The 2011 NFL draft is now in the books, and what better to do but look at next years class. Next year will most definitely have contain a large group 'elite' prospects. It will probably be headlined by the talented group of quarterbacks in next years class. With a lot of teams still searching for that 'franchise' quarterback it is definitely set up for at least 3 or 4 to be taken in the first round. The offensive side of the ball is sure be headlined by Stanford junior Andrew Luck, who was the consensus no. 1 overall pick if he were to of declared for the draft this year. Other potential first-round picks include USC's Matt Barkley, who made tremendous strides in his sophomore year under Lane Kiffin, Arizona's Nick Foles, and Oklahoma's Landry Jones, who is also a potential Heisman Trophy candidate.
While the QB class will be the position that will be most closley watched by scouts and analysts, the rest of the offensive class has some promising prospects as well. The wide receiver class is sure to see a lot of front loaded talent as well. The no. 1 wide-out coming into the year will most likely be Alshon Jeffery out of South Carolina, but Oklahoma State redshirt junior Justin Blackmon will surely have something to say about that before the end of the year. Look for offensive line prospects Matt Khalil of USC, and Iowa's Reilly Reiff to fight for that no. 1 ranking through out the year. The running back class will be a little weak at the top, with no 'Adrian Peterson' in the class. It will surely be headlined by Alabama's Trent Richardson, who could be in for a monster year without Mark Ingram stealing some carries.
After some analysis here are the top 5 players at each position for next year:
Quarterbacks
1. Andrew Luck QB/Stanford
2. Landry Jones QB/Oklahoma
3. Matt Barkley QB/USC
4. Nick Foles QB/Arizona
5. Kirk Cousins QB/Michigan State
Running backs
1. Trent Richardson RB/Alabama
2. LaMichael James RB/Oregon
3. Andre Ellington RB/Clemson
4. Cyrus Gray RB/Texas A&M
Wide Receivers
1. Alshon Jeffrey WR/South Carolina
2. Justin Blackmon WR/Oklahoma State
3. Michael Floyd /WR/Notre Dame
4. Ryan Broyles/WR Oklahoma
5. Juron Criner WR/Arizona
Tight End's
