There were eight offensive skill players taken in the first round of the finally completed NFL Draft, starting with the No. 1 overall pick, Sam Bradford.
Here’s how we would rate them taking into consideration only their high school careers, which also include other sports.
Jahvid Best was a blur at Salesian High.
File photo by Dennis Lee
No. 8 - WR Demaryius Thomas (No. 22 pick, Broncos, Georgia Tech, West Laurens HS, Dublin, Ga.): A football and basketball standout, he had 56 catches for 756 yards and seven TDs his senior year, earning All-State AA first-team honors from the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
No. 7 - QB Sam Bradford (No. 1 pick, Oklahoma, Putnam City North HS, Oklahoma City, Okla.): A unique three-sport star in football, basketball and golf. Had pedestrian football numbers as a senior – 2,029 yards, 17 touchdowns – and averaged a double-double in basketball. He was considered just a three-star football recruit out of Putnam City North.
No. 6 - WR Dez Bryant (No. 24 pick, Cowboys, Oklahoma State, Lufkin HS, Texas): As a senior he was first-team all-state after hauling in 53 balls for 1,207 yards and 21 touchdowns.
No. 5 - RB Ryan Mathews (No. 12 pick, Chargers, Fresno State, West HS, Bakersfield, Calif.): He led the nation with 3,396 yards rushing as a senior at West to go along with 44 touchdowns. He also played quarterback and passed for 851 yards and 11 scores.
No. 4 - TE Jermaine Gresham (No. 21 pick, Bengals, Oklahoma, Ardmore HS, Okla.): A wide receiver at Ardmore, Gresham had 70 catches for 1,175 yards and 24 TDs as a senior, earning Parade All-American honors. He had 148 career catches. He was an equally acclaimed basketball player, starting for Ardmore as a freshman. He averaged 10.1 points per game that year and led his team to at least the state semifinals all three years he played before an ACL injury cost him his senior season. His junior year he averaged 17.5 points and 10.2 rebounds and was second-team all-state.
No. 3 - RB C.J. Spiller (No. 9 pick, Bills, Clemson, Union County HS, Lake Butler, Fla.): He rushed for 5,511 yards on 541 carries in his high school career, including 1,840 and 30 touchdowns as a senior. He was just as well known on the track, where he had the fourth-fastest 100-meter time in the country at 10.42 his senior year.
No. 2 - QB Tim Tebow (No. 25 pick, Broncos, Florida, Nease HS, Ponte Vedra, Fla.): After playing linebacker and tight end as a freshman at Trinity Christian Academy (Jacksonville), he was named Florida Player of the Year two years in a row, including his senior year, when he led Nease to its first and only 4A state title. In the state title game, he accounted for a state-title game record of six touchdowns in a 44-37 win over Armwood. His senior statistics were 216 of 340 attempts for 3,302 yards, 31 touchdowns and four interceptions, and he rushed for 1,163 yards and 21 touchdowns. His career statistics: 9,940 passing yards, 3,169 rushing, 95 passing TDs, 63 rushing. His career total offense of 12,960 yards is a state record. In 2007, he was one of just two quarterbacks picked to the FHSAA’s all-century team that listed the top 33 football players in Florida’s 100-year history of high school football. The other was Daunte Culpepper. He also played baseball and basketball at Nease.
No. 1 - RB Jahvid Best (No. 30 pick, Lions, Cal, Salesian HS, Richmond, Calif.): He was named the San Francisco Chronicle Metro Player of the Year after rushing for 3,325 yards and 48 touchdowns his senior year, both Bay Area single-season marks. He later swept the state’s sprint championships, taking the 100 in a wind-aided 10.31 before taking the 200 in 21.6. Best finished his senior season with personal bests of 10.36 and 20.65, the fifth- and second-fastest times in the country, respectively.
