Proliferation of spread offenses making evaluation of prospects difficult
Why has the spread offense not translated well for successful college QBs at the pro level and will Tim Tebow buck the trend or be the next in a long line of system busts? PFW’s own Nolan Nawrocki leans toward the latter.

Maclin vs. Davis adds intrigue to Missouri/Illinois contest
Two elite underclassmen will be on display in prime time on Saturday, as Tigers WR Jeremy Maclin and Illini CB Vontae Davis figure to go head-to-head more than a few times.  

Could Dominique Johnson be the next Rodgers-Cromartie?
Ex-Missouri recruit catches eye of scouts at Jackson State but is still disrespected within his own conference. 

Toal returns
The hype machine continues to roll for the son of a legendary high school coach. After a series of setbacks that cost him the 2007 season, Boston College linebacker Brian Toal is bigger, stronger, faster and more focused than ever. It’s a nice press clipping to add to a long collection, but can Toal prove to scouts that he is more than a tough overachiever with considerable durability questions?

Heyward-Bey too fast?
Coaches rave about Maryland WR Darrius Heyward-Bey and he is continually reminded of his surefire pro future, but the humbled standout remains focused on improved route-running and an ACC championship. 

Oklahoma boasts tight end depth
The NFL is waiting on Jermaine Gresham, but you might be surprised to learn OU's offensive coordinator considers fellow junior TE Brody Eldridge the Sooners' best player. 

Powe ready to go
After dropping nearly 50 pounds, the long-awaited collegiate debut of heralded Ole Miss NT Jerrell Powe arrives this weekend, quelling a much-publicized eligibility saga.

Another exciting Big 12 quarterback?
One of the nation’s most promising freshman quarterbacks also possesses All-American track speed, but you may not know him yet because he goes to. . .Baylor? He made his debut last night.

Oregon State WR returns to field
After bouncing back from clinical depression and a kidney ailment, Sammie Stroughter returned to his play-making ways in the Beavers’ season-opening loss to Stanford last night.  

Terps D drawing comparisons to Chris Long?
Read why Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen wishes he had 44 players like Jeremy Navarre.

VA Tech CB recounts shooting incident
“Macho”: “I was scared out of my life.”

A&M QB more comfortable in new offense
Former Texas A&M head coach Dennis Franchione’s option offense didn’t play to the strengths of QB Stephen McGee, who took a beating for three years without complaining, but Brett Favre’s former coach believes he can play at the next level. 

New sheriff in town in Ann Arbor
Coach "Rich Rod" making not-so-subtle changes in his first year directing Michigan. 

Bucks quintet returning to "The Shoe" for one more run
Camaraderie and another chance to win outweighed guaranteed millions for five Buckeyes with NFL futures. 

Landry, Steltz. . .Jones?
Chad Jones, LSU’s emerging “hybrid” defender , provides the Tigers unique matchup possibilities.

Gators to open season minus junior stars
Florida’s junior receiver Percy Harvin recently participated in non-contact drills for the first time this preseason since undergoing surgery in April to alleviate pain in his bothersome right heel, but isn't ready for the Gators' season opener against Hawaii on Saturday. In fact, he may miss two or three games.

Meanwhile, junior Brandon Spikes, an All-SEC performer and the Gators’ leading tackler a year ago, is also out due to a lingering foot injury. Spikes, recently voted a captain by his teammates, is viewed as one of the top junior defenders in the land and is expected to have a big season after vowing to take on a greater leadership role in 2008. 

Nation's sack leader suspended
Indiana junior defensive end Greg Middleton led the country with 16.5 sacks last year, but he’ll have to wait until the Hoosiers second game against Murray State to add to his career total, as he’s been suspended (along with three non-starters) for IU’s season opener against Western Kentucky on Saturday after breaking team rules. 

Could Jean-Francois be selected higher than Dorsey?
Glenn Dorsey was the best defensive tackle in college football last season and senior DE Tyson Jackson is garnering the headlines this preseason, but one scout believes junior DT Ricky Jean-Francois has the talent to become a number one pick . . .overall. 

Meet the next great Virginia OL product
After learning from first-rounders D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Branden Albert, Virginia OT Eugene Monroe is poised to follow in their footsteps.

Davis: "There was no doubt in my mind. I was gone."
Clemson running back James Davis, PFW’s top-rated senior RB prospect in the class of ’09, talks about what went into his decision to return for his senior season.

Williams out to shake "biggest underachiever" label
Penn State receiver Derrick Williams was the number-one recruit in the nation three years ago, but the perception is the senior hasn’t lived up to expectations through three years and theories explaining why range from lack of opportunity, ineffective scheme or Williams simply putting too much pressure on himself, among others. Despite a lack of award recognition, Williams’ physical gifts are abundant. How he’ll be utilized in Penn State’s newly fashioned “Spread HD” offense remains to be seen, however.

“Spread HD" a "glorified wishbone" according to Paterno
So, just what is the “Spread HD” ?

Ex-Hokie cleared to play for Division II school
Running back Branden Ore, a 2006 All-ACC selection as a sophomore at Virginia Tech, has finally been cleared to play for West Liberty State College after parting ways with the Hokies in March, ending his turbulent career in Blacksburg which included academic struggles, a run-in with the law and conditioning issues, among other distractions. Ore was drawn to the West Virginia school because his cousin, Darren Banks, is a cornerback for the D-II Hilltoppers.

Saban not reluctant to go young
Alabama head coach Nick Saban, renown renovator of languid programs, says as many as 10 freshman could contribute immediately when the Crimson Tide kicks off its season on Saturday against preseason ACC favorite Clemson in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Saban, entering his second season in Tuscaloosa after posting a 7-6 mark last year, brought in one of the nation’s best recruiting classes headlined by Julio Jones, a highly touted receiver with the size (6-4, 210) and athleticism to star right away.

Early Heisman favorites
An educated guess at 10 players with the most realistic chances.
  

In Round Four, they traded up for UNLV LB Beau Bell and later swung a deal for Missouri TE Martin Rucker. The latter deal involved the Browns trading into the Cowboys' spot and sending their old wheeling-and-dealing pals a 2009 third-rounder.

You can tell GM Phil Savage is operating with a lot of confidence right now, and it's hard not to believe in what he's doing, given the improvement we've seen from Cleveland in the last year or so.

The NFLN reports the Ravens have traded a fourth-round pick (No. 125 overall) to Oakland for CB Fabian Washington. The Raiders have been trying to move Washington for some time, and a deal -- or an out-and-out release -- became likely after the trade for DeAngelo Hall. The Ravens, who needed CB depth, were willing to take a chance on a player with track speed but not a lack of production to this point of his career. Not a bad trade for Baltimore, which has struggled to draft CB depth of late.

About a minute after the Titans selected East Carolina RB Chris Johnson at No. 24 in Round One, I received a text from my buddy Matt asking, “Didn’t the Titans draft him last year?” I chuckled because I had exactly the same thought. We’re referencing, of course, Tennessee’s absurd second-round pick of Chris Henry in ’07, who personified the definition of a “workout warrior.” Henry was a marginal runner at Arizona who dazzled scouts and coaches with his measureables in pre-draft workouts enough to convince Tennessee to reach for him early.

After a thoroughly uninspiring rookie season, the Titans evidently felt they needed another running back to complement LenDale White. So who do they draft in the first round? Another mid-round prospect whose crazy workout numbers enabled him to make a lot more money than he should be earning. Yes, there are differences between the two. Johnson was incredibly productive in college — albeit primarily against Conference USA competition — and is considerably smaller and faster than Henry, but their commonality was too humorous to ignore.

Speaking of those workout warriors, for the most part teams should be commended for avoiding those guys in the first round this year. Outside of Johnson, only the Cardinals’ selection of CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie would I consider a reach based on Combine numbers.

The thought was the Steelers would address their offensive and defensive lines in the draft, and those picks may still be coming. But when RB Rashard Mendenhall fell to 23, Pittsburgh couldn't pass. Nor could they resist taking WR Limas Sweed at No. 23. Mendenhall was projected as a mid first-rounder, while Sweed could have gone late in Round One without many eyebrows raised. What is eyebrow-raising, though, is that an offense that needed a couple more playmakers -- the Steelers, don't forget, were 17th in yards gained last season -- got them. Mendenhall and Sweed will play part-time roles in 2008 and perhaps '09, too, but they are likely to be starters down the road. All in all, good work by Pittsburgh on Day One.

I just saw where the Rams slected WR Donnie Avery with their second pick. And DeviThomas went to the Redskins. Finally. Here comes the run on WRs, which I thought was going to start much earlier. who would have thought the first receiver taken this year would be a tight end, Dustin keller out of Purdue, by the Jets at No. 30? And who would have thought Avery would be the first receiver?

I'm particularly surprised the Niners didn't go for a WR with their first pick, opting instead for DT Kentwan Balme when they already had Aubrayo Franklin and Isaac Sopoaga inside. How satified can Mike martz be with a WR corps headed by ancient Isaac Bruce? I don't get it.  

Carl Peterson’s legacy in Kansas City will be determined by the success of this draft class. Or, more to the point, Peterson needs this class to be outstanding to salvage a decent standing amongst the Chiefs’ faithful.

Regardless of how well the Chiefs rebound from their disaster 2007 campaign, Peterson’s entering his final years as president and general manager of the franchise he’s directed since 1989. There’s a tacit agreement between Peterson and owner Clark Hunt that the long-time leader of the Chiefs is best off jetting into retirement when his contract expires after the 2009 season, but there was more than a smattering of folks who figured he’d would need to have a standout draft this weekend to ensure he’d even make into ’09.

Mission accomplished. The football gods were smiling on Kansas City when Glenn Dorsey, considered by many the most talented player in the draft, dropped to the fifth pick, and the Chiefs wisely pounced on the opportunity. The pick of Dorsey was more fortuitous than cunning, but their second first-round selection was an equal mixture of good fortune and savvy. Sitting at the Vikings’ No. 17 slot courtesy of the Jared Allen trade and seeing Virginia’s Branden Albert sitting for the picking at 15, Kansas City gave up a fifth-rounder and swapped third-rounders with Detroit to move up and nab him.

The most versatile lineman in this draft, Albert was shooting up draft boards in the weeks leading up to the draft, and is considered a steal at the 15th spot. He’ll be the best player on a shoddy line from the start, with Herm Edwards having the option of inserting him at either guard position or right tackle.

Make no mistake, Peterson put all his eggs into the Allen deal. And while I still think the trade was foolish, Peterson has redeemed himself as well as he possibly could’ve with his first two selections.

With a league-high 13 picks to play around with, the Chiefs had the ammunition to go in a number of different directions. And with the full understanding that they wanted to stockpile picks as part of as complete a makeover job as the NFL has seen in years, the Chiefs were surely tempted to trade down even more. But ultimately, they saw golden opportunities to take premier talents, even if it went against their overarching 2008 draft philosophy of quantity over quality.

We’re still just at the end of the first round, but so far this draft class is shaping up as one that could save the future of the franchise. And if the future unfolds as brightly as they’re hoping, the once vilified Peterson should be able to regain his good name.

The Ravens traded recently their recently acquired first-round pick (No. 26) and third-round pick (No. 89) as well as a sixth-round pick (No. 173) to Houston for the No. 18 pick. Baltimore's selection: Delaware QB Joe Flacco, the mystery man in this draft, a big, strong-armed pocket passer who probably will get every chance to beat out Kyle Boller and Troy Smith to start in his first NFL season.

Was this a high price for Baltimore to pay? Absolutely. But the Ravens clearly believed someone was going to move up between picks 18-25 to get a quarterback. And they were not taking that risk.

Personally, I think Flacco has an uphill battle to start in his first season unless he 1) clearly outplays the other quarterbacks and 2) wins over the veterans, and don't underestimate that aspect -- this is a team that suffered through a terrible season in '07, and rebuilding is not something the veterans don't have time for.

Boller, flawed as he is, might give Baltimore the best chance to be competitive in 2008.

The Texans now have seven draft picks. Expect them to address the defense with the 26th pick.