The NFL's Top Five Prognosticators

As fans, we have always enjoyed it when we are able to get the latest NFL news from our favorite source.  I know that I liked it when I first heard early in the day that the Bears were courting Julius Peppers, hours before they signed him, and I heard it from a very reliable NFL source. 

Don’t we all like hearing what our favorite team may do before they do it?  Doesn’t that make you excited?

In my many years of being a fan of the league as well as covering it, I have liked several guys that brought me the latest NFL news early and made it relevant.  Lately, it seems that the number of these prognosticators has grown and the information that we get has gotten worse. 

However, there are some guys that we can still trust out there to get us timely and accurate information on our favorite teams or for the NFL as a whole.

So, without further adieu, here is a listing of five guys that we can trust to get us all timely and accurate information related to the NFL.  This list is in no particular order.

1.  Michael Lombardi - NFL Network

The nice thing about Lombardi, like some of the other guys, is that he’s been in the league before (in management) and he knows people, which really helps him get accurate information. 

I have never seen an instance where Lombardi has been wrong about the information that he has passed along to fans.  He is quiet, concise, and really knows his stuff. 

He is a great source of information.

2.  Adam Schefter - ESPN

Schefter went from the NFL Network to ESPN and may have made a wise decision.  Schefter may not always be “spot on,” but he provides some decent news and it’s enough to keep us interested and wanting more. 

Schefter seems to have some good sources and his information is very timely, which makes it important to keep track of what he’s saying on a regular basis.  He always has something to report.

3.  John Clayton - ESPN

Clayton has improved his delivery and timeliness of the information that he has provided and is one of the most respected prognosticators in the industry. 

He is always on time with the information that he presents and ESPN gives him enough air time that he seems to always be available for fans to listen to, and that’s one of the many things that makes Clayton one of the best in the business.

He has also built up quite a group of contacts in the NFL that provide him with some of the best information around.  If you want the latest and greatest information, then listening to Clayton will give you exactly what you want time and again, and he researches what he says before he says it.

4.  Jason LaCanfora - NFL Network

One thing I noticed about LaCanfora is that he sometimes gets ahead of himself when discussing hot topics.  It’s almost as if he tries to predict what is going to happen before it actually happens. 

Aside from that, LaCanfora has a seemingly endless amount of NFL news to talk about all the time and get’s the jump on many other prognosticators when it comes to getting the news early.

While his coverage of the 2010 NFL Draft left a little something to be desired, he was still on top of things, and his news and rumor reporting has gotten much better since April.

5.  Jay Glazer - Fox/MSN

Some people may scoff at Glazer’s selection to this list, but when you read his stuff online, you get a sense that Jay has some kind of “connection” with the NFL that some of these other guys don’t have.  If you want to read news and rumors about specific players much more than you would general, team-related NFL news, Glazer is your guy.

He seems to be in touch with the players and has developed key relationships with some of today’s biggest NFL stars.

His highlights and updates on Sundays (during the FOX pregame show) are always timely and very important to pay attention to. He he brings a different spin on some of the news that we get out of the NFL.  He’s an asset on Sundays.

Please let me know what you think of this list. Is there anyone missing?  Anyone who doesn’t belong on here?