NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock spoke about what he's seen at the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine and hit on a variety of topics. Let's comb through some of the highlights from his conversation to get some insight into where his mind is at in terms of this year's draft and what is being proven/unproven at the combine.
Mayock on the quarterback class:
"If you look at last year's draft and [Christian] Ponder goes at [No.] 12 and [Jake] Locker goes at No. 8, what I would tell you is that I would be stunned if [Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III] didn't go one and two. Then [Ryan] Tannehill, even though he can't workout, as long as he takes care through the process, shows people he can throw, what an athlete he is, Tannehill might go in the top 10. Everybody is thinking which team is going to get Griffin, in my head, I'm already slotting him 1-2 and wondering where Tannehill might end up because of how high Ponder and Locker went a year ago."
Mayock on if Alabama running back Trent Richardson is a top-five pick:
"I read a list of every running back drafted in the first round in the last five years, and basically what it tells you is that if you're not Adrian Peterson you probably shouldn't be a top five or a top ten running back...Either because of injuries or because of a lack of talent or whatever, if you go back every class to Adrian Peterson, you can't make a case for a top-10 running back."
Mayock also spoke on his favorite position in the draft, one of the weakest positions in the draft, standout players like Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd and surprises like Baylor wide receiver Kendall Wright. You can read it all here.