Two weeks ago, NFL Network's Mike Mayock put together his top five draft prospects by position as people prepared for the 2014 NFL Combine. While I don't think there were any shocks, I was a little surprised to see him rank USC wide receiver Marqise Lee as the No. 2 receiver behind Sammy Watkins. I thought there was a little more consensus that Mike Evans was ahead of Lee, but Mayock disagreed.
Not so much anymore.
Mayock released his next set of Top 5 rankings, setting it up with the NFL long past the Combine at this point. Pro Days have begun, and will last into mid-April. I don't expect huge swings in position rankings, but free agency will adjust how players are looked at for filling specific needs.
Below, I've posted the three positions I mentioned the first time around, and listed Mayock's pre- and post-Combine rankings next to each other. There are not huge changes, but along with moving Evans ahead of Lee, Mayock went a bit deeper at wide receiver. He listed three guys tied for fifth, including Kelvin Benjamin, Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham.
The most interesting change is Cooks from off the board into the No. 4 spot. We don't know where he would have been past No. 5 on the pre-Combine list, but this is still a notable boost for him. And it's not surprising given his strong Combine performance. While Watkins has always been considered that top guy, Cooks is quickly becoming a sort of "flavor of the month" right now. It happens every year during the draft evaluation process. Teams might have long ago placed him in a given spot on their draft boards, but for the media and fans, he is quickly climbing the charts.
His list of seven wide receivers might very well cover virtually every reader on this site that wants an early wide receiver. There are wide receivers that might slip a little further down this group, but these seven seem to be the top end guys, or at least the ones who will be going first.
Wide Receiver
| February 17 | March 3 |
| 1. Sammy Watkins | 1. Sammy Watkins |
| 2. Marqise Lee | 2. Mike Evans |
| 3. Mike Evans | 3. Marqise Lee |
| 4. Kelvin Benjamin | 4. Brandin Cooks |
| 5. Jarvis Landry | t5. Kelvin Benjamin |
| t5. Jarvis Landry | |
| t5. Odell Beckham |
Cornerback
| February 17 | March 3 |
| 1. Darqueze Dennard | 1. Darqueze Dennard |
| 2. Justin Gilbert | 2. Justin Gilbert |
| 3. Kyle Fuller | 3. Kyle Fuller |
| 4. Jason Verrett | 4. Bradley Roby |
| 5. Bradley Roby | 5. Jason Verrett |
Safety
| February 17 | March 3 |
| 1. Calvin Pryor | 1. Calvin Pryor |
| 2. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix | 2. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix |
| 3. Lamarcus Joyner | 3. Jimmie Ward |
| 4. Jimmie Ward | 4. Deone Bucannon |
| 5. Deone Bucannon | 5. Lamarcus Joyner |