The Petros and Money Show, AKA PMS show, is a evening commuter radio show that we here in Los Angeles enjoy greatly. You can hear it every evening on Fox Sports West KLAC 570AM.
Just last night, Petros and Money had my very favorite draft guru on the show: The NFL Network's own Mike Mayock. They emphasized the fact that Mayock actually strapped on a jock and played football, as opposed to the villainous adversary of all rebuilding NFL teams, the master of misguidance, Mel Kiper Jr.
I enjoyed the hell out of the show, and Mike said several things that blew my brains out. So what did he say anyhow? You can listen to the show here, but I will give you a quick summary also.
The most amazing thing Mike Mayock said was as follows: This is not a good draft year for Quarterbacks. There is no quarterback worthy of the absolute #1 pick, or even a top 5 pick. The most ballyhooed QB draft since 2004 turns out to be a bad year for QBs according to Mike Mayock.
Ndamukong Suh
There are two prospects who stand head and shoulders above the rest in this year's draft. Those two young men and Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy.
Gerald McCoy
There are those who say McCoy is better than Suh and Mike Mayock is one of them. McCoy is the better pass rusher. Suh is stronger against the run.
Tim Tebow
Struggled early in the week when he fumbled some snaps under center. He got better as the week went on. Folks are breaking their ankles jumping on and off his bandwaggon. He's a tough competitor and has never been afraid to compete. History teaches us that this kind of kid makes it eventually. Just understand that he is going to be a project, and there will be a process of developing him and bringing him online. Tebow will need a full Red-Shirt year in the NFL as you work on his mechanics. Based on film, Tebow should be a 3rd rounder, but his great charisma & leadership will cause Tebow to go somewhere in the 2nd round. Mike is really sick and tired of talking about him. {He must have answered this question 6,000 times by now.}
Sam Bradford
Wasn't invited to the Senior Bowl and won't play because he came out as a Junior. The closest thing to a pure franchise QB in this draft, but not a sure-fire thing. He is injured, and that injury has to be evaluated. Has great vision and great accuracy. Mike is not in love with the kid, but freely states that he needs to do a lot more work on Bradford. Mayock is willing to say that Bradford is the best pure QB in a poor QB year. His value is likely to inflate (like JaMarcus Russel's did) due to the fact that he is the only thing close to a sure-fire franchise QB in the 2010 NFL Draft.
Jimmy Clausen
Wasn't invited to the Senior Bowl and won't play because he came out as a Junior. You either love him or you hate him. Mike Mayock says he doesn't like him {which I guess means he hates him}. He believes Clausen will ultimately become a late 1st round or early 2nd round pick.
Taylor Mays
Average week of practice. He needs to have a good game at the senior bowl. The jury is still out on this guy. Has true linebacker size and defensive back speed and agility, but he doesn't make nearly enough intercepts.
Toby Gerhart
Wasn't invited to the Senior Bowl and won't play because he came out as a Junior. He's going to run the 40 in the mid 4.6 range which is average, and not fast. Mayock loves his toughness and the way he pushes the pile. He'll probably be a fullback in the NFL, not a tailback. At this moment he has a 3rd round grade, but he is working on getting a 2nd round grade. Does not have the speed of Steven Jackson, a prototypical 230-240 pound big back who went in the 1st round. His status will not improve due to the WGC (white guy clause).
Dexter McCluster
Mike's favorite kid in this year's draft. Does nothing but make explosive plays out of thin air. Runs the football out of the I formation 2o times per game against vicious SEC defenses. Catches and runs with the best of them. He'll turn out to be just like Darren Sproul of the San Diego Chargers, who was just named the team's Franchise Player at the end of last season. Everybody in the NFL says McCluster will not be taken until the 3rd round. Mike Mayock thinks all these GMs are stone-cold crazy for ignoring Dexter.
