilton | WR | Fla. Int'l |
| 10 | Jeff Demps |
WR | Florida |
Ryan Broyles |
WR | Oklahoma |
| 11 |
Joe Adams |
WR | Arkansas |
Bobby Rainey |
RB | W. Kentucky |
| 12 | Brandon Boykin |
CB | Georgia | Kendall Wright |
WR | Baylor |
| 13 | *David Wilson |
RB | Va. Tech | *Lamar Miller |
RB | Miami |
| 14 | T.Y. Hilton |
WR | Fla. Int'l | Jordan White |
WR |
W. Michigan |
| 15 | Jordan Jefferson |
QB | LSU (just kidding) |
Melvin Ingram |
DE | S. Carolina |
| 16 | *Cliff Harris |
CB | Oregon (kicked off) | Isaiah Pead | RB | Cincinnati |
* denotes underclassmen
You can see I was almost entirely offense for mine, with the exception of Melvin Ingram, a big play/low-skill DE. I doubt his luck will continue to gush with such regularity at the NFL level. And yes, I have a penchant for the smaller school guys - Bobby Rainey & Jordan White particularly.
Buck had 4 cornerbacks, two of them with serious off-field concerns, though that didn't have anything to do with this board. Interesting that we have Lamar Miller and David Wilson practically flipped.
So have at us? Who did we forget? How do you define a playmaker? What kind of playmaker do the Rams need and is he on this list?
Holler.