National Signing Day 2018: Pro-Player Comparisons for the Top 10 Recruits

Recruiting is such an inexact science that it's difficult to predict who's going to boom and who's going to bust, especially when you're talking about 17- and 18-year-old kids. But a large number of players in the 2018 class look like they're "can't-misses."

But how high are their ceilings?

While it's a bit unfair to compare players who've yet to test their skills against the nation's top college players—much less the best of the best in the NFL—it's fun to project best-case scenarios. For instance, nobody thinks stud quarterback Trevor Lawrence is Matt Ryan, but can he be if he reaches his potential?

All of these guys have similar attributes to household names who anchor NFL teams all over the country. Whether they reach those mountaintops depends on how they grow, develop, learn and mature.

So, as we approach national signing day, let's take a look at the nation's top 10 players according to the 247Sports Composite rankings and compare each to an NFL player. This may be a tall task, but recruiting is all about projections, anyway.

Why not shoot for the stars?

10. Jamaree Salyer: Georgia Offensive Guard (Signed)

Credit: 247Sports

6'4", 342-pound offensive guard, Pace Academy (Atlanta)

Pro Comparison: Brandon Brooks

It has been quite a year for Philadelphia Eagles offensive guard Brooks, who has become a poster child for overcoming anxiety disorder, made the Pro Bowl and played in his first Super Bowl on Sunday. 

That's a massive season for the 6'5", 346-pound former mauler from Miami (Ohio) University.

Jamaree Salyer has a long way to go to before he can reach all those accolades, but the newly signed Georgia Bulldog has that body type, strength and potential if he continues to develop. Once Salyer works on his balance and technique, he's going to be a road-grading force.

He has the height to hold that amount of weight, and though Salyer's body needs some reshaping, he is the type of player who can make an immediate impact for Georgia. 

You cannot teach size like Salyer's. Brooks played at a MAC school, yet he became a known name in the NF and has turned into one of the league's best linemen. Salyer will get some of the best coaching in college from one of the country's best offensive line coaches in Sam Pittman. 

That's great news for Salyer's ceiling, which is extremely high. Any time you compare favorably to an All-Pro, that's a good start. Now, the Pace Academy product needs to build on that and work his way into stardom.

9. Zamir White: Georgia Running Back (Signed)

Credit: 247Sports

6'1", 220-pound running back, Scotland County HS (Laurinburg, N.C.)

Pro Comparison: Ezekiel Elliott

Zamir White was one of the best high school running backs in a long time before a knee injury cut his high school career short. If he returns from that setback, White is going to be a formidable force for the Bulldogs.

Yes, coach Kirby Smart's team is losing Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, who put UGA on their shoulders and led them to the national championship game, but the way he's recruiting, he'll be able to replace them thanks to living-room wins like White. 

White has the ideal size-and-speed combination you're looking for in a complete back. It's reminiscent of Ezekiel Elliott, who shined at Ohio State before taking the NFL by storm as a rookie for the Dallas Cowboys in 2016.

He was suspended for some of this past year and didn't have as much of an impact when he did play, but Elliott is going to be a star in the NFL for a long time. While White has a long way to go to get there and must prove he can bounce back and stay healthy, he has that kind of upside.

The best thing about White is that run lanes aren't needed. He can run around defenders or bowl through them, and that's unteachable. "Zeke" has proven he can do that on the highest level.

White has the body and the motivation following the injury to prove he's one of the best. If he bounces back, he's good enough to earn immediate carries.

8. Justin Shorter: Penn State Wide Receiver (Signed)

Credit: 247Sports

6'4", 213-pound wide receiver, South Brunswick HS (Monmouth Junction, N.J.)

Pro Comparison: Mike Evans

Justin Shorter is a difficult player to gauge because his projections are all over the place. He just looks like he can line up and play at any position.

The athletic specimen could be a linebacker, safety or even tight end on the next level, but he projects as a big, physical pass-catcher that could give Penn State one of the scariest matchups in all of college football. 

Does he have a Calvin Johnson ceiling? That's possible, but he looks more like Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Evans with the way he high-points the ball, stiff-arms opponents and wreaks havoc on secondaries. He will fit into an ideal offensive system under coach James Franklin, and the Nittany Lions should be excited about his upside.

Kids as big as Shorter shouldn't be able to run like he does. He's an elite athlete, and he already is built like an NFL player. That's how Evans looked when he came into Texas A&M.

The only real question here is whether or not Shorter continues to grow. He's big enough, and a college weight room needs to help him maintain the physicality he already possesses without swelling him up if he wants to remain a receiver.

Shorter is going to play somewhere no matter what, and it's exciting to think of the type of player he can be if he continues to develop on offense. Evans can be as good as he wants to be, and with Jameis Winston throwing him the ball, he may emerge as the league's best receiver before long.

Shorter has the ability to dominate in the Big Ten soon as well.

7. Nicholas Petit-Frere: Uncommitted Offensive Tackle

Credit: 247Sports

6'6", 272-pound offensive tackle, Berkeley Preparatory School (Tampa, Fla.)

Pro Comparison: Ronnie Stanley

In a year where there aren't many instant-impact, high-ceiling offensive linemen, Nicholas Petit-Frere has that ability to blossom into a superstar.

Teams like Alabama, Florida, Notre Dame, Ohio State and others have coveted the Tampa native for a long time. He has the type of body and raw skills that can be molded into a franchise NFL left tackle.

When Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley came out of Bishop Gorman (Nev.) High School, one of the top programs in the nation, in 2012, he was a 6'6", 285-pound lineman who was raw himself. He went to Notre Dame, and the Fighting Irish quickly made him into a pro prospect.

Stanley was drafted sixth overall in 2016 by the Ravens and has emerged as one of the top tackles in the game, now weighing in at around 320 pounds. He's a long lineman who gets great leverage and has really improved his footwork in two years in the league.

It's not a stretch to think Petit-Frere could emerge into that type of player. He is athletic and not stiff at all, which is a great trait for a kid his size, particularly one with the frame to add more weight. He'll need to reshape his body to be able to make an impact on the college level.

Perhaps that's why he's not an immediate starter, but he has a high ceiling, and that's why everybody wants him. Once he gets the type of coaching he needs and lives in the weight room, he's going to be a stud.

6. Patrick Surtain Jr.: Uncommitted Cornerback

Credit: 247Sports

6'1", 199-pound cornerback, American Heritage HS (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Pro Comparison: Patrick Peterson

Maybe it's not fair to compare Patrick Surtain Jr. to the best cornerback in the NFL, but that's how highly I think of the Fort Lauderdale product with NFL All-Pro bloodlines.

He may just be the best cornerback prospect of the past decade, and he also should be higher on this list because there aren't five prospects better than him in this year's class. He's that good.

Surtain Jr. is blessed with exceptional size and length for his position, and he has ideal closing speed that can reach a second gear. He possesses great ball skills, and he knows what to do once he gets his hands on a pass and begins to take it in the other direction.

Perhaps the only thing missing from Surtain's game in comparing him to the Arizona Cardinals star is his physicality. While Peterson was at LSU, he won the Chuck Bednarik Award for the best defensive player in the nation and the Jim Thorpe Award as the country's top DB.

It's no surprise that Surtain is heavily considering the Tigers, with whom he can continue the "DBU" tradition on the Bayou. But Alabama coach Nick Saban is a known developer of defensive backs, and he is hot on Surtain's trail as well.

Sure, the lanky defender could wind up somewhere else, but it looks like it's going to come down to an old-school SEC West recruiting battle. The team that wins his signature will be getting a sure-fire star.

5. Micah Parsons: Penn State Strong-Side Defensive End (Signed)

Credit: 247Sports

6'3", 235-pound strong-side defensive end, Harrisburg HS (Harrisburg, Pa.)

Pro Comparison: Von Miller

For a while, Micah Parsons was the top-ranked player in the nation, and there's a good reason for that. Once you cut through the drama of his recruitment, the Harrisburg native wound up shrugging off a lot of the attention from the nation's best to stay home and play for the nearby Nittany Lions.

That's huge news for coach James Franklin, who has an instant-impact defender who is strong enough to play with his hand down and versatile enough to move around and rush the passer from the second level. 

Though Parsons projects as a defensive end in the Nittany Lions' 4-3 scheme, he already possesses the athleticism and quick-twitch ability to do a lot of things no matter what down or distance. That's why, if he continues to develop, he'll make NFL teams drool.

He reminds you a lot of Von Miller, who made an immediate impact at Texas A&M as a defensive end. Then, he moved back to the second level of a 4-3 defense and played outside linebacker.

His junior season, he played a hybrid defensive end/linebacker spot before moving to a pass-rushing outside 'backer in a 3-4 scheme as the team shifted philosophies. That's four positions in four years. Perhaps Parsons won't be asked to do that, but he can.

That's big news for his future drafter, who can choose to keep him with his hand down or leave him as an ideal 3-4 outside linebacker. That type of versatility makes Parsons very similar to the Denver Broncos' star defender and potential future Hall of Famer.

4. Eyabi Anoma: Alabama Weak-Side Defensive End (Signed)

Credit: 247Sports

6'5", 235-pound weak-side defensive end, St. Frances Academy (Baltimore)

Pro Comparison: Chandler Jones

Eyabi Anoma is one of the most exciting prospects of the entire class because he hasn't played football for too many years. Still, potential like his was enough for the top programs in the nation to come calling, and he chose to commit to the national champion Alabama Crimson Tide.

Where he'll wind up in Saban's 3-4 scheme is yet to be determined. Anoma is already at 235 pounds, and he has the type of frame that can comfortably hold 260 pounds for 300 pounds, depending on where the Tide need him. 

With his size and athleticism, he seems to have the ability to be one of the next great Crimson Tide defenders. If he blows up in Scott Cochran's strength and conditioning program, he very well could become the next Jonathan Allen playing with his hand down.

But I like him most as a pass-rushing outside linebacker in the mold of a player like Tim Williams or Ryan Anderson, who dominated for UA in 2016. Perhaps the best comparison for a guy with Anoma's versatility is Arizona Cardinals outside linebacker Chandler Jones.

The former New England Patriot played for Syracuse in college and is one of the league's best pass-rushers. He plays with the kind of relentless energy and quality technique it takes to be one of the best players in the NFL.

The only question here is whether Anoma will outgrow the type of player Jones is. The incoming prospect is already 235 pounds, just 10 pounds shy of Jones. So, this comparison really depends on where he winds up with the Tide.

3. Xavier Thomas: Clemson Strong-Side Defensive End (Signed)

Credit: 247Sports

6'3", 260-pound strong-side defensive end, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)

Pro Comparison: Vic Beasley

It's always fun (and easy) to compare a player going to a school to another player who once thrived for that same program. That's the case at Clemson, which has already signed KJ Henry (who looks like a perfect replacement and clone of Clelin Ferrell).

Now, it also looks like the Tigers have their next dominant edge-rusher. Xavier Thomas is the most athletic lineman in this class, and he resembles former Tiger and current Atlanta Falcons star Vic Beasley, who was one of Dabo Swinney's biggest and best recruiting victories.

The former ACC Defensive Player of the Year blew up in his final year with Clemson, and the Falcons took him with the No. 8 overall pick. After he got acclimated as a rookie, he dominated in 2016, registering 15.5 sacks and earning All-Pro recognition.

Beasley's speed and first step make him elite, and he's one of the hardest edge-rushers to defend for any tackle in the NFL.

Thomas has that same ability. Though he won't be that dominant right away, it will help that he played for the nation's top high school in IMG Academy. It is also a big deal that, while he may be too talented to keep off the field, the Tigers don't have to rush him into the starting lineup.

Swinney has recruited waves of talent in the front seven, and Clemson can afford to bring Thomas and classmate Henry along slowly. How Thomas responds will dictate his snaps, but once things click for him, he is going to be a star in the ACC.

2. Justin Fields: Georgia Quarterback (Signed)

Credit: 247Sports

6'3", 221-pound dual-threat quarterback, Harrison HS (Kennesaw, Ga.)

Pro Comparison: Deshaun Watson

Though many people (rightfully) love Trevor Lawrence, the best all-around signal-caller in this year's class is heading to Georgia. That's going to create a logjam in Athens, because Justin Fields is good enough to give Jake Fromm a race for the starting spot right away.

The Bulldogs are coming off a national championship game run where Fromm was a catalyst as a true freshman, but he can't do some of the things Fields can with his legs or arm. He's a generational talent under center.

Though some people have compared the Harrison High School product to another suburban Atlantan and former Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton, he's not quite that much of a physical specimen. But you can stay in North Georgia for the comparison, anyway.

Fields looks like a mirror image of former Clemson national championship-winning quarterback Deshaun Watson, who blossomed into one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks ever with the Tigers. Though he wasn't the top quarterback taken in last year's NFL draft, he may wind up being the best.

Watson was shredding defenses as a rookie with the Houston Texans before a season-ending injury, but he'll bounce back and be a threat once again. 

Fields is only beginning his career, and it's unclear just when he'll see the field with Fromm in the fold. But elite talents and competitors like him aren't afraid of competition, and he'll make it a difficult decision for Kirby Smart and offensive coordinator Jim Chaney.

There's plenty of time for him to reach his potential as the game's best quarterback.

1. Trevor Lawrence: Clemson Quarterback (Signed)

Credit: 247Sports

6'6", 208-pound pro-style quarterback, Cartersville HS (Cartersville, Ga.)

Pro Comparison:  Matt Ryan

Justin Fields may be more of a sure thing than Trevor Lawrence, but if the Cartersville product fills out and develops the way scouts think he will, he is a complete player as well.

Lawrence is way too skinny right now, as his 208 pounds don't come near filling out his towering frame, but that can be fixed quickly. He has the prototypical size, a whip-like throwing motion that leads to excellent zip on his passes, and there's no pass he can't make.

He is confident and plays with the swagger of a veteran quarterback who's already experienced success. That's going to be excellent as his leadership skills develop. He just looks like a franchise quarterback, much the same way Peyton Manning once did.

Another, newer player who had that same air about him also spent his college days in the ACC. Current Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was the ACC Player of the Year in 2007 for Boston College, long before he became an NFL MVP in 2016.

Ryan's size (6'4") and pocket presence are as good as anybody's in the league, and though he isn't big (217 pounds), he has a sturdy frame and stands tall over the line of scrimmage, giving him the ability to make any throw.

Lawrence already has two inches on Ryan, and he'll need to pack on about 15-20 more pounds than him to reach the size he needs to be durable, but a college weight program will do that. He'll blossom at Clemson, and he'll have the opportunity to win the job right away.

If he progresses the way he should, it won't be long before the Tigers are battling for another national championship.

Unless otherwise noted, stats are courtesy of Sports Reference and CFBStats.com, and recruiting data is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings.   

Brad Shepard covers college football for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter at @Brad_Shepard.