Russ Lande considers Tyler Bray a 'solid third round prospect'

Matt Barkley is the leader in the clubhouse among 2013-eligible quarterbacks, but a handful of signal callers are going to push the Trojan senior for that spot.

Among them is Tennessee's Tyler Bray, who is coming off a thumb injury that forced him to miss a chunk of his sophomore season. Surrounded by two talented classmates at wide receiver, Da'Rick Rodgers and Justin Hunter, Bray has the scenario to work his way into the high part of the first round.

But one draft expert is not ready to buy into the hype just yet.

Russ Lande, a former NFL personel man now of Sporting News, considers Bray to be a third round prospect, who needs a lot of improvement to be a first rounder.

I posted my scouting notes on Tyler Bray recently, and am much higher on him than Lande (though he has far more experience in the business and access to tape). Fundamentally as a passer, there are some things Bray needs to work on. He needs to tighten up his release and smooth out some footwork issues.

But in terms of physical ability and pure "arm talent," Bray has it. Without a ton of games to break down due to injury, it's tough to hammer out a scouting report on Bray, but the NFL Draft is all about projecting talent. Maybe Bray hasn't shown enough yet to be a first round pick, but I believe if healthy, he will be able to show it this fall.

A lot of football still has to be played, and we're a ways away from the draft, but Bray will be an interesting kid to watch, and opinions on him already seem to be all over the board.

Where do you think Bray will land in the NFL Draft when his time comes?