ESPN NFL Draft 2008

Scouts pore over endless hours of film and leave no stone unturned when evaluating players' skill sets. It's a grueling process that can be monotonous at times, but there are certain games that can cause scouts to sit up in their chairs 12 hours into a session. This jolt of excitement comes when they see their targeted prospect line up against one of the best units or players in the nation and/or play in game with substantial implications for his team. It's arguably these matchups and games that have the greatest impact on where a player is drafted. Here are five matchups that caught my eye over the weekend and what I took from each performance:

Oklahoma WR Malcolm Kelly vs. Miami CB Randy Phillips
Miami is still trying to figure out how to stop Kelly, who caught four passes for 102 yards on Saturday. Even more impressive, two of his three touchdowns came against Phillips, who could be a first-round pick if he stays in school for another year. The first score came on a slant when Phillips tried to press Kelly at the line of scrimmage. Kelly used a stutter-step to get a clean release, quickly got inside leverage, pushed off ever-so-slightly and looked the ball into his hands. The only plus for Phillips on the play was that he showed great effort and technique when stripping the ball from behind. Though officials ruled that Kelly crossed the goal line before the ball came loose, he has to do a better job of securing the ball after the catch.

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