2011 NFL Draft: 10 Prospects Who Compare Favorably to Super Bowl XLV Stars
With Super Bowl XLV in the books, football fans everywhere turn their attention to this April's NFL Draft. Experts have been evaluating prospects for months, determining who has potential in the NFL.
We'll let those draft gurus use their favorite combine metrics—40-yard dash, broad jump and all that stuff—to figure out how prospects will translate to the next level. But let us not forget about the good old fashioned eye test.
Watching Super Bowl XLV, it was easy to draw some comparisons between players in that game and some players expected to be drafted in the first round.
Here are 10 first-rounders to be and the "Big Game" participants they most resemble.
10. Bryan Bulaga and Gabe Carimi
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Green Bay's right tackle and Wisconsin's left tackle both came out of college known as powerful run blockers. But both are more nimble in pass protection than they are given credit for.
Bulaga was just a rookie this season but transitioned well from Iowa's run-heavy offense to just the opposite at Green Bay.
Carimi will have to undergo a similar transition, although maybe not as drastic. It's run, run, run at Wisconsin. The pro game requires more pass protection and Carimi is up for it.
9. B.J. Raji and Marcell Dareus
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Defensive tackle is one of the most important positions in football because of the impact a good player can have.
The Packers' B.J. Raji has about 50 pounds on the Crimson Tides' Marcell Dareus, but their ability to both stuff the run and get after the quarterback is very similar.
Raji is a bit better against the run. Dareus is a bit better against the pass. Both can anchor a defense.
Dareus has to improve his work ethic to be on the same level as Raji.
8. LaMarr Woodley and Von Miller
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If Texas A&M's Von Miller puts on some weight, he'll end up looking a lot like Pittsburgh's LaMarr Woodley. His game already resembles Woodley's.
Both players are tremendous pass rushers with the lateral quickness and strength to play the run.
Miller relies heavily on speed to get to the quarterback. That will be useful in the NFL but so would some more muscle for taking on NFL offensive tackles.
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7.Aaron Rodgers and Blaine Gabbert
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Missouri's Blaine Gabbert has the build of an NFL quarterback. He also has the arm and the accuracy. However, it's hard to tell if any of these attribute are on the same level as Aaron Rodgers.
But Gabbert looks ready to fine tune his skills. After all, Rodgers was underestimated as he dropped to 24th overall in the draft. Gabbert was originally seen as a mid-to-late first round pick before Stanford's Andrew Luck took his name out of contention.
6. James Harrison and Robert Quinn
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The scary thing is that North Carolina's Robert Quinn is faster and generally more athletic than Pittsburgh's James Harrison. That's Harrison...one of the NFL's premier pass rushers.
Now it's easy to see why Quinn is regarded so highly even after missing this past season due to expulsion.
Listed as a DE, Quinn will translate into the NFL defensive end/linebacker hybrid role that Harrison currently holds. This will help him take advantage of both his pass rushing abilities and lateral quickness.
5. Tramon Williams and Patrick Peterson
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LSU's Patrick Peterson and Green Bay's Tramon Williams are both scary corners for a quarterback to throw at. Peterson is more of the lock-down variety that rarely allows his receiver to get open. Williams often deceives quarterbacks into throwing his way so that he can make a play on the ball.
Both of them are tremendously dangerous CB's once they have their hands on the ball...which explains why both also return punts.
4. Greg Jennings and Julio Jones
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Size and strength are the attributes that make Green Bay's Greg Jennings and Alabama's Julio Jones rare commodities. They both also have top end speed and adequate hands.
Jones needs to work on his ball skills for the next level, catching with his hands instead of using his body to trap passes.
Jennings displayed that ability on his second touchdown in Super Bowl XLV, extending his arms to secure the ball before getting his feet down in the end zone.
3. Clay Matthews and Da'Quan Bowers
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Beastly. That's the best adjective to describe both Clemson's Da'Quan Bowers and Green Bay's Clay Matthews.
Matthews is a defensive end disguised as a linebacker. His burst off the line of scrimmage and sheer determination make him one of the most dangerous players in the NFL.
Bowers has all the physical attributes to be the same type of pro. He's shown the desire to play hard. But overall, Bowers can take cues from Matthews on how to convert ability into productivity.
2. Rashard Mendenhall and Mark Ingram
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What's lost in the games of Alabama's Mark Ingram and Pittsburgh's Rashard Mendenhall is their agility and speed. It's easy to recognize their respective strength, but don't forget about their ability to lose a defender with lateral and vertical quickness.
Mendenhall will never be an All-Pro running back. But he'll also never be a scrub. He's set to be a perennial 1,000-yard rusher. We'll have to see more from Ingram to be sure of the same thing. But his running style looks very much like that of Mendenhall.
1. Brett Keisel and Cameron Heyward
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The Steelers' Brett Keisel is strong, deceivingly athletic and very heady. The same description can be used for Ohio State's Cameron Heyward.
Both are primarily defensive ends with the ability to move to tackle because of their strength. They both have a knack for batting passes down and both can drop into coverage effectively.
Neither are human highlight reels. But they both have the abilities to be sound pros because of their complete games.
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