Mike Mayock Quotations

Sitting at No. 1, you think what football player is going to help us be the best team we can be, and we can't worry about what Tennessee does. If we happen to take the guy they want, and it's the guy we want, that's even better. But we can't worry about it.

I have a ton of respect for Mel. The viewer can watch both and choose. I don't feel any kind of competition individually whatsoever.

For such an unorthodox push delivery, he delivered it real well today, highly accurate. He had a little more juice on the ball and a better touch on the deep balls than I expected.

He's been living it, breathing it, sleeping it since he was a high school kid.

I think you start with winning. Pete has brought that magic back to Troy. They're recruiting nationally, and not a lot of programs can do that successfully.

I think the best-case scenario is late first round. But I'm not sure that's happening.

I thought that visual summed up what kind of kid he is. Here is a guy who was handed everything and he continues to throw it away.

I think it's time to start thinking about that, I agree.

My pet peeve with the combine is that, with the perception of the dollars that can be made there, all the kids are training specifically for the drills that are run at the combine, as opposed to training to become better football players. They're not necessarily the same thing.

It felt like on tape that Eric struggled with speed all season long and the same thing happened at the Senior Bowl. He's got short arms. I think he's gone from a high-level first-round left tackle to at best a second-round right tackle.

I think he'll be there at 12. A few weeks ago I wouldn't have said that. But there's been some question on whether he can push the pocket as a pass rusher. There's also a question about his ability to play at a high level every down.

You have to match up players with schemes.

Teams want more speed at all 11 spots and the emphasis is getting to the quarterback. If you have that skill, you're going higher in the draft than ever before.

Now is the time, or next year is the time, depending on whether or not a kid catches their eye. They have to start to groom somebody for a couple years down the road, I agree.

Everybody is telling me he's going to go between 12 and 20. I'm not buying into that yet. (Ware) showed me at the Senior Bowl a year ago that he was a first-round big. Manny Lawson did not show me that.

I really believe that Ernie Sims is the most explosive, through-the-hips athlete in this draft.

He's starting to move up charts. He's a guy that's going to go somewhere between (pick) 20 and 25 and only has one start in his career.

If he had perfect character, he would probably be a late first-day type of prospect. Given where he is today, he's probably a sixth- or seventh-round pick at best, and maybe even a priority free agent.

If his shoulder checks out, which I think it will, he's intriguing in the second or third round. I think he's got a lot of upside, and if you believe in your coaching staff and your ability to get this kid on the right path, he's a really talented kid.

He's not as good an athlete as his older brother. He's not as dangerous a runner as his older brother. He's got a better innate feel for the passing game than his brother did at this time of his career.

He's more a manage-the-game kind quarterback -- make decisions, don't lose games. And he's got a big injury history.

You've got three potential franchise quarterbacks who all should go in that top 10.