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1. Carson Palmer #3 - 6'4" 220 lbs. - Southern Cal - Sp. 4.8 Rating 95
Gifted senior passer completed an outstanding final season that earned him numerous honors including the prestigious Heisman Trophy award. Carson finally lived up to the hype that surrounded him when he entered USC five years ago. This fifth year senior will challenge for the first overall selection in the NFL Draft ’03 whether the Bengals retain the pick or trade it. He became the premier player in college football this past season when four years of hard work finally translated into consistent big play ability on the football field. Over his first four seasons, he attempted to do too much as a leader and key player on the USC offense. The constant changes in the coaching staff was a chief deterrent to his development, with new systems implemented annually, in addition to all the personnel changes that occur on a yearly basis in college football. Over his five-year career at USC, he had four offensive coordinators which explains his 39 TD to 39 interception ratio during his first four seasons. He is a big physical passer with a very strong arm, fine intangibles and good mobility to avoid the rush and run with the ball. He posted amazing passing numbers as a senior and got better with every snap. He really responded to offensive coordinator Norm Chow's schemes in the coach's second season with the club. He is a well-developed player who combines the athletic ability with the maturity necessary to succeed in the NFL. He is a well-built athlete with quick feet that allow him to setup fast in three, five and seven step drops. He has an excellent delivery with a quick release that allows him to deliver the ball with outstanding timing and precision. His basic mechanics are sound, he sets up quickly and has learned to set his feet firmly before passing the ball. As a good ball handler, he works the play action call exceptionally well. He uses the pump fake well and has a quick trigger that allows him to bait cornerbacks on the first move and then lay it out on a deeper throw. His improvisational skills are good and he has surprisingly good scrambling ability. He runs very well for a QB of his size and he can be especially dangerous in the openfield and capable of really hurting a defense. He has developed quick decision-making to go with the athletic talent to run or throw in or outside the pocket. As a passer, he has an outstanding arm with the strength to make all the throws. He has excellent velocity and accuracy on his passes and can fire the tough out, seam or slant pass as well as the exceptional touch to make the fade, screen and deep plays work to a high percentage. He throws the fade well, giving his receiver a chance to make a play on the ball. On the deep pass, he has learned to put just the right air under his passes to allow his receiver to run under the ball. On the slant and crossing patterns, he displays the quick release, accuracy and timing to hit receivers in stride which allows them to run with the ball after the catch. He has developed nice intangibles and instincts through experience and some difficult times and changes at USC. He has excellent pocket presence and can feel backside pressure very well. He uses his quick feet to avoid the initial rush and his fine strength to fight off tacklers and move outside the pocket. He throws well on the move in either direction, displaying the ability to lay the ball accurately to receivers to turn a broken play into a positive play. He made great strides over his final two seasons of reading defenses and learning to take what those units give him. Earlier in his career, he tended to force the ball into bad situations that led to mistakes. As a scrambler, he is a good runner who is capable of breaking and avoiding tacklers with the ability to pull the ball down and make a critical first down. At the Senior Bowl practices, he was very impressive, displaying a strong, live arm with the touch and accuracy to make all the key throws. He has developed the leadership, composure and poise to lead an NFL offense. With five seasons to hone his talent, he has developed the football instincts and overall intangibles combined with his excellent athletic talent make him one of the best and most refined QB prospects of recent memory.
The Numbers: Terrific final season that included throwing for 3639 yards on 288 completions of 458 attempts for 62% completion rate with 32 TDs and 10 interceptions. Along the way, he became the new Pac 10 career passing and yardage leader. During his senior season, the light really went off after the first month. Over the last eight games he threw for 2676 yards and 27 TDs. In the last six games, he tossed for 2006 yards and 23 TDs. He completed over 70% of his passes in 8 games as a senior with a string of three 400 yard passing games to his credit also. He threw for at least 4 TD passes in five of the last six games, just an awesome display of QB play. As a junior, he threw for 2717 yards with 221 completions on 377 attempts for a 58% completion rate and 13 TDs and 12 interceptions. As a sophomore, he threw for 2914 yards with 16 TDs on a 55% completion rate and 18 interceptions. He can bench press 390 lbs. and squat 450 lbs.
The Skinny: Gifted passer with all the talent to excel in the NFL and join the elite QBs within a short time. His level of development is extremely high and he is the type of passer who should start as a rookie in most situations. He has learned to make the proper read consistently and get the ball to the hot receiver while under heavy pressure. He goes through his progressions very well and has learned to find secondary receivers. He is the most likely first overall selection in April by the Bengals who have struggled for a decade, due mainly to the lack of a top level signal-caller. They should retain this pick and add a franchise caliber passer to start their new regime under head coach Marvin Lewis. Palmer is a well-developed prospect with the special skills for the most critical position in the game. At the combine, he did not workout. He has the talent to become an NFL star, if he gets into the right situation that allows him to succeed early in his career and not ask him to do too much too soon. This guy reminds me of Drew Bledsoe when he stands in the pocket and smokes defenses. But he is superior to Bledsoe in the sense that he has fine mobility and can hurt a defense with his running skills and give his club an added dimension with his feet in an era where that quality is critically important to winning. Draft Projection: 1st Round - First Overall Pick

2. Byron Leftwich #7 - 6'5" 250 lbs. - Marshall - Sp. 5.0 Rating 90
Massive physical passer finished an outstanding career with another terrific effort as a senior that earned him MAC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. Byron is a huge pocket passer with a rifle arm and the rare accuracy for a thrower with his strength and power. He has operated out of the shotgun formation for most of his career and will have to get more experience taking snaps under center though, to be ready for the NFL game. He has been a three-year starter who has broken virtually every MAC and Marshall passing record over that period. He has one of the strongest arms in memory and could rival any passer over the past few decades, going back to John Elway in the early '80s. What is amazing, is his accuracy and ability to consistently drill the ball into tight spots and hit receivers on the numbers. He has also learned to deliver the ball with touch and timing, throwing an excellent fade pass to the corner of the end zone on a consistent basis. He has good pocket presence with the ability to feel backside pressure and know when to get rid of the ball. He has enough mobility to avoid the rush and throw on the move, though he is not fast as a runner and only scrambles out of necessity. Over his final two seasons, he completed 67% of his 646 passes in the Marshall wide-open passing game. His senior season was very rewarding as he led Marshall to another Motor City Bowl appearance. He is a very competitive QB who displays leadership, poise and keen instincts, combined with top athletic skills that allowed him to become one of the most successful passers in college football. As a senior, he played through a chin injury late in the season, displaying great toughness and leadership in several key late games. Later, it was discovered he had a broken leg, which made the performance even more impressive. He combines top athletic skills with the instincts, intangibles and experience needed to play in the NFL. He is a strong athlete who can hang in the pocket and take a hit and make the tough throw. He also stays in the game despite getting banged up and has a strong demeanor that is essential to play at the next level. When working under center, he has an adequate setup and a quick delivery despite a long throwing motion. He delivers the ball with very good velocity and timing that rivals any current NFL starter including Brett Favre. He has a long windup and overhand delivery that releases the ball quickly with the zip on it to get through the tightest zone coverage. He has had few periods of erratic throwing, displaying tremendous game-to-game production throughout his career. He reads and understands pass coverage well and has the instincts to find the soft parts of coverage, as well as the ability to find secondary receivers. He is a patient passer and waits until a receiver makes his move before throwing, hanging in the pocket until the last moment before releasing it.
The Numbers: As a senior, he threw for 4268 yards with 30 TDs and 10 interceptions. He topped the 400 yard passing mark in five games. He was named MVP of the MAC Championship game vs. Toledo. As a junior, he threw for 4132 yards on 315 completions of 470 attempts for 38 TDs and 7 interceptions, breaking most of the MAC records that season. He also had four 400 yard passing games as a junior. Over his career, he threw for 11903 yards on 939 completions of 1442 attempts with 89 TD passes and 28 interceptions.
The Skinny: Big time prospect and a winner in every sense of the word. He has great physical talent plus the key intangibles of leadership and courage to become a top NFL passer. He is a very good athlete with a live sound arm and enough mobility to move outside the pocket. He gets the ball down the field, displaying a strong arm, accuracy and the ability to read pass coverage consistently well. He displays excellent field vision with the courage and toughness to hang in the pocket and make the difficult throw. As a passer, he can throw the deep ball with nice accuracy, but needs further work on the placement of his feet to improve his percentage. He has a good feel for pass pressure and knows when to get rid of it or throw it away. He has learned to take what defenses give him and has developed the ability to use his full array of receivers to keep defenses guessing. He is dangerous in the short to intermediate zones where his accurate crisp passing hits receivers in stride to make big plays after the catch. He is a mature person and athlete who is very coachable and has placed the team before his accolades. He has a fine work ethic, which will help improve on overall skills and areas of need. He does need to work on the basic formation under center from the initial setup to feet positioning to reading defenses while he retreats. Because of the offense he played in, he may need some time in these areas and could disappoint early with limited experience in those critical basic techniques. At the combine, he did not workout. He is a well-developed pocket QB with fine intangibles and instincts for the position and should start fairly early as a pro. He carries a franchise label, but he must get in the right situation to succeed early in the NFL because of the need to develop in some basic areas. Blue chip QB with the arm, smarts and toughness to become an elite NFL starter in time. Top five-ten 1st round pick with clubs considering trading up for him like the Panthers, Ravens and Cardinals most interested.
Draft Projection: 1st Round- Top 5-10 selection

CORNERBACKS
1. Terence Newman #4 - 5'10" 190 lbs. - Kansas St. - Sp. 4.4 Rating 93
Fast instinctive cornerback completed an outstanding career, winning the prestigious Jim Thorpe award as the nations' best defensive back. Terence also won the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year as a senior while earning first team All-Conference honors. He is a lightning quick cover man with fine instincts and speed to match up in man coverage. He has good size with the rare speed, quickness, instincts and toughness to play early as an NFL performer. He is an aggressive defender who plays tough despite only adequate size for the position. He is a blue chip athlete with the agility, balance and explosive closing speed to become a top flight pro. He combines sudden quickness with great speed and top instincts to blanket receivers in man-to-man coverage. He has the great closing speed that allows him to break up passes often without drawing a flag. He does need some work on his technique and can get turned around at times, though his excellent speed has allowed him to cover up those deficiencies. He is a good tackler with the sound technique to be consistent in run support. He is an aggressive cover man who combines toughness, strong hands and very good change-of-direction skills. He displays top ball awareness with the agility and speed to blanket receivers in man situations. He usually tracks the ball well, but had trouble at times over his career. He has fine body control and use of his arms, in addition to reading routes quickly and picking up the ball in flight sooner. He gets fine use of his excellent leaping skills to deflect passes and outfight receivers for the ball. In pass coverage, he has very quick feet and body control, but his overall technique has been undisciplined and inconsistent. He will jump a pattern to make the big play and usually guesses correctly. He has good hands, which have also allowed him to be a top punt returner. He has made 10 interceptions over his career, a high total since passers stopped challenging him regularly halfway through his junior season. He has been timed in the sub 4.4 range, which translates well to the playing field. It allows him to recover and close on the ball exceptionally fast and match speedy receivers stride for stride. At the combine, he ran a 4.38 time on one hand held watch. He also did a 41� vertical and an 11’4� broad jump, the best efforts at the event. He has the skills to be a top pro corner, quickness, speed, instincts, toughness and the aggressive style to play any scheme. He is a tough bump-and-run defender with the strength and agility to contain the best receivers at the line-of-scrimmage. His strong hands and frame allow him to separate receivers from many completions on his powerful hitting alone. The complete package on the outside.
The Numbers: During the '02 season, he made 54 tackles with 2.5 TFLs, 5 interceptions and 14 PBUs, and first team Big 12 honors. He also was a terrific return specialist with a 14.9 yard punt return average, including 2 TDs and a 28.5 yard average on kickoffs with 1 TD. As a junior, he made 51 tackles with 3 TFLs, 3 interceptions and 14 PBUs earning Big 12 2nd team honors. Over his career, he returned 4 kicks for TDs, three as a punt returner. Two-time Big 12 Outdoor Champion at the 100 meters (10.34). Broke his own record with 10.2 in outdoor meet. Big 12 Indoor Champion at 60 meters (6.65) in finals after clocking 6.62 in preliminaries.
The Skinny: Super blue chip cornerback has speed, quickness, toughness and instincts. He will give his club a shutdown corner with the ability to rotate coverage to other receivers. His great combine performance should solidify him as the first corner off the board in April and most probable as a top five selection. He has the athleticism to continue to get better and the overall physical skills to be among the elite cover men in the NFL. He could go as early as the 3rd pick to the Texans or the 5th pick by the Cowboys. Talented prospect with the well-developed skills to play as a rookie and the most developed corner in this class, though not completely tested in the Big 12 where the leagues' recent receivers were not at NFL levels. Top 5 prospect with an early starting grade. Savvy playmaker with matchup skills to shutdown the best receivers. Well-developed talent with impact ability as cover man and punt returner. Future Pro-Bowler.
Draft Projection: 1st Round- Top 5 Pick