2011 NFL Draft: Top Ten Seniors at Each Position

We’ve just passed the New Year’s Day post in the college football bowl season race and you know what that means: a flood of draft declarations is on the horizon.

Between now and Jan. 15, we’re going to hear a lot of college football’s top underclassmen announce their intention to go pro, even with the threat of a potential NFL lockout.

We already have six juniors (UCONN RB Jordan Todman, Maryland WR Torrey Smith, Southern Miss WR DeAndre Brown, USC DT Jurrell Casey, USC OT Tyron Smith, and Texas CB Aaron Williams) who have renounced their final year of eligibility in order to pursue a professional football career .

We have reports of players like superstar receivers A.J. Green and Jonathan Baldwin, who are said to be heavily favoring leaving college for the NFL.

We also have hunches about a number of other underclassmen such as LSU CB Patrick Peterson, Auburn DT Nick Fairley, Auburn QB Cam Newton, Clemson DE Da’Quan Bowers and other big names who are expected to head to the pros at the conclusion of the season.

Because the senior class is severely lacking true top-notch talent at certain positions and thin as a group overall, the elite junior players will likely be the talk of this year’s draft coverage. That doesn’t mean, however, that the senior class is without any game changing type of players.

There are more than a few seniors in this year’s class who have the potential to be stars down the line, but we’re still going to have to wait and see how each of them performs during the postseason evaluation period.

The Senior Bowl is in a few weeks and the combine will follow that in February. Those two events should help everyone get a good gauge on many of this year’s prospects.

Here’s a look at the top seniors at each position as we prepare for the ever-important Senior Bowl week in late January.

Quarterback

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

TUCSON, AZ - OCTOBER 23: Quarterback Jake Locker #10 of the Washington Huskies drops back to pass during the college football game against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium on October 23, 2010 in Tucson, Arizona. The Wildcats defeated the Huskies 4

1. Jake Locker, Washington

2. Tyrod Taylor, Virginia Tech

3. Christian Ponder, Florida State

4. Ricky Stanzi, Iowa

5. Colin Kaepernick, Nevada

6. Andy Dalton, TCU

7. Pat Devlin, Delaware

8. Greg McElroy, Alabama

9. Jeff Van Camp, Florida Atlantic

10. Nathan Enderle, Idaho

Running Back

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

LAWRENCE, KS - NOVEMBER 20: Running back Kendall Hunter #24 of the Oklahoma State Cowboys carries the ball during the game against the Kansas Jayhawks on November 20, 2010 at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

1. Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State

2. Bilal Powell, Louisville

3. Daniel Thomas, Kansas State

4. Da’Rel Scott, Maryland

5. DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma

6. Noel Devine, West Virginia

7. Derrick Locke, Kentucky

8. Jonathan Williams, East Carolina

9. Delone Carter, Syracuse

10. Evan Royster, Penn State

Wide Receiver

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

LAS VEGAS - OCTOBER 30: Jeremy Kerley #85 of the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs runs for yardage against the UNLV Rebels at Sam Boyd Stadium October 30, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. TCU won 48-6. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

1. Jeremy Kerley, TCU

2. Leonard Hankerson, Miami

3. Chris Matthews, Kentucky

4. Titus Young, Boise State

5. Jerrel Jernigan, Troy State

6. Denarius Moore, Tennessee

7. Vincent Brown, San Diego State

8. Dwayne Harris, East Carolina

9. Ronald Johnson, USC

10. Niles Paul, Nebraska

Offensive Tackle

Mississippi State OT Derek Sherrod

1. Derek Sherrod, Mississippi State

2. Nate Solder, Colorado

3. Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin

4. Anthony Castonzo, Boston College

5. Marcus Cannon, TCU

6. DeMarcus Love, Arkansas

7. Willie Smith, East Carolina

8. James Brewer, Indiana

9. Lee Ziemba, Auburn

10. Derek Hall, Stanford

Interior Offensive Lineman

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

TALLAHASSEE, FL - NOVEMBER 27: Rodney Hudson #62 of the Florida State Seminoles celebrates a touchdown during a game against the Florida Gators at Doak Campbell Stadium on November 27, 2010 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

1. Rodney Hudson, Florida State

2. Ben Ijalana, Villanova

3. Jake Kirkpatrick, TCU

4. Stefen Wisniewski, Penn State

5. Keith Williams, Nebraska

6. John Moffitt, Wisconsin

7. Mike Pouncey, Florida

8. Zach Hurd, UConn

9. Orlando Franklin, Miami

10. Sampson Genus, South Florida

Defensive End

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

TUCSON, AZ - SEPTEMBER 25: Quarterback Nick Foles #8 of the Arizona Wildcats is pressured into throwing an incomplete pass by Cameron Jordan #97 of the California Bears during the first quarter of the college football game at Arizona Stadium on September

1. Cameron Jordan, Cal

2. Adrian Clayborn, Iowa

3. Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue

4. Jeremy Beal, Oklahoma

5. Allen Bailey, Miami

6. Sam Acho, Texas

7. Brandon Bair, Oregon

8. Greg Romeus, Pitt

9. Cliff Matthews, South Carolina

10. Michael Lemon, North Carolina State

Defensive Tackle

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

COLUMBIA, MO - NOVEMBER 07: Defensive tackle Phil Taylor #11 of the Baylor Bears watches from the bench during the game against the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium on November 7, 2009 in Columbia, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Get

1. Phil Taylor, Baylor

2. Drake Nevis, LSU

3. Cameron Heyward, Ohio State

4. Stephen Paea, Oregon State

5. Christian Ballard, Iowa

6. Sione Fua, Stanford

7. Jarvis Jenkins, Clemson

8. Marvin Austin, North Carolina

9. Jerrell Powe, Ole Miss

10. Terrell McClain, South Florida

Inside Linebacker

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

EVANSTON, IL - OCTOBER 23: Greg Jones #53 of the Michigan State Spartans awaits the start of play against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field on October 23, 2010 in Evanston, Illinois. Michigan State defeated Northwestern 35-27. (Photo by Jonathan Dan

1. Greg Jones, Michigan State

2. Quan Sturdivant, North Carolina

3. Kelvin Sheppard, LSU

4. Jonathan Cornell, Ole Miss

5. Josh Bynes, Auburn

6. Alex Wujciak, Maryland

7. Nate Irving, North Carolina State

8. Mike Mohamed, Cal

9. Brad Jefferson, Georgia Tech

10. Casey Matthews, Oregon

Outside Linebacker

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

CHAPEL HILL, NC - NOVEMBER 08: Linebacker Bruce Carter #54 of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts after a defensive stop against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the game at Kenan Stadium on November 8, 2008 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo

1. Bruce Carter, North Carolina

2. Von Miller, Texas A&M

3. Mason Foster, Washington

4. Dontay Moch, Nevada

5. K.J. Wright, Mississippi State

6. Mark Herzlich, Boston College

7. Michael Morgan, USC

8. Chris Carter, Fresno State

9. Quentin Davie, Northwestern

10. Lawrence Wilson, UConn

Cornerback

Colorado CB Jimmy Smith

1. Jimmy Smith, Colorado

2. Prince Amukamara, Nebraska

3. Brandyn Thompson, Boise State

4. Curtis Brown, Texas

5. Ras-I Dowling, Virginia

6. Chimdi Chekwa, Ohio State

7. Johnny Patrick, Louisville

8. Shareece Wright, USC

9. Kevin Rutland, Missouri

10. Brandon Hogan, West Virginia

Safety

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

GAINESVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 04: Safety Ahmad Black #35 of the Florida Gators runs after making an interception against the Miami University RedHawks at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 4, 2010 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty

1. Ahmad Black, Florida

2. Quinton Carter, Oklahoma

3. Deunta Williams, North Carolina

4. Jaiqwuan Jarrett, Temple

5. DeAndre McDaniel, Clemson

6. Tejay Johnson, TCU

7. Nate Williams, Washington

8. Jermale Hines, Ohio State

9. Joe Lefeged, Rutgers

10. David Simms, Iowa State