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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.
With the bowl season over, all the tape is set to watch. Over the next few months, the rankings will be finalized as everything about each prospect can be figured out. Keep an eye out for the updated positional rankings and mock drafts leading up until May.
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.
| Num | Name | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jadeveon Clowney | DE | South Carolina |
| 2 | Jake Matthews | OT | Texas A&M |
| 3 | Teddy Bridgewater | QB | Louisville |
| 4 | Khalil Mack | OLB | Buffalo |
| 5 | Sammy Watkins | WR | Clemson |
| 6 | Derek Carr | QB | Fresno State |
| 7 | C.J. Mosley | LB | Alabama |
| 8 | Darqueze Dennard | CB | Michigan State |
| 9 | Greg Robinson | OT | Auburn |
| 10 | Cedric Ogbuehi | OT | Texas A&M |
| 11 | Louis Nix | DT | Notre Dame |
| 12 | Kelvin Benjamin | WR | Florida State |
| 13 | Mike Evans | WR | Texas A&M |
| 14 | Jason Verrett | CB | TCU |
| 15 | Anthony Barr | OLB | UCLA |
| 16 | Eric Ebron | TE | UNC |
| 17 | Vic Beasley | DE | Clemson |
| 18 | Jordan Matthews | WR | Vanderbilt |
| 19 | Cyril Richardson | OG | Baylor |
| 20 | Hesean Clinton-Dix | S | Alabama |
| 21 | Jace Amaro | TE | Texas Tech |
| 22 | Jeremiah Attaochu | DE/OLB | Georgia Tech |
| 23 | Timmy Jernigan | DT | Florida State |
| 24 | Ryan Shazier | OLB | Ohio State |
| 25 | Dominique Easley | DT | Florida |
| 26 | Brandin Cooks | WR | Oregon State |
| 27 | RaShede Hageman | DT | Minnesota |
| 28 | Taylor Lewan | OT | Michigan |
| 29 | Lamarcus Joyner | DB | Florida State |
| 30 | Kyle Van Noy | OLB | BYU |
| 31 | Marqise Lee | WR | USC |
| 32 | Stephon Tuitt | DE | Notre Dame |
| 33 | Justin Gilbert | CB | Oklahoma State |
| 34 | Allen Robinson | WR | Penn State |
| 35 | Deone Bucannon | S | Washington State |
| 36 | Blake Bortles | QB | UCF |
| 37 | Zach Martin | OL | Notre Dame |
| 38 | Dion Bailey | S | USC |
| 39 | Davante Adams | WR | Fresno State |
| 40 | Yawin Smallwood | ILB | UCONN |
| 41 | Austin Seferian-Jenkins | TE | Washington |
| 42 | Bradley Roby | CB | Ohio State |
| 43 | Shayne Skov | LB | Stanford |
| 44 | Lache Seastrunk | RB | Baylor |
| 45 | Trent Murphy | DE | Stanford |
| 46 | Gabe Jackson | OG | Mississippi State |
| 47 | Bishop Sankey | RB | Washington |
| 48 | Cyrus Kounadjio | OL | Alabama |
| 49 | Chris Smith | DE | Arkansas |
| 50 | Kony Ealy | DE | Missouri |
