Athletic recruiting rankings by Rivals and your chances of being drafted by an NFL team

Because sites like Rivals.com and Scout.com have been along for so long now, it allows us to take a look back at drafts and see how these services ranked players.  With the 2008 NFL Draft, a number of outstanding players that were picked and have been making impacts.  But since were they that sought after when they entered college?

With a little help and time, I have decided to put together a list to see where all the athletes who were drafted by NFL teams in the first round were rated by Rivals.com coming out of high school.  There were obvious potential stars in Jake Long, Jeord Mayo, and many others.  But few expected players like Chris Williams, Ryan Clady, and others to end up being so highly sought after.

What this does show that the recruiting rankings from Rivals.com and Scout.com are never going to be 100% accurate.  There is no doubt that these supposed experts are going to make mistakes and nobody is perfect.  For those recruits who will be playing at a high level in college and are flying under the radar, it shows that if you are good enough, you will receive a look, no matter where you are playing at in college.

1. Miami - Jake Long, OT Michigan ****
2. St. Louis - Chris Long, DE Virginia ****
3. Atlanta - Matt Ryan, QB Boston College ***
4. Oakland - Darren McFadden, RB Arkansas *****
5. Kansas City - Glen Dorsey, DT LSU ****
6. NY Jets - Vernon Gholston, DE Ohio State ****
7. New Orleans (From 49ers through Patriots)- Sedrick Ellis, DT USC ****
8. Jacksonville (From Ravens)- Derrick Harvey, DE Florida *****
9. Cincinnati - Keith Rivers, LB USC *****
10. New England (From Saints)- Jerod Mayo, LB Tennessee ****
11. Buffalo - Leotis McKelvin, CB Troy **
12. Denver - Ryan Clady, OT Boise State **
13. Carolina - Jonathan Stewart, RB Oregon *****
14. Chicago - Chris Williams, OT Vanderbilt **
15. Kansas City (From Lions)- Branden Albert, G Virginia **
16. Arizona - Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, CB Tennessee State **
17. Detroit (From Vikings through Chiefs)- Gosder Cherilus, OT Boston College ***
18. Baltimore (From Texans)- Joe Flacco, QB Delaware ***
19. Carolina (From Eagles)- Jeff Otah, OT Pittsburgh ****
20. Tampa Bay - Aqib Talib, CB Kansas **
21. Atlanta (From Redskins)- Sam Baker, OT USC ****
22. Dallas (From Browns)- Felix Jones, RB Arkansas ****
23. Pittsburgh - Rashard Mendenhall, RB Illinois ****
24. Tennessee - Chris Johnson, RB East Carolina **
25. Dallas (From Seahawks)- Mike Jenkins, CB South Florida ***
26. Houston (From Jaguars through Ravens)- Duane Brown, OT Virginia Tech ****
27. San Diego - Antoine Cason, CB Arizona ***
28. Seattle (From Cowboys)- Lawrence Jackson, DE USC ****
29. San Francisco (From Colts)- Kentwan Balmer, DT North Carolina ***
30. NY Jets (From Packers)- Dustin Keller, TE Purdue **
31. NY Giants - Kenny Phillips, S Miami (FL) *****

Total number of five stars: Five
Total number of four stars: Twelve
Total number of three stars: Six
Total number of two stars: Eight

Just a reminder.  These sites rank any player with a Division I offer with two stars.  So if you are in their database and have a Division I-A or I-AA offer, you will eventually be ranked with two stars.

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