1. San Francisco

Jadeveon Clowney

DE, South Carolina

HT 6-6 WT 266

First defender to go No. 1 overall since Mario Williams in 2006. Production fell off after spectacular sophomore season for a defensive end. Finished last season with 11½ tackles for loss and three sacks after getting 23½ and 13 in 2012. Most talented and athletically gifted player in draft. Blazing fast for size. Moves fluidly. Plays with power, gets off line quickly and can chase down running backs from sideline to sideline. Some questions about playing with consistently high effort and he needs to develop more pass rushing technique.

2.St. Louis

Greg Robinson

T, Auburn

HT 6-5 WT 332

Two-year starter at left tackle who became dominant player as junior last year. Checks all boxes with size, athleticism and power.

3.Jacksonville

Blake Bortles

QB, Central Florida

HT 6-5 WT 232

Blossomed into one of college football's best quarterbacks last year, leading Central Florida to the program's most successful season. Has drawn comparisons to Ben Roethlisberger because of his combination of size and mobility. Some questions about his ability to throw deep accurately after playing in an offense that featured many short passes and quick throws.

4.Buffalo

Sammy Watkins

WR Clemson

HT 6-1 WT 211

(via trade with Cleveland):

The Bills moved up five spots in the deal with Cleveland on Thursday. In exchange, Buffalo gave up its No. 9 pick, along with its first- and fourth-round picks in next year's draft. ... Watkins finished with 240 catches for 3,391 yards and 27 touchdowns in his three seasons at Clemson.

5.Oakland

Khalil Mack

OLB, Buffalo

HT 6-3 WT 251

Four-year starter who became one of the country's best linebackers. Had 10½ sacks, 3 interceptions, 5 forced fumbles and scored 2 touchdowns as a senior. Potential every down linebacker with an ability to be fierce pass rusher and sideline-to-sideline force. Hard hitter and excellent athlete. Only knock was a few lackluster performances and at times he seemed to try too hard to make big plays.

6.Atlanta

Jake Matthews

T, Texas A&M

HT 6-3 WT 308

Son of Hall of Fame offensive lineman Bruce Matthews. Became starter during freshman season. Played right tackle as sophomore and junior and moved to left as senior after Luke Joeckel moved on to NFL. Strong and technically sound. Only question: Will be a top-notch pro or merely good?

7.Tampa Bay

Mike Evans

WR, Texas A&M

HT 6-5 WT 231

In two seasons playing with Johnny Manziel, Evans had 151 catches, 2,499 yards and 17 touchdowns. Calvin Johnson-type receiver, though he doesn't quite have Megatron speed. Was nearly impossible for college cornerbacks to stop one-on-one on deep balls.

8.Cleveland

Justin Gilbert

CB, Oklahoma State

HT 6-0 WT 202

The Browns moved down five spots and acquired Buffalo's No. 9 pick and first- and fourth-round picks next year. Cleveland then swapped picks with Minnesota, giving up a fifth-rounder before taking Gilbert. ... Had five interceptions as sophomore, none as junior and seven last season. Returned two interceptions for touchdowns in 2013. Cornerback finished career with six kickoff return touchdowns.

9.Minnesota

Anthony Barr

OLB, UCLA

HT 6-5 WT 255

The Vikings traded down one spot with Cleveland, picking up a fifth-round pick to do it. ... Barr moved from offense to defense after two years in college and finished with 23½ sacks in two seasons playing outside linebacker in 3-4 defense. Fast first step and explosive pass rusher. Speed and quickness player. Strength and power need improvement. Feel for game and ability to read plays is still developing.

10.Detroit

Eric Ebron

TE, North Carolina

HT 6-4 WT 250

Breakout junior season with 62 catches for 973 yards, breaking ACC record for yards by tight end held by Vernon Davis at Maryland. Exceptional athlete, combining size, speed, quickness and sticky hands. Blocking needs work and needs to play at his best more consistently, but could be next matchup nightmare tight end in NFL.

11.Tennessee

Taylor Lewan

T, Michigan

HT 6-7 WT 309

Started 39 games at left tackle in final three seasons at Michigan and was team captain. Good balance, speed and quickness. Needs to fill out in lower body. Not an overpowering blocker.

12.New York Giants

Odell Beckham Jr.

WR, LSU

HT 5-11 WT 198

Beckham was the Paul Hornung Award winner for being the nation's most versatile player, breaking the school record for all-purpose yards (2,315) and caught 59 passes at wide receiver. ... As a kick returner, Beckham returned 68 career punts for 557 yards and 2 touchdowns and had 42 kickoff returns for 1,044 yards.

13.St. Louis

Aaron Donald DT, Pittsburgh

HT 6-1 WT 285

Donald won the Nagurski and Bednarik awards as the nation's best defensive player, and the Outland and Lombardi as the country's best lineman. ... Donald was the team captain last season and thrived in a 3-4 alignment, leading the nation in tackles for loss. He ran a 4.68-second, 40-yard dash at the combine.

14.Chicago

Kyle Fuller

CB, Virginia Tech

HT 6-0 WT 190

Sports hernia cost the cornerback a chunk of last season, but was excellent when full speed. Broke up 10 passes and made two interceptions. Not an elite athlete but very solid and makes up for some speed and strength shortcomings with good technique and instincts.

15.Pittsburgh

Ryan Shazier

OLB, Ohio State

HT 6-1 WT 237

Led Big Ten with 134 tackles and 22½ stops for loss from weak side linebacker spot last year. Fast and finds way into backfield, using athleticism to avoid blockers. Could be used as pass rusher and has tools to be good in coverage. On thin side, so he can be knocked around at point of attack.

16.Dallas

Zack Martin

T, Notre Dame

HT 6-4 WT 308

Started 39 games and was two-time team captain. Reliable, tough, sound and consistent blocker. Might be better suited to playing guard because of size.

17.Baltimore

C.J. Mosley

ILB, Alabama

HT 6-2 WT 234

Co-SEC defensive player of year and Butkus Award winner as the nation's top linebacker in 2013. Made 215 tackles in final two seasons. Leader of one of nation's best defenses. Always around the ball. Great instincts and fundamentally sound tackler. Not used much as pass rusher and coverage skills need work. Improve those two a bit and he's an every-down star.

18.New York Jets

Calvin Pryor

CB, Louisville

HT 5-11 WT 207

Became starter at safety midway through freshman season and quickly became leader of defense. Finished with seven career interceptions. Made 175 tackles in final two seasons. Big hitter who finds ball quickly and excels at taking it away. A bit undersized, though he plays big. Can be overly aggressive and undisciplined.

No.19 Miami Dolphins

JA'WAUN JAMES

OT, Tennessee

HT 6-6 WT 311

Started all 49 games he played in for the Volunteers. Held down the right tackle position. Not projected to be a first-rounder, but not a major reach either. Excellent size and solid in pass protection. Shows good smarts and has been a dependable team leader. Technique needs some work. Needs to play more light on his feet.

No.20 New Orleans Saints

BRANDIN COOKS

WR, Oregon State

HT 5-10 WT 170

The Saints traded up with Arizona for 20th pick. ... Cooks won Biletnikoff Award as nation's best receiver last year, when he set Pac-12 records with 128 catches for 1,730 yards. Very fast (4.4 in 40-yard dash), but not just undersized deep threat. Has good quickness to separate from defenders in middle of field and make tacklers miss. Plays physical despite size, but that size is still far from ideal.

Sports on 05/09/2014