DraftTwitter Top 100 Pre-Combine Edition Revealed HERE!!!

DraftTwitter Top 100 - Pre-NFL Combine Version

(Editor's Note - The previous Top 100 has changed due to (1) a contributor who requested his data removed (no idea why but, to each his own) and (2) use of apostrophes as parts of names...there were errors in the model thanks to Tre'Davious White and D'Onta Foreman's names.  All fixed now. 2-12-17 10:50PM PST)

Having an opinion is as American as football...

DraftTwitter.  The term has always seemed somewhat of a pejorative. Whether there is an over-reaction to a perceived “can’t miss” prospect who somehow does, or a retreat from another as soon as a rumor surfaces (regardless of validity), DraftTwitter is always lurking in the shadowy corner.

Over the three years since my wife suggest I join the Twitter community (most likely so she would always know where I was), 

But, I’ve found there is also a very positive component to DraftTwitter which s composed of professional and amateur football talent evaluators who use old and new concepts to play NFL GM.  Every day, I learn something new from these women and men, everyday people who share a passion for a game that is unique to our nation.  While there are improvements can make, it is always encouraging to me when people from all walks can get together and share that tradition that is ours, alone, as Americans. The game of football.  We are at our greatest when we acknowledge that which makes us different (And isn’t that what this nation has always been, a melting pot?) and stand together on that which joins us.  Teamwork.  Competition.  Innovation.  Industry.  All of these things we share.

The team of college football evaluators we put worked to develop independent Top 100 NFL 2017 Draft prospect lists that were combined to form this aggregate DraftTwitter list are as diverse in their personal lives as they are identical in their love for America’s Sport.  Most of us are lifelong football fans who learned the game in the living room on weekends with family or in the stands watching games with friends.  Some are football historians who can find a comparable player from yesteryear for any modern star you can name.  There are X’s and O’s guys who could be on the side lines in college or the pros, in my opinion.  There are actual coaches at various levels who provide technical input and film analysis a professional evaluator might easily miss. There are analytics specialists who catalog athletic performance to project success at the next level.  There are data geeks (like me) who may fall into analytics, but focus more on manipulating statistical performance in college to normalize across peer groups and compare that to the data trends of historically successful players.  I’m sure I’m leaving out “types” but the above illustrates the variety of folks who love this game and strive to find ways to identify and evaluate talent to make it better. Please feel free to reach out to them via Twitter or their respective websites (listed below) to stay up to date on breaking sports news and fresh, innovative analysis.

Top 100

 The concept of the DraftTwitter Top 100 was developed to sort of get a consensus of the college players we evaluators felt had the most likely chance of being successful in the NFL.

Click here for the Excel spreadsheet

2017 "Draft Twitter" Top 100 NFL Prospects
RANK	PLAYER	POS.	POS. RANK	SCHOOL	CLASS	HT. (Inches)	WT.	Density Index	Avg Score	Behind Prior	Behind Pos #1
1	Myles Garrett	DE	1	Texas A&M	Jr	76	268	3.53	98.77	0	0.00
2	Jonathan Allen	DT	1	Alabama	Sr	75	291	3.88	96.27	-2.50	0.00
3	Jamal Adams	SS	1	LSU	Jr	72	211	2.93	94.58	-1.69	0.00
4	Solomon Thomas	DE	2	Stanford	rSo	74	275	3.72	89.54	-5.04	-9.23
5	Leonard Fournette	RB	1	LSU	Jr	73	230	3.15	88.58	-0.96	0.00
6	Dalvin Cook	RB	2	Florida State	Jr	71	206	2.90	88.42	-0.15	-0.15
7	Mike Williams	WR	1	Clemson	rJr	75	225	3.00	86.92	-1.50	0.00
8	Malik Hooker	FS	1	Ohio State	rSo	74	205	2.77	86.62	-0.31	0.00
9	Reuben Foster	ILB	1	Alabama	Sr	73	236	3.23	85.54	-1.08	0.00
10	Derek Barnett	DE	3	Tennessee	Jr	75	265	3.53	80.19	-5.35	-18.58
11	Corey Davis	WR	2	Western Michigan	Sr	75	213	2.84	77.62	-2.58	-9.31
12	Takkarist McKinley	OLB	1	UCLA	Sr	74	258	3.49	75.92	-1.69	0.00
13	O.J. Howard	TE	1	Alabama	Sr	78	249	3.19	74.92	-1.00	0.00
14	Sidney Jones	CB	1	Washington	Jr	72	181	2.51	74.23	-0.69	0.00
15	Deshaun Watson	QB	1	Clemson	Jr	74	215	2.91	74.04	-0.19	0.00
16	Ryan Ramczyk	OT	1	Wisconsin	rJr	77	314	4.08	73.96	-0.08	0.00
17	Zach Cunningham	OLB	2	Vanderbilt	rJr	75	230	3.07	72.84	-1.12	-3.08
18	Tim Williams	OLB	3	Alabama	Sr	75	252	3.36	72.73	-0.11	-3.19
19	Malik McDowell	DT	2	Michigan State	Jr	77	276	3.58	72.69	-0.04	-23.58
20	Marshon Lattimore	CB	2	Ohio State	rSo	72	195	2.71	71.19	-1.50	-3.04
21	Jabrill Peppers	SS	2	Michigan	rSo	72	205	2.85	69.27	-1.92	-25.31
22	Cam Robinson	OT	2	Alabama	Jr	78	310	3.97	69.08	-0.19	-4.88
23	Teez Tabor	CB	3	Florida	Jr	72	201	2.79	67.81	-1.27	-6.42
24	Christian McCaffrey	RB	3	Stanford	Jr	72	202	2.81	67.12	-0.69	-21.46
25	DeShone Kizer	QB	2	Notre Dame	rSo	76	230	3.03	64.88	-2.23	-9.15
26	Taco Charlton	DE	4	Michigan	Sr	77	272	3.53	64.69	-0.19	-34.08
27	Mitch Trubisky	QB	3	North Carolina	rJr	75	220	2.93	64.46	-0.23	-9.58
28	John Ross	WR	3	Washington	rJr	71	190	2.68	64.23	-0.23	-22.69
29	Marlon Humphrey	CB	4	Alabama	rSo	73	196	2.68	63.31	-0.92	-10.92
30	Carl Lawson	DE	5	Auburn	rJr	74	253	3.42	61.23	-2.08	-37.54
31	Charles Harris	DE	6	Missouri	rJr	75	255	3.40	60.23	-1.00	-38.54
32	David Njoku	TE	2	Miami (Fla.)	rSo	76	240	3.16	59.65	-0.58	-15.27
33	Dan Feeney	OG	1	Indiana	rSr	76	304	4.00	59.23	-0.42	0.00
34	Budda Baker	FS	2	Washington	Jr	70	192	2.74	57.73	-1.50	-28.88
35	Quincy Wilson	CB	5	Florida	Jr	72	209	2.90	57.73	0.00	-16.50
36	Jarrad Davis	ILB	2	Florida	Sr	73	238	3.26	51.58	-6.15	-33.96
37	Caleb Brantley	DT	3	Florida	rJr	74	297	4.01	51.54	-0.04	-44.73
38	Tre'Davious White	CB	6	LSU	Sr	72	184	2.56	49.88	-1.66	-24.35
39	Patrick Mahomes	QB	4	Texas Tech	Jr	74	229	3.09	49.04	-0.84	-25.00
40	Cordrea Tankersley	CB	7	Clemson	Sr	72	200	2.78	48.96	-0.08	-25.27
41	Garett Bolles	OT	3	Utah	Jr	77	296	3.84	48.81	-0.15	-25.15
42	Forrest Lamp	OG	2	Western Kentucky	rSr	76	305	4.01	48.16	-0.65	-11.07
43	Gareon Conley	CB	8	Ohio State	rJr	72	195	2.71	45.73	-2.43	-28.50
44	Jourdan Lewis	CB	9	Michigan	Sr	70	188	2.69	44.85	-0.88	-29.38
45	Ryan Anderson	OLB	4	Alabama	rSr	74	258	3.49	44.27	-0.58	-31.65
46	Adoree' Jackson	CB	10	Southern California	Jr	71	185	2.61	43.35	-0.92	-30.88
47	JuJu Smith-Schuster	WR	4	Southern California	Jr	74	220	2.97	42.36	-0.99	-44.56
48	Pat Elflein	C	1	Ohio State	rSr	74	300	4.05	42.08	-0.28	0.00
49	Desmond King	CB	11	Iowa	Sr	71	206	2.90	41.62	-0.46	-32.62
50	Haason Reddick	OLB	5	Temple	rSr	73	237	3.25	40.92	-0.70	-35.00
51	Ethan Pocic	C	2	LSU	Sr	78	307	3.94	39.73	-1.19	-2.35
52	Carlos Watkins	DT	4	Clemson	rSr	76	312	4.11	39.27	-0.46	-57.00
53	Joe Mixon	RB	4	Oklahoma	rSo	73	226	3.10	38.69	-0.58	-49.88
54	D'Onta Foreman	RB	5	Texas	Jr	73	249	3.41	33.69	-5.00	-54.88
55	DeMarcus Walker	DE	7	Florida State	Sr	74	273	3.69	33.12	-0.58	-65.65
56	Jaleel Johnson	DT	5	Iowa	rSr	75	309	4.12	33.00	-0.12	-63.27
57	Curtis Samuel	WR	5	Ohio State	Jr	71	200	2.82	32.48	-0.52	-54.44
58	Evan Engram	TE	3	Ole Miss	Sr	75	236	3.15	31.73	-0.75	-43.19
59	Montravius Adams	DT	6	Auburn	Sr	75	308	4.11	30.38	-1.35	-65.88
60	Raekwon McMillan	ILB	3	Ohio State	Jr	74	240	3.24	29.96	-0.42	-55.58
61	Chris Wormley	DT	7	Michigan	rSr	77	297	3.86	29.56	-0.40	-66.71
62	Alvin Kamara	RB	6	Tennessee	rJr	70	215	3.07	29.32	-0.24	-59.26
63	Isaiah Ford	WR	6	Virginia Tech	Jr	73	190	2.60	29.20	-0.12	-57.72
64	Cooper Kupp	WR	7	Eastern Washington	rSr	73	198	2.71	27.19	-2.01	-59.73
65	Dede Westbrook	WR	8	Oklahoma	Sr	71	175	2.46	26.42	-0.77	-60.50
66	Antonio Garcia	OT	4	Troy	rSr	78	293	3.76	25.00	-1.42	-48.96
67	Justin Evans	SS	3	Texas A&M	Sr	72	193	2.68	24.92	-0.08	-69.66
68	Dorian Johnson	OG	3	Pittsburgh	Sr	77	300	3.90	24.80	-0.12	-34.43
69	Cameron Sutton	CB	12	Tennessee	Sr	71	182	2.56	24.42	-0.38	-49.81
70	Zay Jones	WR	9	East Carolina	Sr	74	202	2.73	23.92	-0.50	-63.00
71	Marcus Williams	FS	3	Utah	Jr	72	195	2.71	23.72	-0.20	-62.90
72	Jake Butt	TE	4	Michigan	Sr	77	250	3.25	23.19	-0.53	-51.73
73	Brad Kaaya	QB	5	Miami (Fla.)	Jr	76	210	2.76	22.52	-0.67	-51.52
74	Samaje Perine	RB	7	Oklahoma	Jr	70	235	3.36	22.12	-0.40	-66.46
75	Bucky Hodges	TE	5	Virginia Tech	rJr	78	245	3.14	21.84	-0.28	-53.08
76	T.J. Watt	OLB	6	Wisconsin	rJr	76	243	3.20	20.60	-1.24	-55.32
77	Taylor Moton	OT	5	Western Michigan	rSr	77	330	4.29	19.81	-0.79	-54.15
78	Chidobe Awuzie	CB	13	Colorado	Sr	71	205	2.89	19.54	-0.27	-54.69
79	Roderick Johnson	OT	6	Florida State	Jr	78	308	3.95	18.32	-1.22	-55.64
80	Dion Dawkins	OG	4	Temple	Sr	76	317	4.17	17.72	-0.60	-41.51
81	Obi Melifonwu	SS	4	Connecticut	rSr	76	219	2.88	17.69	-0.03	-76.88
82	Jordan Willis	DE	8	Kansas State	Sr	76	255	3.36	16.92	-0.77	-81.85
83	Jordan Leggett	TE	6	Clemson	Sr	77	258	3.35	16.12	-0.80	-58.81
84	Rasul Douglas	CB	14	West Virginia	rSr	74	204	2.76	15.52	-0.60	-58.71
85	Jamaal Williams	RB	8	Brigham Young	rSr	72	211	2.93	15.50	-0.02	-73.08
86	Dawuane Smoot	DE	9	Illinois	Sr	75	255	3.40	15.40	-0.10	-83.37
87	Elijah Qualls	DT	8	Washington	rJr	73	321	4.40	15.40	0.00	-80.87
88	Adam Bisnowaty	OT	7	Pittsburgh	rSr	78	307	3.94	15.38	-0.02	-58.58
89	Joe Mathis	DE	10	Washington	Sr	74	255	3.45	15.35	-0.04	-83.42
90	Eddie Jackson	SS	5	Alabama	Sr	72	194	2.69	15.28	-0.07	-79.30
91	Corn Elder	CB	15	Miami (Fla.)	Sr	70	179	2.56	15.24	-0.04	-58.99
92	ArDarius Stewart	WR	10	Alabama	rJr	72	204	2.83	15.00	-0.24	-71.92
93	Amara Darboh	WR	11	Michigan	rSr	74	215	2.91	14.04	-0.96	-72.88
94	Kevin King	CB	16	Washington	Sr	75	192	2.56	13.60	-0.44	-60.63
95	Dalvin Tomlinson	DT	9	Alabama	rSr	75	312	4.16	12.12	-1.48	-84.15
96	Jarron Jones	DT	10	Notre Dame	rSr	77	315	4.09	12.08	-0.04	-84.19
97	Tanoh Kpassagnon	DE	11	Villanova	Sr	79	280	3.54	11.69	-0.39	-87.08
98	Marcus Maye	FS	4	Florida	rSr	71	216	3.04	11.68	-0.01	-74.94
99	Davon Godchaux	DT	11	LSU	Jr	76	293	3.86	11.48	-0.20	-84.79
100	Vincent Taylor	DT	12	Oklahoma State	rJr	74	310	4.19	11.08	-0.40	-85.19

• Avg Score - The ranking were compiled from individual ballots provided by 27 evaluators (out of 75 asked to contribute).  They were asked to list the Top 100 prospects for the upcoming 2017 NFL Draft.  We specifically asked them NOT to attempt a “mock” draft, but to just list the best prospects, whatever that meant to them.  Their number 1 overall pick was awarded 100 points, their number 2 received 99 points and so on until their final selection at number 100 received 1 point.  The score listed below represents the average score each player received (that the #1 did not receive a score of 100 indicates he was not a unanimous choice).  Because of the aggregate nature of the poll, each evaluator included some really interesting picks that did not make the final list – the picks were so brilliant, not everyone thought of them and so, their average score did not make the final cut. Fortunately, we will be posting each evaluators’ Top 100 and comparing the degree to which each departed from the final aggregate list.  

• Position Rank represents that player’s rank at his position.

• Density is the player’s Weight in lbs. divided by his height in inches.  This is useful in helping determine how massive a player is. Who is bigger: a player who is 6’2” and 203 lbs or a player how is 5’9” and 189?  Interestingly, they have the same “density”, 2.47 lbs/in.   This is useful in comparing players within their position groups or opposing players (OL vs DL; WR vs. CB, LB/S vs RB/TE or whatever combination).   

•  “Behind Prior” indicates how many points a player is from the player in the slot directly before him (for example, if the 5 player has a score of 92.00 and the 6^th player has a score of 91.25 the “Behind Prior” for #6 would be -0.75.

• Behind Pos #1 indicates how many points a player is behind the number 1 player at his position.

The Evaluators

I would recommend taking a moment to check out each evaluators media pages.  There are a lot of insightful people out there, so get to know them.  

@elevenbravo138 – Bill Carroll is the Consensus Draft Services Director of HBCU Scouting National Gridiron Network Special Contributor with weekly call in shows.   

@NflDraft_KC Blake is a writer and contributor for  TheChiefswire.

@Vixticator resides in my maternal homeland of South Carolina and contributes to ZoneReads.

@KylePollockFF Kyle is a Nittany Lion and current contributor to Rotoviz and Dynasty League Football.

@Draftday101 Antoine is a self-described football junky, nfl draft novelist and faithful USC, Chargers and Padres fan.

@BenjaminSolak is a staffer for @sec125 covering the Philadelphia Eagles. Hasn’t had a bad day in 6 years.

@Jimetrics Jim Cobern specializes in age, athletic and production analysis in football.  A real numbers guy.

@MontelNFL Montel Hardy is a Kinesiology Masters candidate at NIU and NFL Draft Analyst INSC who contributes his G.O.O.D. QB analytical profiles to NGSCSports.

@GeoffTheScout UT Volunteer Geoffrey Godfrey actively scouts and recruits baseball and football through his  4 Aces Scouting.

@dbyrne70 Doug Byrne is life long Giants fan who runs with the Crimson Tide.  Oh, did I mention he’s a American Yankee who now lives in Sweden? 

@_ChristianPage Normally, Star Wars, Auburn sports and Tar Heel basketball do NOT mix, but CP makes it work.  A contributor to The Draftster.

@Mathbomb Kent Lee Platte never met a formula he didn’t like. Writer for PrideofDetroit.com through the SB Nation platform.

@zonereads Football bloggers providing NFL Draft prospect breakdowns; film, stats, & subjective analysis; commentary on issues of the day; and more. FBS coach on staff! Zonereads.com

@AJMilackNFL A.J. is a hard working man, offering content through three sources:  NFL Film Study and Fantasy Football reporting for his own site, QB Analysis at QB Mecca,   and NFL Draft updates at The Draftster.

@TheFFMadman – Buckeye who is a self -described draft junkie and recovering Browns fan.

@SMBLOB Proudly proclaiming “There is no offseason!”  SMB covers the Pacific Northwest like rain clouds for all your sports needs.

@pacificscouting Lead Devy Analyst for DraftFFactory who boasts 10.7M Vine loops (as a Gen X’er, I’m assuming that’s pretty good).   Self-proclaimed KD Cannon and Carlos Hernandez Truther.

@Russell_Brown51 Father, Detroit Lions and MSU Spartans fan and High School defensive line coach.  In that order.  Contributor to nflmocks.com.

@DTC_RileyB  Looking out from Chattanooga, Riley is Lead ADP Analyst and Staff Writer for FFDynasty Trades DTC stands for Dynasty Trade Calculator…check it out. He is a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association…so he’s got, like, papers.

@ChaseCameron_ A self-described socially awkward NFL Draft Nerd, Chase hails from the Land of Mork and Mindy country, Boulder, CO.

@Draft_Brian Brian Johannes lives in Cornhusker country and is NFL Draft Analyst for nfldraftgeek.com who dabbles in WWE.   (But, who hasn’t?)

@TheMockingDraft NFL Draft and Football Recruiting coverage out of ATL.  Adds to the Sparty posse in the evaluator pool.

@DonreyMarinas My foxhole mate on Hackenberg Hill.  The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. “Faith, Family, Football,” says it all.

@nfldraftscout Straight outta Joplin, a crazy NFL draft lead writer for Bleacher Report named Miller gave me permission to use his top 100 in our aggregate list.  Find him on Snapchat/Instagram/Facebook at @nfldraftscout.  

(One contributor requested to have his name and data removed and two others went AWOL and dropped off Twitter so we will allow them to remain anonymous.)

Shameless Self-Promotion!

The Post Combine Ballot will be available in a few weeks so please feel free to email me at boombearfootballmail to be added to the list of evaluators.

Also, go like the new Boombearjr Football Analysis Facebook Page  https://www.facebook.com/boombearjr/.