Eli Manning, QB, Ole Miss,

Jordan: Won’t fail. The lineage is too good, and some say he’s better than Peyton. Obviously, he’s light-years ahead of the learning curve like his brother was several drafts ago. Has outstanding stature (thicker than Peyton) and shows some mobility and a solid arm. Very productive in a system that isn’t as friendly as most collegiate systems where QBs put up his kind of #s. HOWEVER, the main difference is he’s not in Tom Moore’s offense. He should develop into a good NFL QB but his numbers will never rival Peyton’s.
Tiki Barber, RB, Virginia, 40 yard dash: 4.51

Jordan: Versatile guy I really miscalculated when he first started having success. He possesses electric quickness and agility and excellent pick-and-slide at the hole. He has very smooth, deceptive, "soft" speed...you don't realize how fast he is until you try to catch him. He's got a very fluid, effortless running motion, so he doesn't seem as fast as he is. He can make the first tackler miss in the open field and shows excellent vision. As far as catching the ball out of the backfield, he's one of the best ever, with his moves carrying over to his skills after the catch. Once he fixed the fumble problem, he was free to make an assault on the statistics. The other thing that didn't come out about him before is his balance. It's not so much "power"...he doesn't really "bring it"...but he's very difficult to bring down once he has momentum in the open field and he really has excellent timing and a low center of gravity (or so I'd imagine) despite having an upright running style.
Instincts-7+
Inside Running-6+
Outside Running-7
Hands/Receiving Skills-8
Block-6+
Overall Rating: 7.2
Plaxico Burress, WR, Michigan St., 6’5” 220 LBS, 40 time: 4.43

Jordan: Athletically, he can be what he wants. He has almost unmatched size and runs extremely well. He is acrobatic and has big, soft hands and can leap to the moon. I'm still not convinced he's all the way there yet, but he certainly did about as much as he could last year with Eli Manning. He played at a Pro Bowl level throughout the season, and his prior flaws (drops) seem to have been mitigated.
Hands-6
Patterns-5
Receive Short-6
Receive Deep-7
Catch In Traffic-7
Run After Catch-6-
Block-5
Overall Rating: 6.7
Amani Toomer, WR, Michigan, 6’3” 207 LBS, 40 time: 4.54

Jordan: A big, lean, muscular receiver who gives them an excellent go-to target. Will catch the shorter and intermediate passes and has shown improved toughness in catching and holding on, but it’s his ability to get deep that brings him up to that second tier of receivers. He has height, he has very good straight-line speed, he does an outstanding job of turning his head back for the ball at just the right time, and adjusts to the deep ball in the air exceptionally well. He’s a big target and he can make the difficult, acrobatic catch. He is definitely one of the game’s most underrated players, and will be a huge positive for Eli Manning whenever he steps in. He and Shockey would make any passing game very competent at the worst. He dropped a few passes last year, but the entire offense was out of synch because of the atrocious play of the offensive line getting to Kerry Collins and rushing the entire offense. It was an aberration, and you’ll see a big year from Amani Toomer this year, assuming the o-line settles down and Eli takes to the pros like a duck takes to water.
Hands-6-
Patterns-6
Receive Short-6
Receive Deep-6-
Catch In Traffic-5+
Run After Catch-5
Block-5
Overall Rating: 6.0v
Jeremy Shockey, TE, Miami,

Jordan: His intensity carries the team. He will run through a wall. He is athletic, he has very good speed for a tight end, and he has strong, stong hands and can snatch the ball out of the sky. His intensity wears off on others. When he goes down, they lose their entire team identity. He LOVES contact, he will run over you and keep going. However, he's not as good a blocker as I used to think he is. He's usually all right when matched up with a linebacker, but if you put him on a defensive end, in particular Julius Peppers, he's going to get murdered. He has limitations, but at least he'll battle.
Hands-7
Patterns-6+
Receive Short-7
Receive Deep-6
Catch In Traffic-8-
Run After Catch-7
Block-5+
Overall Rating: 7.0
Kareem McKenzie, OT, Penn State

Jordan: I love this guy. He has emerged as a top tier right tackle. He’s a great athlete, he has all of the tools, and he has put them to use on the field. He adjusted to the NFL in a relatively short amount of time. He has great size, long arms, excellent feet, and he can slide and adjust and recover. He comes off the ball strongly as a run blocker and kind of gives that Ogden-like engulfing aura. He doesn’t really explode off the ball and play mean and crush anyone, but he just sort of flows into his block and ends up creating quite a huge crease on his side of the line. When he gets to the second level, like Ogden, it’s disastrous for the defense. He can still work on some little things, like being more aggressive in the running game and improving his pop on contact, but overall, this guy is one of the 5 or 6 best right tackles in football.
Run Block In Line-6
Run Block On Move-5+
Pass Block-6+
Ability to Adjust-6
Overall Rating: 6.5
Luke Petitgout, OT

Jordan: Consistent, “blue collar” left tackle. Of course, the only blue collar guys are white…I’m kind of getting sick of saying that in my scouting reports, so from here on out, NO MORE. If you read the words “blue collar” in my scouting reports again, just know that I wrote that before I worked on this scouting report. That blue collar title is a bunch of bullshit. How do we know he’s blue collar? Maybe he’s white collar—hell, after playing in the NFL, he IS rich. Just ridiculous. Anyway, this guy has quick feet and is a good, solid athlete. He usually does a good job as a blindside pass blocker. But this past year, he really took several steps backwards as defensive ends just seemed to get nastier with him. He’s not the strongest guy, and when ends with a lot of size and power go up against him and force him to anchor, he has a lot of problems. He is good with the finesse ends, but once you put him up against a power guy who can get him off balance, he’s screwed. He’s not very good at adjusting once he’s beaten—gives you that revolving door sort of look.
Run Block In Line-5+
Run Block On Move-6-
Pass Block-6-
Ability to Adjust-4+
Overall Rating: 5.7v
Chris Snee, OG, Boston College, 6'3" 314 LBS

Jordan: Never saw him play in college. From what I’ve heard from a well-respected source, he is absolutely nasty. But I can’t comment one way or another yet.
David Diehl, OG, 6'5" 315 LBS

Jordan: Bah, another one of those offensive linemen who just blend in.
NOT RATED
Osi Umenyiora, DE, Troy, 6'4" 280 LBS, 40 yard dash: 4.52
Jordan: Yeah. He's another one of those freaks. He didn't just come out of nowhere to lead the league in sacks in 2005, he's got Julius Peppers-type tools. Obviously, he's not quite as tall, but the ridiculously freakish athleticism is there. Legitimate 4.5 speed, quickness, strength, and overall athleticism. It gets boring talking about these athletic components, and there's just so many of these types of guys these days. But he's truly spectacular to watch. He has ridiculous first-step quickness which already gives him the advantage, and then that faster-than-most-linebackers speed to close the gap on the quarterback as fast as any end in the game. He actually might play even faster than Dwight Freeney, though he doesn't have the latter's ridiculous arsonal of moves, including the famous "spin." But this guy is relentless, and with his size and above average strength, he does an above average job playing the run as well. He's got quick hands, excellent change-of-direction, and he's a real sound tackler.
Recognition-7-
Pursuit-7
Run Defense (POA)-5+
Pass Rush-7+
Overall Rating: 7.2
Michael Strahan, DE, Texas Southern, 6'5" 275 LBS

Jordan: Doesn’t have big speed or electric quickness, unless you consider him a defensive tackle, of course. But he is probably the most powerful defensive end in football, and with his hand punch and upper and lower body strength, and just overall hand usage, and just absolutely throws blockers aside and gets to the QB. He can be slippery, and he can just get you off balance and push the tackle back into the quarterback, or he can go inside and power his way through the gap. He has an outstanding arsonal of moves, but really, it's not so much about HAVING the moves, it's about having the strength and/or quickness to make them effective. He has the strength. He has a low center of gravity and just unbelievable overall power. He can throw a tackle aside/get him off balance, and power his way to the QB for the sack. And the thing is, once he has his hands on the QB, 9.5/10 times he’s going down. He’s just an incredibly strong man and that translates over to his run defense. He holds his ground like it’s nothing, he stuffs the run like a 3rd DT, and he is basically a 2-gap DE. He might be, in terms of just being complete, the best defensive player in football. The thing keeping him from being the Junior Seau of defensive ends is just the fact that his team’s defense is never stifling like Seau’s always was. They don’t instill fear in opposing offense’s and just dominate. In fact, many of his defenses aren’t that good at all. And the thing is, there are many good players around him too. Perhaps with Coughlin’s new staff this unit will finally stop underachieving, but we shall see. This is the one defensive end that is actually DOUBLE TEAMED…as in they’ll put a tight end over on his size to stay in there to block. I guess a better comparison would be the Barry Bonds of defensive ends.
Recognition-7+
Pursuit-5+
Run Defense (POA)-8-
Pass Rush-8-
Overall Rating: 7.5
William Joseph, DT, Miami, 6'5" 315 LBS, 40 time: 4.81

Jordan: Very fluid defensive tackle. His junior year he looked like a young Bryant Young. Then he had the big letdown senior year, and many speculated he might be better suited at defensive end. But when he showed up weighing around 313 LBS, that dispelled all of those ideas. He plays with excellent leverage, he moves extremely fluidly, and he is strong and can penetrate the gaps. If he has the desire, he can be a Pro Bowler. But that’s my main question about him—does he want it? I really just don’t get a great vibe about his work ethic, but then if he has any whatsoever, he should be a good player. And I do think he has SOME. I think he at least wants to do well like any other human being, and he’ll be a good defensive lineman for them who can play the run as well as the pass.
NOT RATED
Nick Greisen, OLB, Wisconsin

Jordan: Quintessential effort player. A hard-nosed linebacker who is very good in pursuit near the line of scrimmage. Can scrape and flow and make the best use of his instincts. Doesn’t have top speed, but is quick and extremely instinctive—has the MLB type instincts. A very tough linebacker who faces up on all of his tackles and was a tremendous special teams player as a result, earning his starting job this year. He fills with authority, and if he’s not in position to fill with authority, he’s penetrating into the backfield and looking to blow the play up before it even begins. He’s an excellent football player, and people are in for a pleasant surprise from this guy (or unpleasant if you’re the opponent, I guess).
Read and React-7+
Pursuit-6
Blitz/Rush-5+
Run Defense (POA)-6-
Pass Coverage-5+
Tackle-7
Overall Rating: 6.4
Barrett Green, MLB, W. Virginia, 6'0" 225 LBS, 40 time: 4.58

Jordan: Has 4.6 speed and moves extremely well overall. Will make a lot of tackles as a result. Kind of soft, and will get caught in a lot of junk and not always where you need him to be. As a result, he’s not really a good thing for your run defense as a middle linebacker. But with his speed and athleticism, coaches are always intrigued by him. You think (hey, if I have the defensive linemen and could let this guy roam free, he’d be DEVASTATING…he’d be blowing through the hole and stuffing plays right there). And that’s probably true, but it’s just unrealistic. You’re not going to be able to keep him perfectly clean, and he has to work on his overall instincts and ability to sift through the trash if he wants to be a good MLB in this league. Right now, he’s just below average despite his tackle numbers.
Read and React-5+
Pursuit-6
Blitz/Rush-4
Run Defense (POA)-4
Pass Coverage-5
Tackle-6-
Overall Rating: 5.3^
Carlos Emmons, OLB, 40 time: 4.69

Jordan: One of the most underrated players in football. He’s big, fast, and a powerful tackler. He has an explosive closing burst and just explodes into his man. He is changes directions extremely sharply and is a very explosive overall linebacker because he takes some of the best angles in the game. He gets outstanding reads and he reacts so quickly, he is closing hard on the ball carrier as soon as he touches the ball. He can get into the backfield and drag the guy down back there, he can close the hole and wrap up in there. Coming from the Pittsburgh Steelers originally, he can blitz and knock out the QB. He’s fast, a huge, powerful, hard, plastic-popping tackler. He’s a sturdy take-on guy who can disengage and close down angles outside and he can take on fullbacks and get off of them and stuff the run in the hole. All of this, and yet he usually only gets credit as a pass coverage linebacker. He’s very good in that aspect as well, but I’d actually consider that the weak point in his game. Again, he has outstanding instincts, he times it beautifully, and he can step in front and knock the pass away, or pick it off himself. But once in a while he’ll just be overmatched by a tight end who is just too damn athletic and will make the play against him anyway. But this guy should’ve gone to a handful of Pro Bowls by now.
Read and React-7+
Pursuit-7
Blitz/Rush-7-
Run Defense (POA)-6
Pass Coverage-7-
Tackle-7+
Overall Rating: 7.3
Will Allen, CB, Syracuse, 40 time: 4.29

Jordan: Can flat-out fly. Just an absolute burner, but not a one-dimensional cover corner. Now, when I say he’s not one-dimensional, that doesn’t mean that he has all of the coverage things down pat, because while he’s certainly good right now, he has some definite room for improvement. He could work on his awareness in transition a little bit and work on timing his breaks in zone coverage a little better. But this guy is a very tough corner who will come up, get physical, and make the big tackle of the ball carrier in the backfield when he tries to bounce it outside. He’s a very confident corner, and the thing is, he’s the quietest one in their secondary. He generally lets his play do the talking, and it’s usually pretty darn good. But who knows how he’ll come off of the injury, just like Peterson and Williams. When they lost all 3 guys, plus Jeremy Shockey, and Kerry Collins was getting crushed after an already mediocre offensive line (personnel-wise, they performed on the field, no doubt) lost several starters, you had to feel bad for Jim Fassel.
Key and Diagnose-6-
Man Coverage-6+
Zone Coverage-6
Hands-5
Run Support-6+
Tackle-6
Overall Rating: 6.5^X (Injury)
Will Peterson, CB, N. Illinois

Jordan: A taller corner who plays much smaller, but that’s kind of a good thing in his case. Has blazing 4.4 recovery speed, shows the ability to turn and run with just about anyone. Extremely quick breaking on the ball, shows good hands and hand-eye coordination. Not afraid to mix it up and get physical at the line of scrimmage, and has the loose hips to turn and run from there. Still pretty beatable as he’s susceptible to double moves, and if he goes up against Randy Moss, that’s the kiss of death. But he’s still a very solid young corner, and part of the great foundation the Giants have going for them on defense.
Key and Diagnose-6
Man Coverage-6
Zone Coverage-6
Hands-6
Run Support-5+
Tackle-6-
Overall Rating: 6.2^
Gibril Wilson, S, Tennessee, 40 yard dash: 4.47
Jordan: Uh...he can hit. Yeah. Where does he rank? It's tough to say. But he is definately in the Sean Taylor/Roy Williams/Rodney Harrison/Troy Polamalu/Bob Sanders/Adrian Wilson class as far as hitting is concerned. He's every bit a "guided missile" versus the run. And he's a great athlete to go along with it. He can fly. He isn't completely natural in coverage yet and still makes some occasional mistakes, but when playing instictively, he has terrific range. So he's still raw in that area, but this guy is one of the top really young defensive players in the league and could emerge as a special player if he learns the nuances of the position.
Key and Diagnose-5-
Man Coverage-5
Zone Coverage-5
Hands-5
Run Support-7+
Tackle-8-
Overall Rating: 6.5^
Shaun Williams, SS, UCLA, 40 time: 4.40

Jordan: A big hitter, but not in the elite class. There are so many big hitters in this league it's kind of difficult for me to even give him a rating on it, because technically a "6" would mean he's "above average," but the average hitter at safety in this league is pretty good. And he doesn’t make as many plays as most of the top guys. But he’s on that next tier, and has rare all-around ability. He’s big, strong, and exceedingly fast. He's one of the fastest safeties in the game with speed that most corners would envy; he can fly. He has outstanding range; can cover the entire field from sideline to sideline. He can knock the shit out of the quarterback on a blitz. However, he’s a fast long-strider. He doesn't have really quick change-of-direction skills and therefore isn't as good as his computer numbers would lead you to believe. He has a real attitude, though. He talks as much shit as anyone.
Key and Diagnose-6+
Man Coverage-5
Zone Coverage-6
Hands-6
Run Support-6
Tackle-7-
Overall Rating: 6.5