Kiper's top 5s: Returning players

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Right now, your attention, logically, is focused on the 2010 NFL draft -- it's in a little less than a month. This list, however, is made up of players who are not in the pool for April's NFL draft but could have been had they opted to jump. You can think of it as an early road map for the 2011 NFL draft. Obviously, some of the top sophomores in the nation also will be in this mix next season.

Things will change greatly in the summer and fall, of course, but guys like Ryan Mallett (even with the foot injury), DeAndre McDaniel, Marvin Austin and Terrance Toliver will be names to know and watch for.

You can find my latest mock draft for 2010 here.

To read about which players you should be keeping an eye on for 2011, you must be an ESPN Insider.

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Mel Kiper Jr.

Football analyst

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• ESPN NFL Draft analyst since 1984
• Contributes to SportsCenter and ESPN Radio
• Writes weekly for ESPN Insider