National Football League
Draft King Analysis

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Al Davis fired Lane Kiffin yesterday. (Icon SMI)

There's more news from yesterday's epic press conference with Raiders owner Al Davis, as the 79-year-old spoke with reporters after the televised portion of the press conference took place. This article from Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News has some great some questions and answers with Davis from after the official press conference ended. Perhaps the most memorable line was Davis saying of Kiffin: "I think he conned me like he conned all you people." Ouch.

How about that amazing finish to last night's Florida Atlantic/MTSU game? MTSU, which fell one yard short of being Kentucky on a hail mary pass at Kentucky last month, stunned FAU with a last-second heave that gave the Blue Raiders the win with no time left on the clock. Interestingly, it was MTSU's arguably best pro prospect who made the reception, true freshman Malcolm Beyah. Beyah is 5'11" 185, and he runs a blistering 4.35 40 yard dash (though he has been timed at sub 4.3 levels before).

College football on a Tuesday night is not the norm, to be sure, but it gave a national audience the chance to enjoy a thrilling finish between two I-A/FBS teams that don't garner much national attention due to being in a non-BCS conference.

Tonight, opposite MLB playoff games, it's more college football action, with Louisiana Tech traveling to Idaho to face Boise State. Louisiana Tech has a win over the SEC (beating Mississippi State) while Boise State is coming off of a huge road win over Oregon. It should be an interesting matchup.

Now, onto the mailbag.

From: Clayton Riley
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Tue, Sep 30, 2008 at 7:08 PM
Subject: Missouri WR

I was wondering what you thought of the Missouri WR's and TE.

I want to know what round you think each of these guys will go in, if they come out:

SR- Chase Coffman TE
SR- Tommy Saunders WR
RS SO- Jeremy Maclin
JR- Jared Perry
JR- Danario Alexander

Lou: Missouri is a team that, if it wins out, should be in a position to play for the BCS Title. Road games with Texas and Nebraska are on the schedule (along with a neutral site game with Kansas), and Oklahoma looms as a potential Big 12 Championship Game opponent (or a rematch with Texas). But, until they lose, the Tigers are a squad that people across the country will be watching closely.

	Tommy Saunders is a team captain for Missouri. (Icon SMI)

Chase Coffman looks like a likely late first or early second round pick. At this point it looks like Oklahoma State's Brandon Pettigrew is the top tight end prospect, but Coffman and Pettigrew are similar in size (both are 6'6") so it's not like there's a huge gap between the first and second tight end spots. Coffman is an excellent blocker, and while Missouri's offense has inflated his receiving numbers to a degree, he should have every opportunity to be a starting tight end in the NFL.

As for Tommy Saunders, his 40 speed (listed north of 4.6) might prevent him from being drafted. His two touchdowns against Illinois were impressive, but overall his most likely shot of making it in the NFL is as a free agent signee fighting for a spot in training camp.

It would surprise me if Jeremy Maclin jumped to the NFL, though with his kick return ability he could potentially be a day one pick in 2009. He would be well-served to stay at Missouri and continue to improve his skills, though with his sub 4.4 40 time, he could be an immediate contributor in the pros as a kick returner. My guess would be early-mid second round if he came out now, whereas he could potentially improve as a wide receiver to the point where he could be a solid first round pick in 2010 or 2011.

As for Jared Perry and Danario Alexander, it would be a major mistake for either to come out early, as neither would likely be drafted. Perry seems like a longer shot for the NFL than Alexander, who at 6'5" might be able to catch on somewhere because of his height. Both guys run an estimated 4.57 40, which could put them at a disadvantage as far as the pro game goes. Perry and Alexander would be wise to stay in school and be leaders for Missouri in 2009.

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