Draft Footnotes
Tuesday December 7, 2004
• The current NFL Draft order has been updated to reflect the order of selection in next year's draft if the season were to end today.
• Texas linebacker Derrick Johnson won the Bronko Nagurski Award in Charlotte on Monday night, cementing his status as college football's top defensive player. The award is given annually to the nation's outstanding defensive player by the FWAA/Charlotte TD Club, and will certainly not hurt Johnson's draft value. He is currently projected as a top-10 pick next spring, and in my view, is a special player who will make a big impact immediately in the NFL.
• Another underclassman you can probably safely pencil into your latest mock draft is Mathias Kiwanuka. It is believed that the junior defensive end from Boston College will declare for the 2005 NFL Draft shortly after his team plays in the Continental Tire Bowl. He has the potential to be an impact player in the NFL, and will be looked at very closely by teams in need of a consistent pass rusher.
• Tennessee OT Michael Munoz's shoulder injury is looking like more of a problem than was originally thought and could very well affect his draft status in April. Munoz had surgery on a torn rotator cuff last week, and could be on the shelf for up to six months. He already has a history of injuries, including a serious knee injury in 2001, so his long-tern durability is a concern for NFL scouts. Munoz has been projected as a potential late-first rounder, but this latest setback could see him slip into the second and possibly beyond.
• Southern California QB Matt Leinart said last summer that he will return for his senior year at USC, and after last week's win at UCLA, he said again he would return. But when asked about the possibility of entering the 2005 NFL Draft, he told reporters, "I'm not foolish; I'm going to look and see what is there."
It sounds to me like Leinart has not completely closed his mind to the possibility of going pro, and as I maintained in an earlier report, he will most likely forego his senior year should his Trojans win another national championship.
• Texas linebacker Derrick Johnson won the Bronko Nagurski Award in Charlotte on Monday night, cementing his status as college football's top defensive player. The award is given annually to the nation's outstanding defensive player by the FWAA/Charlotte TD Club, and will certainly not hurt Johnson's draft value. He is currently projected as a top-10 pick next spring, and in my view, is a special player who will make a big impact immediately in the NFL.
• Another underclassman you can probably safely pencil into your latest mock draft is Mathias Kiwanuka. It is believed that the junior defensive end from Boston College will declare for the 2005 NFL Draft shortly after his team plays in the Continental Tire Bowl. He has the potential to be an impact player in the NFL, and will be looked at very closely by teams in need of a consistent pass rusher.
• Tennessee OT Michael Munoz's shoulder injury is looking like more of a problem than was originally thought and could very well affect his draft status in April. Munoz had surgery on a torn rotator cuff last week, and could be on the shelf for up to six months. He already has a history of injuries, including a serious knee injury in 2001, so his long-tern durability is a concern for NFL scouts. Munoz has been projected as a potential late-first rounder, but this latest setback could see him slip into the second and possibly beyond.
• Southern California QB Matt Leinart said last summer that he will return for his senior year at USC, and after last week's win at UCLA, he said again he would return. But when asked about the possibility of entering the 2005 NFL Draft, he told reporters, "I'm not foolish; I'm going to look and see what is there."
It sounds to me like Leinart has not completely closed his mind to the possibility of going pro, and as I maintained in an earlier report, he will most likely forego his senior year should his Trojans win another national championship.
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