2011, here we come!

Alright, after a brief hiatus to digest the draft and finish up my exams and schooling, Im ready to go for another year of draft chat.

2011 is a very intriguing class. While this year looks to be a tad weak on the OLine, at running back, and in the linebacking core it also happens to be loaded with QB, WR, and DL talent.
We have many story lines to look forward to.

There's already a race developing for the top QB of the draft. The highly touted Jake Locker has the coaching, the experience, the speed, and the athleticism. Ryan Mallet has the JaMarcus Russell arm without the JaMarcus Russell lethargy and Andrew Luck has the upside and intangibles. Oh, and Christian Ponder is in the discussion as well. The underrated signal caller from Florida State compares to Jimmy Clausen (who I thought was the best QB of 2010) and could sneak up draft boards with another fantastic season.

Then there's the WR discussion. After some relatively weak wide out classes, 2011 promises to be star studded. 4 receivers are legitimate top 15 talents. AJ Green, Michael Floyd, Jonathon Baldwin, and Julio Jones could all be top 10 picks any given year. It'll be an interesting race to see who steps up and becomes the cream of the crop.

We also have the comeback of Mark Herzlich. Herzlich, a potential first rounder in 2010, had to cancel his season after being diagnoses with Ewing's sarcoma. This rare form of cancer could be life threatening, but Herzlich won his battle with the disease, is cancer free, and ready to play football this year. Everyone will be cheering for him to regain top form, and become the top pick he was once projected to be.

There's more interesting plots to follow on the defensive side. If Patrick Peterson improves on his sophomore season and works out like everyone expects, he could be the top corner to come out in the past decade or so. Can Jared Crick, the productive DT from Nebraska, step out of Ndamukong Suh's shadow and become a top pick in his own right? Is Robert Quinn the best DE to come out since Mario Williams?

So, all in all, there's lots of intrigue this year. I'll be posting my first mock draft of the year momentarily, and in the next day or so the first big board will debut. Enjoy!