As Brady Quinn can attest to, being invited to attend the NFL Draft in New York doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be a top pick. However, it can be a pretty decent indicator of which players are trending upwards and which ones could be in for a tumble on draft day. Today, the NFL announced that a record 30 players will be in attendance for the 2014 draft:
- Odell Beckham, Jr. WR Louisiana State
- Blake Bortles QB Central Florida
- Teddy Bridgewater QB Louisville
- Ha Ha Clinton-Dix S Alabama
- Jadeveon Clowney DE South Carolina
- Brandin Cooks WR Oregon State
- Kony Ealy DE Missouri
- Eric Ebron TE North Carolina
- Mike Evans WR Texas A&M
- Kyle Fuller CB Virginia Tech
- Jimmy Garoppolo QB Eastern Illinois
- Justin Gilbert CB Oklahoma State
- Ra’Shede Hageman DT Minnesota
- Timmy Jernigan DT Florida State
- Cyrus Kouandjio T Alabama
- Cody Latimer WR Indiana
- Marqise Lee WR Southern California
- Taylor Lewan T Michigan
- Khalil Mack LB Buffalo
- Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M
- Jake Matthews T Texas A&M
- Jordan Matthews WR Vanderbilt
- Morgan Moses T Virginia
- C.J. Mosley LB Alabama
- Calvin Pryor S Louisville
- Greg Robinson T Auburn
- Bradley Roby CB Ohio State
- Ryan Shazier LB Ohio State
- Jason Verrett CB Texas Christian
- Sammy Watkins WR Clemson
It should also be noted that not all of these players are being pegged by the league office as top picks – some are likely Day 2 selections. The list of 30 includes four quarterbacks in Bortles, Bridgewater, Garoppolo, and Manziel and zero running backs. Notables not making the trip to New York include Pitt defensive tackle Aaron Donald, Michigan State cornerback Darqueze Dennard, UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr, and Auburn defensive end Dee Ford, tweets Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Brady Quinn was a first round selection….
Right