TMG DraftZone 2014 DSA Player Rankings 4.0

The 2014 NFL Draft is 2 weeks away, and if it had not been moved into May the first round would be underway right now. As it is, the draft experts now have extra time to overanalyze prospects and make change after change to their mock drafts. But for the most part, the changes are happening after the first 8 picks. The top of the draft is looking to be pretty solid at this time. I mentioned in an earlier posting you could take the top players, put them in a hat, and draw out a mock draft that wouldn't get too many arguments. Take a look at the top eight players in my latest DSA Player Rankings. Jadaveon Clowney, Sammy Watkins, Greg Robinson, Johnny Manziel, Khalil Mack, Blake Bortles, Mike Evans, and Jake Matthews. It would be a surprise if Clowney was picked eighth, but would anyone be shocked if the other 7 players were picked in any order at this time? I'd say no. This is the reason that there can be so much flux in where players are going in mock drafts at this time. One mock had Teddy Bridgewater going #1. Two others did not have him going in Round 1 at all. One mock draft had Derek Carr going at #4 and another going at #8. Seven others did not have him going in the first round. Charles Davis on NFL.com has Carr going as the first quarterback taken, this time by Tennessee at #11. Blake Bortles was a Top 8 pick in nine out of 10, but the tenth had him going to Cleveland at #26. Amazingly, Johnny Manziel was placed no lower then 8th Overall, after a number of mock drafts early in the process had him going to Cleveland at #26 or not in Round 1 at all. Bridgewater is now the leading candidate to win The Stone Drop Award for 2014. The first DSA Player Rankings had Bridgewater at #2. The second at #3. Then a bad pro day dropped the one time presumptive #1 Overall Pick to #11, and now he has fallen all the way to #17. I don't see Bridgewater falling out of the first round for the reason that someone who passed on him earlier will trade back up to get him late in Round 1. Other than Bridgewater, the biggest drops in the DSA Player Rankings was found to be Tim Jernigan and Kony Ealy. Jernigan was placed at #14 in one mock draft, #16 in three others, and not in Round 1 at all in five others, but he fell 10 spots to #27. Ealy fell seven spots to #28 in spite of being listed as high as #16 in one draft and #20 in another. But Jernigan looks to be the second best defensive tackle in the draft behind Aaron Donald, and I don't see him falling out of Round 1. Ealy needs to find a team that needs a pass rusher, and the prevailing thought is that Ealy may fall to round 2. There really wasn't too many big jumps up in the DSA Player Rankings this time. Calvin Pryor, C.J. Mosley, Ryan Shazier,and Kyle Fuller moved up four spots, and Morgan Moses makes his first appearance in the rankings. Eric Ebron gained three positions, and I still see the big tight end as a possible top 10 pick. Brandin Cooks gained three spots as well, moving up to #22. But the biggest jump came near the bottom, as Bradley Roby gained seven spots to #21. Roby took a hit earlier in the draft process but now it looks like the player who was a dominant cornerback in 2012 is the one being judged now instead of the one who seemed to have a setback last year. The extra two weeks before the draft is giving everyone a chance to take a look at players like Roby a little more closely. Why were they not as productive in 2013 as they were in 2012? Why did their production jump so much last year? The extra analysis is going to have players going all over the draft boards. I will post one more mock draft and DSA Player Rankings the week of the draft, and I'm going to have a Hat Draw Mock Draft as well. I'm going to draw out the top 8 players, then 9-18, and 19-32, according to how the players are ranked in the DSA Player Rankings. But for now, here are the TMG DraftZone DSA Player Rankings 4.0 for 2014, with their average score and positions moved up or down in the rankings: 1) Jadaveon Clowney 1.50 0 2) Sammy Watkins 4.00 2 3) Greg Robinson 4.00 -1 4) Johnny Manziel 4.70 3 5) Khalil Mack 5.20 0 6) Blake Bortles 6.50 -3 7) Mike Evans 7.40 1 8) Jake Matthews 7.90 -2 9) Justin Gilbert 11.50 1 10) Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix 12.40 2 11) Anthony Barr 12.90 -2 12) Aaron Donald 13.10 2 13) Eric Ebron 13.90 3 14) Taylor Lewan 15.00 -1 15) Darqueze Dennard 15.70 0 16) Calvin Pryor 17.40 4 17) Teddy Bridgewater 17.70 -6 18) Zach Martin 19.90 0 19) C.J. Mosley 20.30 4 20) Odell Beckham 21.50 -1 21) Bradley Roby 23.20 7 22) Brandin Cooks 24.90 3 23) Louis Nix 25.40 -1 24) Kyle Fuller 25.50 3 25) Marqise Lee 25.60 -1 26) Ryan Shazier 25.70 4 27) Tim Jernigan 27.10 -10 28) Kony Ealy 27.70 -7 29) Ra'Shade Hageman 27.80 4 30) Jason Verrett 30.00 1 31) Derek Carr 30.50 -5 32) Xavier Su'a-Filo 30.50 2 33) Dee Ford 30.60 -4 34) Cyrus Kouandjio 32.30 1 35) Morgan Moses 32.90 3 Every year there is at least one player who is a late riser into the bottom of Round. On the defensive side, I said that Jeremiah Attaochu could be one of the late risers, and now you can add Morgan Moses to the list. Offensive tackles have always been a valuable asset, and the big tackle from Virginia looks to be becoming more valuable as the draft nears. Round 1 is two weeks away on May 8th. The rollercoaster rides through the mock draft season will soon be coming to an end, and who knows where the ride will stop for the prospects going into the 2014 NFL Draft.