NFL Combine: Defensive Invitees

The first group of players arrives on Wednesday, February 24 for the 2010 NFL Combine in Indianapolis. They will keep arriving and departing for the better part of seven days before everyone is done on Tuesday, March 2.

These are the defensive players that have been invited to work out and meet with the teams. They are listed at the positions where the Combine has listed them. That does not mean that they’ll be drafted at that position. If there’s a possibility they could be rated at another position, it’s under the projection. There are always different views of where a player fits in the NFL, especially when talking about linemen and linebackers, or safeties and cornerbacks.

Also at the bottom of this post are the specialists that have been invited.

DEFENSIVE ENDS (42)

There are plenty of strong defensive end prospects in this year’s group of available players, including first round possibilities like Carlos Dunlap out of Florida, Michigan’s Brandon Graham (who had a big week at the Senior Bowl), Southern Cal’s Everson Griffen, Derrick Morgan of Georgia Tech and Jason Pierre Paul of South Florida.

 DEFENSIVE TACKLES (24)
Two of the top picks in the draft are defensive tackles, in Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska and Oklahoma’s Gerald McCoy. But there are other potential first rounders as well, with Brian Price of UCLA a nd Tennessee’s Dan Williams.

OUTSIDE LINEBCKERS (19)
This group that the Combine has designated as outside linebackers is not very deep or potentially talented. Only Missouri’s Sean Weatherspoon and Navorro Bowman of Penn State are considered potential first round picks.

 INSIDE LINEBACKERS (17)
Both Rolando McClain of Alabama and Brandon Spikes of Florida should be selected in the top half of the ‘10 NFL Draft. After those two, it’s a pretty steep drop in NFL potential at inside backer.

CORNERBACKS (34)
There is a potentially good crop of cornerbacks this season, topped by Florida’s Joe Haden, who should be a top 10 selection. At this point there’s no other sure-fire first-rounder, but there are plenty of corners that appear to be values in the second and third rounds.

 STRONG SAFETY (10)
One of the players that could be the first pick in the draft is listed here by the Combine, Tennessee’s Eric Berry. Most teams consider him a free safety and some are even looking at him as a potential cornerback. But the Combine has him at strong safety. Needless to say, he’ll go early no matter what position he’s projected to play.

FREE SAFETY (13)
Southern Cal’s Taylor Mays appears to be the only first-round projection at this position.

SPECIALISTS (10)
There will be no early draft choices among the specialists. Michigan’s Zoltan Mesko is considered the best punter and Leigh Tiffin of Alabama is projected as the best kicker.