National Signing Day: What Does It Mean For The NFL Draft?

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Our friend Zac Snyder over at Side Lion Report took the time to look at ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.’s first-round mock draft and make some observations. In honor of national signing day, Zac went back and put together information that includes the players position ranking and star rating coming out of high school.

Does National Signing Day really give you an idea of who will become stars at the next level? Not really. Projected top ten picks Nick Fairley and Prince Amukamara were recruited at different positions — offensive guard and running back, respectively.

Only a quarter of the projected first-rounders went into college as five star recruits. You can CLICK HERE to see Zac’s entire article, and check out the breakdown of Kiper’s first-round mock after the jump.

#	Name	Class	Rating	Pos. Rank
1	Nick Fairley	2007	3 Star	#27 OG
2	Patrick Peterson	2007	5 Star	#1 CB
3	Marcell Dareus	2008	4 Star	#5 DT
4	Da’Quan Bowers	2008	5 Star	#1 DE
5	Blaine Gabbert	2008	4 Star	#7 QB
6	A.J. Green	2008	5 Star	#2 WR
7	Robert Quinn	2008	4 Star	#19 DE
8	Von Miller	2007	4 Star	#6 MLB
9	Prince Amukamara	2007	3 Star	#47 RB
10	Cam Newton	2007	4 Star	#14 QB
11	Aldon Smith	2008	3 Star	#54 DE
12	Nate Solder	2006	2 Star	NR OL
13	Akeem Ayers	2007	4 Star	#12 DE
14	Julio Jones	2007	5 Star	#1 WR
15	Mark Ingram	2008	3 Star	#58 RB
16	Adrian Clayborn	2006	4 Star	#18 DE
17	J.J. Watt	2007	2 Star	NR DE
18	Cameron Jordan	2007	3 Star	#55 DE
19	Mike Pouncey	2007	4 Star	#7 OG
20	Ryan Kerrigan	2007	3 Star	#88 DE
21	Stephen Paea	2007	3 Star	JC DT
22	Anthony Castonzo	2007	2 Star	NR OT
23	Gabe Carimi	2006	3 Star	NR OL
24	Justin Houston	2007	3 Star	#42 DE
25	Ryan Mallett	2007	5 Star	#2 QB
26	Brandon Harris	2008	5 Star	#5 CB
27	Torrey Smith	2007	3 Star	NR WR
28	Mikel Leshoure	2008	3 Star	#52 RB
29	Christian Ballard	2007	4 Star	#10 DE
30	Muhammad Wilkerson	2008	3 Star	NR DE
31	Aaron Williams	2008	5 Star	#2 CB
32	Tyron Smith	2008	5 Star	#1 OT