This just feels good. ESPN NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper has put out his first big board for the 2011 draft. Find it here.
His top five are as follows:
1. Jake Locker | 6'3, 226 pounds | QB | Washington
2. Andrew Luck | 6'4, 235 pounds | QB | Stanford **
3. Robert Quinn | 6'5, 265 pounds | DE | North Carolina *
4. A.J. Green | 6'4, 200 pounds | WR | Georgia *
5. Adrian Clayborn | 6'3, 285 pounds | DE | Iowa
After that, Kiper's top 25 goes behind the ESPN Insider pay wall. Because we could get busted for reprinting the whole thing, please don't in the comments. If you do, I'll ban you. Sorry.
But looking over the rest of Kiper's list, there's no big shock inclusions. Kiper has been known to have some strange additions to the big board in the early part of the season, but not so far. Perhaps the biggest stretch is Colorado offensive tackle Nate Solder listed at No. 11.
Although Solder showed flashes of being and NFL bookend last season, he was wildly inconsistent and needs to play with more aggression.
For those who care, my top five from April was as follows:
1. Green
2. Patrick Peterson | 6'1, 222 pounds | CB | LSU *
3. Quinn
4. Julio Jones | 6'4, 210 pounds | WR | Alabama *
5. Locker