End of the season

With their victory in the BCS Championship Game, Auburn claimed the National Title and capped an exciting season of college football. Now with 4 days until the deadline for underclassmen to declare for the 2011 NFL Draft the season for analyzing players and their draft prospects has begun.

For me, there are two players that dramatically increased their draft stock with their performance in the post-season bowl games. They are Nick Fairley, defensive tackle from Auburn, and Cameron Heyward, defensive end from Ohio State.

Fairley was seen as a top 5 pick if he decides to enter the draft, and after his performance against Oregon he is now seen as a possible 1st Overall selection. In the championship game he spent most of his time in the Ducks backfield. The best players bring their best games to the biggest stages, and Fairley was an unstoppable force. Now he is drawing comparisons to Ndamukong Suh, but I believe that is a bit premature. Suh was dominant enough in the 2009 season to be named the AP Player of the Year. He showed in his rookie season with the Detroit Lions that he will be one of the best defensive players for years to come in the NFL. Fairley can attain that same status if he can bring his best game to the next biggest stage, that being the NFL. But as of now he has not declared for the draft, so we will wait and see what his decision will be.

Whatever team Ryan Mallett winds up on, I imagine he is hoping that Heyward does not end up on a division rival. Heyward showed the speed and strength that coaches in the NFL covet greatly for a defensive end, and he was a disruptive force the entire game for the Buckeyes in their win against Arkansas. NFL offensive tackles are getting quicker and more mobile all the time, and a defensive end cannot rely on speed alone to get to the quarterback. Undersized defensive ends like Vernon Gholston, Derrick Harvey and Aaron Maybin have been top 11 draft picks in recent drafts, and can't make it on the field. I see Heyward as having the combination of size, speed and strength needed to play both end and tackle in the NFL, and his showing in the Sugar Bowl should help his draft stock rise. Many early mock drafts have Heyward gong in the mid to late 1st Round, but it would not be a stretch for him to jump up towards the top 10 if he has an excellent workout at the February NFL Scouting Combine.

I labeled the 2010 NFL Draft as The Year of The Big Uglies, due to the prominence of offensive and defensive lineman at the top of the draft. With the committment of Andrew Luck to stay at Stanford, and no quarterback looking to go higher than 7th to San Francisco, the 2011 NFL Draft is shaping up to be Big Uglies Part 2.