from NFL.com:

STOCK UP
Tony Pike, Cincinnati, QB
It's way too early to judge Pike's ability to grasp a pro offense, but based on his performance during his initial practice, it is apparent that he has the arm strength to make all of the throws on the next level. He showed good touch on his intermediate and deep balls, but still needs to improve his consistency and accuracy from the pocket. While some of his struggles can be attributed to him adjusting to take snaps from under center, Pike's upside has to be encouraging for teams hoping that he can make a quick transition from a spread offensive system to a conventional pro-style scheme.

STOCK DOWN
Mardy Gilyard, Cincinnati, WR
The "do-it-all" playmaker earned rave reviews throughout the season due to his dependable hands and game-changing ability. However, he had his struggles holding onto the ball during his first practice, and didn't look like a prototypical No.1 receiver. To his credit, Gilyard did flash some explosiveness with the ball in his hands, but he has to show more consistency as a pass catcher to remain among the elite receivers in this year's draft class.

COMPLTE ARTICLE

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With their loss today, the 2010 NFL draft order has been set for the first pick.  The St. Louis Rams get to choose the first player once again as they did in 1997 when they picked Orlando Pace. Detroit has the

second pick with the lions once again coming in near the top of the list.

Many of the picks are set but have changed hands due to previously announced trades.  The Broncos  get Chicago's pick, San Francisco 49ers get Carolina's pick, and Seattle get the Broncos pick.

The top ten list is set as follows for the 2010 NFL Draft:

1 St. Louis Rams
2 Detroit Lions
3 Kansas City Chiefs
4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
5 Cleveland Browns
6 Washington Redskins
7 Buffalo Bills
8 Oakland Raiders
9 Seattle Seahawks
10 Denver Broncos

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There have been questions about how well Tim Tebow's game translates to the NFL and specifically the quarterback position, but NFL.com's Gil Brandt thinks that Tebow is the top quarterback prospect in next year's class. He goes on to say that he expects Tebow to be a Top 10 pick in next year's draft:

"Tebow will be a third-year starter in 2009. He has thrown 67 touchdown passes and only 11 interceptions in the past three years. He will have a new quarterback coach this year, Scott Loeffler, who came from the NFL. Tebow should be a top-10 pick in the 2010 draft."

Brandt also has UC quarterback Tony Pike on his list of top prospects. He has Pike ranked as the seventh best quarterback propsect and had this to say about him:

"Pike didn't play a lot until 2005 -- had some up-and-down games and finished the season throwing four interceptions vs. Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. He does have upside, but will need to show more consistency."

COMPLETE ARTICLE

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Here's my first fantasy take on this year's NFL Draft (all info based on non-keeper leagues for 2009 only)...

QUARTERBACK
Matthew Stafford (DET) - Going to the Lions didn't help Stafford. Throwing to Calvin Johnson will, however. I don't anticipate Daunte Culpepper as being too much of a hurdle and Stafford's strong arm and accurate passing make him appealing. Still, the Lions went 0-16 last year and I don't care if it is Dan Marino coming in as a rookie, I'm going to recommend him only as a free agent pick-up until further notice.

Mark Sanchez (NYJ) - Of the rookie QB's, Sanchez has the most appeal to me. It is not as much as his talent or ability, rather the enviroment he is in. Like Stafford, there isn't much veteran competition for him to compete with. Unlike Stafford he was drafted by a playoff-caliber football team. I would take a late-round flyer on him if I have a solid QB1 already in the fold.

Josh Freeman (TB) - Freeman declared himself the best at the position in his draft class, but he has to prove it before I am ready to agree. Expect Byron Leftwich and Luke McCown to battle for the job early, but Freeman will take advantage if he ever gets a shot. Of the three listed here, he has the least fantasy value at this point heading into next year.

RUNNING BACK
Knowshown Moreno (DEN) - Being the first rookie RB taken doesn't always guarantee instant success. Moreno will be closer to Adrian Peterson than he will be Darren McFadden. Going to Denver is a great fit for the dynamic playmaker. There is a ton of depth in the Broncos' backfield, but anticipate Moreno getting the bulk of the load early in the season. I'm not ready to tab him a RB1, but he is nice pick as a RB2 with great upside.

Donald Brown (IND) - The Colts wanted Brown and didn't waste anytime going after when he was there near the end of the first round. With Dominic Rhodes out of the picture and Addai injury prone, Brown will be good for 10+ touches per game in one of the league's best offenses. That number goes up if Addai goes down. He's not a lock for playing time early though, so he should only be considered as a backup initially. A nice find in the mid-to-late rounds of your draft.

Beanie Wells (ARI) - Playing in a good offense won't be the problem, though I am still not convinced that Arizona possesses that great of a run-blocking line. There is also second-year running back Tim Hightower to consider. I look for the two of them to approach a 50/50 split by season's end. There is some durability concern with Wells and I still would much rather have Hightower at this point.

LeSean McCoy (PHI) - I love what the Eagles did in the draft and McCoy is a big reason why. He's the perfect fit in the offense and with the team wanting to ease Westrbook's worlkoad he's going to have a great chance to prove himself early and often. With him falling to Round 2 he will likely provide more value this coming August in your draft and outside of Moreno has just as much upside of any rookie back long-term.

Shonn Green (NYJ) - I like him as my "darkhorse pick". He scored 14 touchdowns in finals six games last year at Iowa and with the Thomas Jones' contract talks souring, Green's future in the Jets' backfield may take off sooner than others think. He's a guy to stash away in the back of your mind and steal on draft day.

**COMING SOON: Wide Receivers/Tight Ends**

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FantasySportsGirl.com weighs in on the Bengals' draft...

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The 2009 NFL Draft came and went this weekend with plenty of storylines...

J-E-T-S LAND SANCHEZ: The Jets moved up to the No. 5 spot and got their quarterback of the future. Sanchez certainly has the star power to make it the Big Apple. The question is does he have enough experience on the college level to be successful in the pros? I don't see what all those concerns are about. He fits the team and has proven in big games he can get it done. All the pieces are in place around him to be successful. They did give up anything, but role players to get him and that is what makes it a great deal!

AL MAKES MIKE LOOK GOOD: There's no doubting that Derrius Heyward-Bay has some upside, but taking him over Michael Crabtree is a HUGE stretch, but that was nothing compared to the Raiders reaching for Ohio cornerback Mike Mitchell in Round 2. The hard-hitting and fast Mitchell wasn't invited to the NFL scouting combine. He wasn't even on the draft board of at least two teams. Raiders' owner Al Davis can even make Bengals' fans feel good about Mike Brown.

GO BEARCATS: The University of Cincinnati football team had a record-setting NFL Draft with five selections on day two of the annual event for six overall draft picks. Kevin Huber (fifth), DeAngelo Smith (fifth), Brandon Underwood (sixth), Mike Mickens (sixth), and Trevor Canfield (seventh) all were second-day picks, while Connor Barwin (second) was a day-one choice. UC's six overall draft choices was the most in school history, bettering the previous mark of five, which had occurred three times, in 1998, 1960, and 1947. The six selections were the most of any BIG EAST school, and the Bearcats were one of nine institutions in the nation with six or more players drafted.

MORENO FINDS A GOOD HOME: I really like Knowshown Moreno going to the Broncos. The franchise really needed to have a good draft to take some of the heat off for trading franchise quarterback Jay Cutler. I'm not sure if they did that or not, but Moreno makes for a stellar fit in what is expected to be hybrid of the old Mike Shanahan zone-blocking scheme and New England's gap-running scheme under new coach Josh McDaniels. He was the best pass-catching back in the draft and that will greatly help Kyle Orton's transition as the team's starter. Just look at last year's success Orton had with rookie running back Matt Forte.

OFFENSIVE BOOST IN PHILLY - The Eagles needed to add some weapons for Donovan McNabb and they did so in a big way landing wide receiver Jeremy Maclin in the first round, followed by running back LeSean McCoy in Round 2. Both are great fits for what Philly needs to do to stay amongst the elite in the NFC and I think they come out of the NFL Draft as the favorites in the NFC East for 2009.

SOUTH CAROLINA KICKER MR. IRRELEVANT - The final pick of the draft, ending the 15-hour, 15-minute extravaganza, was South Carolina placekicker Ryan Succop. Selected 256th overall by Kansas City, the 22-year-old Succop was a three-year regular kicker for the Gamecocks. He is expected to compete for the Chiefs' job.

NFL NETWORK VS. ESPN  - ESPN has been doing the NFL Draft for as long as I can remember, but I did make a point this weekend to watch some of the NFL Network's coverage. While ESPN seemed to have a better prodcution, I still preferred the Rich Eisen-led crew of Boomer and Mel Kiper. Erin Andrews on Day 1 on the floor definitely made ESPN more appealing, but after that it was over to NFL Network and I did not turn back.

NFL nfl draft

What conference breeds the most NFL talent? The SEC once again...

1. SEC- 37
2. ACC- 32
3. Pac 10- 31
4. Big 12- 29
5. Big Ten- 28
6. Big East- 26
7. Mountain West- 16
8. (Tie) MAC, WAC, C-USA- 10
11. Sun Belt- 2

Non D-I FBS- 23

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Nine of the Bengals 11 draft picks came on Day 2...

Round: 3a (No. 70 overall)
Player: Michael Johnson
College: Georgia Tech
Position: DE
Height: 6-7
Weight: 266
Comment (from FootballsFuture.com): He was a full time starter for the first time as a senior, and had a very productive season. Johnson finished the year with 43 tackles, 15 for loss, seven sacks, a pick, and even broke up seven passes. Johnson is a potential game changer off the edge. He is a phenomenal athlete, with excellent quickness and agility, along with the speed to close and finish plays

Round: 3b (No. 98 overall)
Player: Chase Coffman
College: Missouri
Position: TE
Height: 6-6
Weight: 244
Comment (from FootballsFuture.com): Coffman is a very difficult match up for opposing teams. He has a long, lean frame and knows how to get open. He can find the soft spot in a zone and set up for his QB or go up in one on one situations and pull down the ball over the defender.

Round: 4 (No. 106 overall)
Player: Jonathan Luigs
College: Arkansas
Position: C
Height: 6-4
Weight: 301
Comment (from FootballsFuture.com): Luigs is a physical lineman that is always looking to put a body on a defender. He battles on every snap and will not be outworked on the field.

Player: Kevin Huber
College: Cincinnati
Position: P
Height: 6-1
Weight: 221
Comment: The former Bearcat and McNicholas star stays home after an impressive college career with UC. He should enter 2009 as the front-runner for the job with the team investing such a high pick on him. It is the highest the team has selected a kicker or punter since the infamous 4th round selection of Travis Dorsch earlier in the decade.

Round: 6a (No. 179 overall)
Player: Morgan Trent
College: Michigan
Position: CB
Height: 6-1
Weight: 193
Comment: The former Wolverine has the ability to play physical at the line, but will need to prove useful on speical teams to make impact on this roster. He was originally recruited at Michigan as a receiver, so he does have some versatility and athletic ability that will both help his cause.

Round: 6b (No. 209 overall)
Player: Bernard Scott
College: Abilene Christian
Position: RB
Height: 5-10
Weight: 200
Comment: He fits the team's perception as a trouble maker after numerous run-ins with the police and being kicked off both his high school and college teams. He enters the league at 25 after missing much of the last three seasons with off-the-field issues.

Round: 7a (No. 215 overall)
Player: Fui Vakapuna
College: Brigham Young
Position: FB
Height: 5-11
Weight: 244
Comment: He is a nice value pick here and provides the Bengals with some much-needed depth at the position.

Round: 7b (No. 249 overall)
Player: Clinton McDonald
College: Memphis
Position: DT
Height: 6-2
Weight: 283
Comment: An ankle injury cost him a good chunk of his senior season and allowed him to fall to this spot in the draft.

Round: 7c (No. 252 overall)
Player: Freddie Brown
College: Utah
Position: WR
Height: 6-3
Weight: 215
Comment: Gave everybody a glimpse of what he could do in last year's big Sugar Bowl performance and finsihed '08 with 77 catches for 900 yards.

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