NCAA Football

Pre-Combine Draft Risers: Talented corners making noise, signal-callers slinging their way up.

Players who see their draft stock rise after the season ends come from all walks of college football life. Sometimes they are the big name quarterback who had a disappointing season. Sometimes they are the solid, but unspectacular middle linebacker for a MAC school. And sometimes the names are so obscure, scouts have to pull out a map to find what city their school is in.

But when a team finds a player on the rise, it often proves sweet justice for those who scratched their heads at the pick. Here’s a look at 10 players who have seen their stock rise since the end of the college football season.

Leodis McKelvin – CB, Troy

It’s hard to call Leodis McKelvin one of the draft’s rising prospects, since after the Senior Bowl he’s been in slotted into the top 15, if not the top 10, on most mock drafts. But playing in anonymity at Troy will do that to a player. Scouts rave about McKelvin’s cover ability, which is the best of any corner in the draft. He also hits like a safety and isn’t afraid to make a tackle. Projection: Top 15.

Chris Williams – OT, Vanderbilt

Williams has long been thought of as a first round talent, but is creeping up draft boards and could land as high as 12 with Denver. For now, the top 10 seems just out of reach, especially with Michigan’s Jake Long and Boise State’s Ryan Clady likely going ahead of him.

Williams allowed just one sack during the 2007 campaign, in the season opener against Michigan. After that, he went more than 830 snaps without allowing a sack. Williams has the quickness and wingspan to block speedy edge rushers and size and feet to provide wide running lanes. Projection: Top 15.

Brandon Flowers – CB, Virginia Tech

Flowers is hoping to parlay a pair of All-American selections and a standout career at Virginia Tech into NFL success. The knock on Flowers is that he lacks the height scouts like. He’s only 5’10,” but he hits like a ton a bricks and can fly (4.45-40). Flowers has a great burst off the line, but his aggressiveness sometimes gets him trouble.

The projection on Flowers is all over the board right now. He could land anywhere between the first round at No. 18 with the Texans or fall to the third, where he would be a steal. Projection: Second Round.

Quentin Groves – DE, Auburn

Groves was widely considered a first round talent going into 2007, but three dislocated toes limited his mobility as well as his speed, his greatest asset. He’s healthy now and scouts are eager to see at the combine if he has regained the quickness and burst off the line. Groves, who tied the Auburn career record for sacks with 26, can play defensive end or linebacker, an option NFL scouts love. Projection: Second Round.

Chad Henne – QB, Michigan

Henne is sort of the anti-Joe Flacco. He played at a big time school surrounded by NFL prospects at every skill position. Henne’s arm strength is holding him back a bit, but he is deadly accurate, reminding many of former Wolverine Tom Brady. At 6’3”, 245, Henne, who was one of the stars of the Senior Bowl, has the size and the mechanics scouts love.

He’s probably not a first round draft pick yet, and he’s stuck behind Brohm, Ryan and maybe even Flacco, but with a solid combine workout, Henne could find his way into the early second round. Projection: Second Round.

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie – CB, Tennessee State

Rodgers-Cromartie is Exhibit A for what a strong Senior Bowl can do for a relatively unknown player. He picked off a pass and deflected another. The knock on Rodgers-Cromartie was that his 6’ 2,” 185-pound frame would limit his tackling ability. But he proved that wouldn’t be the case, making a solid open field tackle in the game and several other solid stops in practices.

With McKelvin a sure-fire first rounder, and depth at running back and offensive tackle, it may be difficult for Rodgers-Cromartie to slip into the first round. But a solid combine workout could change all of that. Projection: Second Round.

Joe Flacco – QB, Delaware

Flacco is the prototypical draft sleeper. Once a backup to Tyler Palko at Pitt, Flacco wowed scouts at the Senior Bowl, especially with his arm strength. His accuracy isn’t quite what most teams would like, but he still has plenty of opportunities to bury that perception.

With Matt Ryan and Brian Brohm ahead of him the quarterback rankings, Flacco won’t go in the first round, or perhaps even the second. But a team (Bears?) looking for a short-range project could find a steal in the third round. Projection: Late second, early third round.

Oniel Cousins – OT, UTEP

Cousins is projected as a right tackle which, almost by default, puts him into the late second or third round. However, helping his stock is Cousins’ ability to play either the tackle or guard position. He struggled against Sedrick Ellis in Senior Bowl practices, but then again who hasn’t? In a deep tackle draft, Cousins is one of the more raw prospects, but his good mobility and size. Projection: Third Round.

Thomas DeCoud – FS, Cal

In a weak draft for safeties, DeCoud is quickly climbing up draft boards. However, depth at the cornerback position this year could hurt his stock as teams usually address that need first when they look at improving their secondary. DeCoud is a big hitter who has ideal size for a safety at 6’ 2,” 205. He has long arms and good range, which scouts look for in open field tacklers like safeties. Projection: Third Round.

Tracy Porter – CB, Indiana

Another cornerback makes the list. Porter is rising up boards not only for his ability as a special teams player (he returned a punt for a touchdown for the Hoosiers in 2007), but also his knack for making open field tackles. At 5’11,” Porter’s a little undersized and needs to bulk up in order to play better against the run. But he has speed (4.4-40) and great cover ability. Projection: Third Round.

Others to keep an eye on:

Demetrius Bell – OT Northwester State
Darnell Terrell – CB, Missouri
Jordy Nelson – WR, Kansas St.
Ronnie McCullough – LB, Bethune-Cookman
Angelo Craig – LB, Cincinnati

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