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Every team has a big board, and every big board is different. But the big board is what separates the positions. For example, if the Eagles need a safety, and their top safety is on the board but is their 50th ranked player, the team may not take this safety at 22nd overall.
Big boards and positional rankings are the best ways to organize draft prospects, but the hardest to put together. Projecting NCAA prospects at their position is the easy part, now differentiating the players in one list, that is what separates the great front offices from the rest.
Here are my top 50 players in the 2014 NFL Draft. Keep in mind these rankings are preliminary, and a lot more tape must be watched.
| Rank | Name | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jadeveon Clowney | DE | South Carolina |
| 2 | Jake Matthews | OT | Texas A&M |
| 3 | Derek Carr | QB | Fresno State |
| 4 | Teddy Bridgewater | QB | Louisville |
| 5 | Khalil Mack | OLB | Buffalo |
| 6 | C.J. Mosley | LB | Alabama |
| 7 | Sammy Watkins | WR | Clemson |
| 8 | Greg Robinson | OT | Auburn |
| 9 | Darqueze Dennard | CB | Michigan State |
| 10 | Louis Nix | DT | Notre Dame |
| 11 | Anthony Barr | OLB | UCLA |
| 12 | Kelvin Benjamin | WR | Florida State |
| 13 | Mike Evans | WR | Texas A&M |
| 14 | Vic Beasley | DE | Clemson |
| 15 | Jace Amaro | TE | Texas Tech |
| 16 | Eric Ebron | TE | UNC |
| 17 | Jason Verrett | CB | TCU |
| 18 | Jeremiah Attaochu | DE/OLB | Georgia Tech |
| 19 | Jordan Matthews | WR | Vanderbilt |
| 20 | Cedric Ogbuehi | OT | Texas A&M |
| 21 | Cyril Richardson | OG | Baylor |
| 22 | Hesean Clinton-Dix | S | Alabama |
| 23 | Stephon Tuitt | DE | Notre Dame |
| 24 | Ifo Ekpre-Olomu | CB | Oregon |
| 25 | RaShede Hageman | DT | Minnesota |
| 26 | Dominique Easley | DT | Florida |
| 27 | Taylor Lewan | OT | Michigan |
| 28 | Brandin Cooks | WR | Oregon State |
| 29 | Ryan Shazier | OLB | Ohio State |
| 30 | Timmy Jernigan | DT | Florida State |
| 31 | Kyle Van Noy | OLB | BYU |
| 32 | Marqise Lee | WR | USC |
| 33 | Yawin Smallwood | ILB | UCONN |
| 34 | Kyle Fuller | CB | Virginia Tech |
| 35 | Bradley Roby | CB | Ohio State |
| 36 | Lache Seastrunk | RB | Baylor |
| 37 | Cameron Erving | OT | Florida State |
| 38 | Dion Bailey | S | USC |
| 39 | Bishop Sankey | RB | Washington |
| 40 | Deone Bucannon | S | Washington State |
| 41 | Justin Gilbert | CB | Oklahoma State |
| 42 | Gabe Jackson | OG | Mississippi State |
| 43 | Allen Robinson | WR | Penn State |
| 44 | Will Sutton | DT | Arizona State |
| 45 | Davante Adams | WR | Fresno State |
| 46 | Marion Grice | RB | Arizona State |
| 47 | Lamarcus Joyner | DB | Florida State |
| 48 | Chris Smith | DE | Arkansas |
| 49 | Cyrus Kounadjio | OL | Alabama |
| 50 | Shayne Skov | LB | Stanford |
