After a fast-paced first day of the 2009 NFL draft, it's time for all 32 teams to take stock of the players still on their draft boards as they get ready for Rounds 3-7 on Sunday. We can do the same.
Here's a look at the top-ranked players from . This list, presented in tiers of 10, was compiled a few weeks ago and there certainly was time for things to change. There are still five players from my top 50 out there:
Tier 3: , DE, Georgia Tech
Tier 4" , OT, South Carolina
Tier 5: , DE, San Jose State; , TE, Florida; , CB, Vanderbilt
I had a feeling that Johnson was going to slip, but I'd say he is probably the best player still out there as we get set for Day Two. Johnson has tremendous pass-rush ability -- it's just a question of toughness for him. But you can be sure you will hear his name early Sunday morning.
As teams evaluated Florida State DE -- a player in my second tier -- they saw a productive college player who might not have the height and speed to be worthy of a first-round pick. Still, the Carolina Panthers ended up trading away next year's first-round pick to get Brown with the 11th pick in the second round.
As the second round drew near its end, I was surprised that Connecticut OT was still available. He's a player that needs to be developed slowly, but he has a lot of upside. And he ended up in the perfect situation -- with a Giants team that is set with its starting offensive linemen. The Giants can bring him along slowly and then down the road they'll have their replacement for David Diehl at left tackle.
There were actually three players drafted today that weren't in my top 100 at all: Ohio DB (Raiders, round 2), Hawaii DE (Browns, round 2), and Houston OT (Patriots, round 2). Mitchell went 47th overall to Oakland and that was easily the biggest surprise of the day to me. Mitchell is a guy who looked pretty good at Ohio's Pro Day. He worked out at Deion Sanders' facility -- maybe that is what got him noticed.
Here are the players I had rated from 51-100 who are still available:
Tier 6
, TE, South Carolina
, WR, Florida
, TE, Southern Miss
, OT, Oklahoma
, WR, Penn State
Tier 7
, CB, Maryland
, TE, Rice
, S, Alabama
, CB, Cincinnati
Tier Eight
, OL, Penn State
, WR, Oklahoma
, DT, LSU
, DL, Purdue
, QB, Texas A&M
, OT, Wisconsin
, S, Wake Forest
, CB, Ohio State
Tier 9
, TE, Wisconsin
, RB, N.C. State
, CB, San Jose State
, LB, Ohio State
, S, Clemson
, DE, Richmond
, DE, Texas Tech
, QB, Alabama
Tier Ten
, LB, LSU
, QB, Sam Houston State
, LB, South Carolina
, G, Alabama
, TE, N.C. State
, DB, Oregon State
, CB, San Jose State
, CB, Cincinnati
