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In honor of the NCAA mandated 85 scholarship players rule, here are the 85 most NFL Draft eligible players of the 2014 class. This list is just a preseason watch list so things likely will change between now and the midpoint of the college season due to a myriad of reasons (injury, suspension, ineligibility, etc).
Trends I spotted:
- The defensive line class is loaded again in 2014. This is especially the case in the Pac-12 where multiple Top 85 members play. The good news for the Titans? GM Ruston Webster comes from a west coast background and loves to dip in the Pac-12 pool quite often during his short tenure here. If the Titans continue to show a need for a DE, they should head west to find one.
- Alabama and LSU are once again loaded on defense to no one's surprise.
Without further ado, here's my list!
| Name | H/W | School | Class | Notes |
| 1. Jadeveon Clowney DE | 6'6 275 | South Carolina | Junior | The best player in college football, no questions asked |
| 2. Taylor Lewan OT | 6'8 309 | Michigan | RS Senior | Was a top 5 lock in the 2013 NFL Draft |
| 3. Jake Matthews OT | 6'5 305 | Texas A&M | Junior | The Matthews have another pro ready talent in the family. Bruce's son |
| 4. Teddy Bridgewater QB | 6'3 218 | Louisville | Junior | Best overall QB in college football. Would've been drafted high in 2013 if eligible |
| 5. Anthony Barr DE/OLB | 6'4 235 | UCLA | Junior | Nation's premier pass rusher. Stood out in 2012 with a monster showing |
| 6. Bradley Roby CB | 5'11 190 | Ohio State | RS Sophomore | Will he continue the legacy of DB U North? Elite cover corner |
| 7. Cyrus Kouandjio OT | 6'6 311 | Alabama | Junior | All is not lost for Bama's rebuild as Mt. Cyrus is around to carry on the punishing road grading duties |
| 8. Tajh Boyd QB | 6'1 225 | Clemson | RS Junior | 2nd best QB in a deep class in 2014. Has Clemson ready to compete for the ACC title |
| 9. Marquise Lee WR | 6'0 195 | USC | Junior | Arguably the best WR in all of college last year. Produced even with underwhelming QB play. Robert Woods who? Biletnikoff Winner. I would let Nate Washington go and draft Lee next year. He's that good. |
| 10. Jackson Jeffcoat DE | 6'5 238 | Texas | Senior | Has the NFL bloodlines. Father Jim was a Cowboys great during the 1970s |
| 11. Sammy Watkins WR | 6'1 200 | Clemson | Junior | Electrified college football during frosh year but ran into problems in 2012. 2nd best WR in the nation behind Lee |
| 12, Louis Nix DE | 6'3 326 | Notre Dame | Senior | The leader of a talented ND DL that got hammered by Bama |
| 13. Kyle Van Noy DE | 6'3 235 | BYU | Senior | Ziggy Ansah who? KVN might be a bigger freak athlete. |
| 14. CJ Mosely LB | 6'2 232 | Alabama | Senior | The latest in a long line of NFL ready linebackers factory called Alabama |
| 15. Stephon Tuitt DE | 6'6 305 | Notre Dame | Junior | see Louis Nix |
| 16. Morgan Breslin DE/OLB | 6'2 250 | USC | Senior | JUCO transfer with 13 sacks in his first year as a Trojan |
| 17. Ka'Deem Carey RB | 5'10 198 | Arizona | RS Junior | Talented but off field history not so good with a domestic violence charge on record |
| 18. Jordan Matthews WR | 6'3 205 | Vanderbilt | Senior | Will he miss Aaron Rodgers' little brother in 2013? |
| 19. De'Anthony Thomas RB | 5'9 181 | Oregon | Junior | Possibly the fastest player in college football. Heisman candidate for 2013 |
| 20. Justin Gilbert CB | 6'0 200 | Oklahoma State | Senior | Nation's 2nd best corner with great return skills |
| 21. Christian Jones OLB | 6'4 232 | Florida State | Senior | Freak athlete on a defense full of them |
| 22. Ryan Shazier OLB | 6'2 222 | Ohio State | Junior | Ohio State's next great LB product? |
| 23. David Fales QB | 6'3 220 | SJSU | Senior | Most accurate QB in D-1 play in 2012 |
| 24. AJ McCarron QB | 6'4 210 | Alabama | RS Senior | Johnny Football may get all the pub but he's the true OG with the rings to back it up |
| 25. Lache Seastrunk RB | 5'10 210 | Baylor | RS Junior | More famous for being the subject of Oregon's NCAA issues |
| 26. Ifo Ekpre-Olomu | 5'10 190 | Oregon | Junior | Underrated corner for a very talented Ducks defense |
| 27. Dominique Easley DT | 6'2 280 | Florida | Junior | Leader of the feared Gators defense. Disruptive at the point of attack |
| 28. Colt Lyerla TE | 6'5 238 | Oregon | Junior | Another freak athlete for the Ducks offense and Antonio Gates clone. Would briefly consider Cut(ting) Stevens for him. |
| 29. Anthony Johnson DL | 6'3 304 | LSU | Junior | Seriously, does LSU ever run out of these guys? |
| 30. Louchiez Purifoy CB | 6'1 190 | Florida | Junior | |
| 31. Will Sutton DE/DT | 6'0 268 | Arizona State | Senior | |
| 32. Shayne Skov LB | 6'3 242 | Stanford | RS Senior | Shame knee injuries caught up to him. He's a talented one |
| 33. Aaron Murray QB | 6'1 212 | Georgia | RS Senior | |
| 34. HaHa Clinton-Dix S | 6'1 210 | Alabama | Junior | Nation's best safety prospect. Mark Barron who? |
| 35. Tim Jernigan DT | 6'2 298 | Florida State | Junior | Go watch his tape. It's good stuff |
| 36. AJ Johnson LB | 6'2 240 | Tennessee | Senior | Criminally underrated 'backer thanks to awful defense and program around him |
| 37. Austin Sefarian-Jenkins TE | 6'6 267 | Washington | Senior | More likely to get kicked off the team than to make it to the draft |
| 38. Marcus Roberson CB | 6'0 186 | Florida | Junior | Florida's other talented corner |
| 39. Aaron Lynch DE | 6'6 270 | USF via ND | RS Sophomore | Despite well accounted mommy issues, talented prospect |
| 40. Antonio Richardson OT | 6'6 332 | Tennessee | Junior | |
| 41. Aaron Colvin CB | 6'0 182 | Oklahoma | Senior | |
| 42. James Hurst OL | 6'7 310 | UNC | Senior | |
| 43. Gabe Jackson OL | 6'4 320 | Miss State | Senior | |
| 44. Quandre Diggs CB | 5'10 200 | Texas | Junior | Needs a solid 2013 to recover draft stock |
| 45. Bishop Sankey RB | 5'10 200 | Washington | Junior | Best player on a horrible team. See Locker, Jake for examples |
| 46. Cody Hoffman WR | 6'3 215 | BYU | Senior | Hey, remember when BYU had good QBs? Yeah, me neither. |
| 47. Derek Carr QB | 6'3 215 | Fresno State | RS Senior | David's little brother making a name for himself |
| 48. Dion Bailey S | 6'0 210 | USC | RS Junior | |
| 49. Andrew Jackson LB | 6'1 262 | Western Kentucky | Senior | cue President jokes here |
| 50. Bryan Stork C | 6'3 312 | Florida State | RS Senior | likely will extend Rick Trickett's OL coaching career much to the chagrin of FSU fans everywhere |
| 51. Cyril Richardson OL | 6'5 335 | Baylor | RS Senior | |
| 52. Mike Evans WR | 6'4 225 | Texas A&M | RS Sophomore | Johnny Football's top target has a chance to shine with Ryan Swope gone |
| 53. Daniel McCullers DT | 6'6 365 | Tennessee | Senior | Albert Haynesworth 2.0? |
| 54. Trent Murphy DE/OLB | 6'5 261 | Stanford | RS Senior | Pac -12 has an inordinate amount of pass rushers in 2013 |
| 55. Adrian Hubbard LB | 6'5 262 | Alabama | RS Junior | Another Alabama 'backer product. Do they ever run out? |
| 56. Johnny Manziel QB | 6'0 200 | Texas A&M | RS Sophomore | Will he crack under the media spotlight or put up another stellar year? Signs point towards the former after pushing an assistant in practice and going off on Twitter. |
| 57. Zach Martin OL | 6'4 305 | Notre Dame | RS Senior | |
| 58. Cassius Marsh DE | 6'3 268 | UCLA | Senior | Can he shine in 2013 after being Datone Jones' caddy last year? Anthony Barr should help to take the pressure off. |
| 59. Craig Loston S | 6'2 205 | LSU | RS Senior | The new leader of a rebuilt secondary that should be among the nation's best again |
| 60. DeAndre Coleman DE | 6'4 320 | Cal | RS Senior | Yet another Pac-12 stud pass rusher |
| 61. Cameron Erving OL | 6'5 310 | Florida State | RS Junior | Played well in 2012 despite being converted from defense during spring practice. So well in fact that he was the Noles best OL. He got next in the OL factory that pumped out Walter Jones, Tra Thomas, Rodney Hudson, etc? |
| 62. Antone Exum CB/S | 6'0 224 | Virginia Tech | RS Senior | Another talented secondary member for the Hokies. They always seem to have those every year. |
| 63. Seantrel Henderson OL | 6'7 345 | Miami | Senior | Will the much traveled and troubled big man bounce back for his senior year? |
| 64. Damian Swann CB | 5'11 190 | Georgia | Junior | With Sanders Commings gone, can he step up to a leadership role? |
| 65. Austin Hill WR | 6'2 210 | Arizona | RS Junior | Tore his ACL in spring ball, may try the Antonio Cromartie route and go pro regardless |
| 66. Shaq Evans WR | 6'1 210 | UCLA | RS Senior | Will he gel with QB Brett Hundley with workhorse RB Johnathan Franklin gone? Needs a monster senior year to raise his stock |
| 67. Jeremiah Attaochu DE/OLB | 6'2 240 | Georgia Tech | Senior | GT's all time sack leader if he has another great year. Schooled in stopping the option as he's practiced against it for 4 years now |
| 68. Damien Williams RB | 5'11 214 | Oklahoma | Senior | JUCO transfer that pleasantly surprised many Sooners. Could be argued that he's the top back in the class |
| 69. Malcolm Mitchell WR/CB | 6'1 214 | Georgia | Junior | It's his show now that Tavarres King is gone. Is an athlete that split time between corner and receiver thanks to injuries at corner. Also a good returner |
| 70. Jake Ryan OLB | 6'2 242 | Michigan | RS Junior | Torn ACL in spring. see #65 |
| 71. Kareem Martin DE | 6'5 265 | UNC | Senior | |
| 72. Gabe Ikard OL | 6'3 298 | Oklahoma | RS Senior | Could turn out be the 2014 version of Brian Schwenke. |
| 73. Allen Robinson WR | 6'3 205 | Penn State | Junior | Has the potential to explode under a second year Bill O'Brien pass happy regime |
| 74. Carrington Byndom CB | 6'0 214 | Texas | Senior | Can he bring back the historic DB U legacy for the Horns? |
| 75. Silas Redd RB | 5'10 200 | USC | Senior | A Penn State transfer after the recent NCAA and judicial saga of 2012. Can he revive his sagging stock in LA? |
| 76. LaMarcus Joyner S/CB | 5'8 200 | Florida State | Senior | Hard to believe the guy is a senior already. Hardest hitter in the country. Can he successfully transition to corner? |
| 77. Trey Depriest LB | 6'2 245 | Alabama | Junior | Yeah another one. |
| 78. Xavier Grimble TE | 6'5 255 | USC | RS Junior | A good athlete lost in the receiver hierarchy at USC |
| 79. Marcus Mariota QB | 6'3 214 | Oregon | RS Sophomore | The captain of the high powered Ducks offense. Can he successfully transition from the Chip Kelly era to Mark Helfrich's (slightly) less warp speed offense? |
| 80. Spencer Long OL | 6'3 315 | Nebraska | RS Senior | Another good Huskers OL to continue the legacy |
| 81. Braxton Miller QB | 6'1 215 | Ohio State | Junior | Hey, if Urban Meyer can get Tim Tebow drafted high, he should have no issues getting Miller drafted |
| 82. Jack Mewhort OL | 6'6 308 | Ohio State | RS Senior | Despite the *ahem* silly name, he's a decent prospect. |
| 83. Ben Malena RB | 5'8 195 | Texas A&M | Senior | No more Christine Michael, then again, nothing has changed for Malena in that regard. Manziel's presumptive running mate |
| 84. Karlos Williams S/OLB | 6'1 230 | Florida State | Junior | It's time for the former 5 star recruit to live up to the hype. Elite athlete that can return kicks. Unorthodox return method of trying to run guys over instead of dodging them |
| 85. George Uko DL | 6'3 285 | USC | RS Junior | Leader of a loaded Trojans DL. Poised for a monster year. |