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[h=1]The Final Sturm Big Board – Top 80 Players[/h]
[h=6]Bob Sturm Follow @sportssturm Email [email]sturm1310@me.com[/EMAIL][/h]
Published: April 29, 2015 7:37 am
The following is not a mock draft, nor a prediction of the order how players will be selected. Rather, the following is a reasonable listing of how I see the players at the top of the 2015 NFL Draft after trying to break down the Top 100. I am positive my collective views are shared by nobody, and as they say in the Rifleman’s Creed: “This is my big board. There are many like it, but this one is mine.”
I tried to list them from best to worst based on my eyes, and as flawed as that might be, the idea is that with “all things being equal” – which they never are – you would simply take the highest remaining player when the Cowboys are on the clock. Common sense must rule the day as I don’t expect the Cowboys to take a Wide Receiver or Tight End in Round 1, but as far as the extremely difficult exercise of ranking the 48th best player against the 49th, this is my final answer (although after the first 20, the differences in players is marginal and so very unpredictable).
History won’t treat this list well, as someone up high will crash out of the league and someone unlisted will be in Canton, but it is a fun exercise nevertheless. Reminder: I know this is not the draft order and I know Jameis Winston will likely go #1, but I think there are 9 players in this draft I would take before him. Of course, in this fictional exercise, my team isn’t in as desperate need of a QB as Tampa Bay is.
I also took the liberty to put the 12 players on the board from yesterday’s Cowboys Draft Plan at #27 in bold so that you can follow easily with the plan as it pertains to the big board. As you will see below, if it actually got down to Eric Rowe, we would also need to give Grady Jarrett and even Duke Johnson some thought there. But, it won’t get that far, I suspect. Anyway, here it is, pencils are down:
[h=6]Bob Sturm Follow @sportssturm Email [email]sturm1310@me.com[/EMAIL][/h]
Published: April 29, 2015 7:37 am
The following is not a mock draft, nor a prediction of the order how players will be selected. Rather, the following is a reasonable listing of how I see the players at the top of the 2015 NFL Draft after trying to break down the Top 100. I am positive my collective views are shared by nobody, and as they say in the Rifleman’s Creed: “This is my big board. There are many like it, but this one is mine.”
I tried to list them from best to worst based on my eyes, and as flawed as that might be, the idea is that with “all things being equal” – which they never are – you would simply take the highest remaining player when the Cowboys are on the clock. Common sense must rule the day as I don’t expect the Cowboys to take a Wide Receiver or Tight End in Round 1, but as far as the extremely difficult exercise of ranking the 48th best player against the 49th, this is my final answer (although after the first 20, the differences in players is marginal and so very unpredictable).
History won’t treat this list well, as someone up high will crash out of the league and someone unlisted will be in Canton, but it is a fun exercise nevertheless. Reminder: I know this is not the draft order and I know Jameis Winston will likely go #1, but I think there are 9 players in this draft I would take before him. Of course, in this fictional exercise, my team isn’t in as desperate need of a QB as Tampa Bay is.
I also took the liberty to put the 12 players on the board from yesterday’s Cowboys Draft Plan at #27 in bold so that you can follow easily with the plan as it pertains to the big board. As you will see below, if it actually got down to Eric Rowe, we would also need to give Grady Jarrett and even Duke Johnson some thought there. But, it won’t get that far, I suspect. Anyway, here it is, pencils are down:
| Rank | Player | Rank | Player |
| #1 | Leonard Williams, DE, USC | #41 | Stephone Anthony, LB, Clemson |
| #2 | Vic Beasley, DE, Clemson | #42 | Carl Davis, DT, Iowa |
| #3 | Kevin White, WR, West Virginia | #43 | Bryce Petty, QB, Baylor |
| #4 | Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia | #44 | Arik Armstead, DE, Oregon |
| #5 | Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon | #45 | DJ Humpheries, OL, Florida |
| #6 | Devante Parker, WR, Louisville | #46 | Maxx Williams, TE, Minnesota |
| #7 | Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan St | #47 | Paul Dawson, LB, TCU |
| #8 | Dante Fowler, DE, Florida | #48 | Preston Smith, DE, Miss State |
| #9 | Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama | #49 | Nate Orchard, DE, Utah |
| #10 | Jameis Winston, QB, Florida St | #50 | Xavier Cooper, DT, Washington St |
| #11 | Kevin Johnson, CB, Wake Forest | #51 | AJ Cann, OL, South Carolina |
| #12 | Lael Collins, OL, LSU | #52 | Shaq Thompson, LB, Washington |
| #13 | Marcus Peters, CB, Washington | #53 | Jalen Collins, CB, LSU |
| #14 | Danny Shelton, DT, Washington | #54 | Ameer Abdullah, RB, Nebraska |
| #15 | Brandon Scherff, OL, Iowa | #55 | Cedric Ogbuehi, OL, Texas A M |
| #16 | Alvin Dupree, DE, Kentucky | #56 | TJ Clemmings, OL, Pittsburgh |
| #17 | Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin | #57 | Michael Bennett, DT, Ohio St |
| #18 | Malcom Brown, DT, Texas | #58 | Benardrick McKinney, LB, Miss St |
| #19 | Shane Ray, DE, Missouri | #59 | Jordan Phillips, DT, Oklahoma |
| #20 | Ereck Flowers, OL, Miami | #60 | Devin Funchess, TE/WR, Michigan |
| #21 | Randy Gregory, DE, Nebraska | #61 | Phillip Dorsett, WR, Miami |
| #22 | Byron Jones, CB, UConn | #62 | Steve Nelson, CB, Oregon State |
| #23 | Breshad Perriman, WR, Cen Fla | #63 | Devin Smith, WR, Ohio State |
| #24 | Eric Kendricks, LB, UCLA | #64 | Alex Carter, CB, Stanford |
| #25 | D Green-Beckham, WR, Missouri | #65 | David Johnson, RB, Northern Iowa |
| #26 | Eddie Goldman, DT, FSU | #66 | Ifo Ekpre Olomu, DB, Oregon |
| #27 | Nelson Agholor, WR, USC | #67 | PJ Williams, DB, Florida State |
| #28 | Andrus Peat, OL, Stanford | #68 | Rashad Greene, WR, Florida State |
| #29 | Jake Fisher, OL, Oregon | #69 | Henry Anderson, DE, Stanford |
| #30 | Owa Odighizuwa, DE, UCLA | #70 | Clive Walford, TE, Miai |
| #31 | Denzel Perryman, LB, Miami | #71 | Mario Edwards, DE, Florida State |
| #32 | Duke Johnson, RB, Miami | #72 | TJ Yeldon, TB, Alabama |
| #33 | Grady Jarrett, DT, Clemson | #73 | Laken Tomlinson, OL, Duke |
| #34 | Eric Rowe, DB, Utah | #74 | Jamison Crowder, WR, Duke |
| #35 | Landon Collins, S, Alabama | #75 | Lorenzo Mauldin, LB, Louisville |
| #36 | Eli Harold, DE, Virginia | #76 | Cedric Erving, OL, Florida State |
| #37 | Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona | #77 | Hau’oli Kikaha, LB, Washington |
| #38 | Jay Ajayi, RB, Boise State | #78 | Quintin Rollins, DB, Miami |
| #39 | Ronald Darby, CB, Florida St | #79 | Rakeem Nunez-Roches, DT, S Miss |
| #40 | Tevin Coleman, RB, Indiana | #80 | David Cobb, RB, Minnesota |