Commentary

Andrew Luck just above top defenders

Underclassmen and defensive prospects dominate the top of the initial 2011 mock draft

Originally Published: November 10, 2010

No, it's never too early for a mock draft. The 2010 college football season is 10 weeks old and we at Scouts Inc. have had plenty of time to watch film and shuffle our board, so why not take a stab at a first-round projection?

Stanford QB Andrew Luck has established himself as the top prospect on the board and looks like a slam-dunk for the quarterback-starved Buffalo Bills, but after Luck, defensive prospects dominate the top of the board with four defensive linemen and two cornerbacks filling out the next six spots.

The rest of the top 10 features an offensive tackle, another quaterback and the rare early-first-round wide receiver.

Here's how it all shakes out at this very early point in the pre-draft process. Things will change a lot between now and April, but based on what we've seen so far in 2010, this is our best early projection. The order is based on the inverse NFL standings. Ties between teams with the same record are broken using opponents' winning percentage, with teams with the lower percentage getting the earlier pick.

Which linebacker and quarterback are just outside the top 10? Where does the reigning Heisman Trophy winner fit in at this point? What will the New England Patriots do with their two first-round picks? And which cornerbacks are jockeying for position late in the first round? ESPN Insiders get all the anwers and a look at Todd McShay's entire first-round projection.