Stanford Football: Jim Irsay
Draft projection updates: Linemen sliding
February, 16, 2012
Feb 16
9:00
AM PT
By
Kevin Gemmell | ESPN.com
The ongoing deck-shuffling that is NFL draft projections continued this week with ESPN's Mel Kiper and Todd McShay both releasing their latest respective projections.
They both agree on quarterback Andrew Luck as the No. 1 pick. No real shock there.
But taking a look at
Kiper's latest Big Board, you see a pretty significant drop for offensive tackle Jonathan Martin, who slips from No. 13 last week to No. 19 this week.
Kiper isn't alone in his thinking.
McShay's latest ranking of the top 32 players has Martin down to No. 24 after being at No. 17 last week.
McShay on Martin:
Kiper also dropped guard David DeCastro on his Big Board from No. 10 to 14. But DeCastro is where Kiper and McShay disagree. McShay actually moves DeCastro up one spot, from No. 14 to 13.
McShay also ranks tight end Coby Fleener at No. 29 (Kipers' Big Board only goes through his top 25).
Finally, Kiper released his
Mock Draft 2.0.
Kiper on Luck and the No. 1 pick:
Kiper has Martin headed to Arizona at No. 13 and DeCastro to the Bengals at No. 21.
They both agree on quarterback Andrew Luck as the No. 1 pick. No real shock there.
But taking a look at
Kiper isn't alone in his thinking.
McShay on Martin:
Martin continues to fall as other linemen emerge and his 2011 film shows him to be less dominant than expected. However, he still has the physical tools to become and NFL starter.
Kiper also dropped guard David DeCastro on his Big Board from No. 10 to 14. But DeCastro is where Kiper and McShay disagree. McShay actually moves DeCastro up one spot, from No. 14 to 13.
McShay also ranks tight end Coby Fleener at No. 29 (Kipers' Big Board only goes through his top 25).
Finally, Kiper released his
Kiper on Luck and the No. 1 pick:
While the public relations drama continues between Jim Irsay and Peyton Manning, there's little drama surrounding whom the Colts will take with the No. 1 pick. I doubt Luck throws next week at the NFL combine, but his status among evaluators really isn't in question. Arm talent, strength, size, smarts, leadership, intangibles -- it's all there. The only question is whether he'll be serving an apprenticeship under Manning, but my guess right now would be that he won't have to.
Kiper has Martin headed to Arizona at No. 13 and DeCastro to the Bengals at No. 21.
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