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Guest List for NFL Draft Grows; Who Will Be Last Out of the Green Room?

Apr 12, 2010, 9:00 PM UTC

â†µâ†µNFL Network and AP have reports today that 16 players have accepted invitations to the NFL draft, which takes place April 22-24. Here are your 16 players thus far, via NFL Network:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥[Oklahoma QB Sam] Bradford, Florida CB Joe Haden, Clemson RB C.J. Spiller, Wake Forest CB Brandon Ghee, Iowa OT Bryan Bulaga, Texas DT Lamarr Houston, Georgia Tech WR Demaryius Thomas, Cal RB Jahvid Best.â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥Those players join a list that already included: Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh, Oklahoma DT Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma State OT Russell Okung, Georgia Tech DE Derrick Morgan, Oklahoma OT Trent Williams, Tennessee DT Dan Williams, Tennessee S Eric Berry, and Penn State DT Jared Odrickâ†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µThe report also notes there are invites out to three QBs -- Jimmy Clausen, Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy -- and other invites could still be sent. But let’s work with the group we’ve got to this point. Who will be the last out of the green room? With Thursday dedicated to just the first round, will any of these players actually be forced to wait until the second day?â†µâ†µGone early: There seems to be something of a consensus that Bradford, Suh, McCoy and Okung will go in the first five picks. Take them out of the mix. You can also probably say the same for Oklahoma’s Trent Williams and UT’s Eric Berry, both of whom seem to have top 10 consensus status.â†µ

â†µâ†µFirst-day attractions: Haden, Spiller, Morgan, Bulaga and Dan Williams all project anywhere from late in the first 10 to high teens. It’s safe to say that, barring something big at the wire, they won’t be the last out of the green room.â†µ

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â†µT.G.I.F. Demaryius Thomas had wildly differing places in drafts. SN slots him at No. 11 to Denver, but none of the CBS correspondents place him in the first round. Move The Sticks had him at No. 29 -- the Jets -- but that was prior to the Santonio Holmes trade. Jahvid Best made MTS' first round, but didn't make it for SN or CBS. Jared Odrick actually made everyone's first round, but projecting in the 20s leaves a lot of room for him to slide, so slipping to Friday isn't unreasonable. Still, even these guys shouldn't be the last out of the green room.â†µ

â†µâ†µAnd then there were two: The list above has two very curious names included: Wake Forest CB Brandon Ghee and Texas DT Lamarr Houston. Sporting News projects Ghee as the 22nd pick of the fourth round while Houston is slated to go as the top pick of the third round. Forget waiting through Thursday, that would leave Ghee waiting through Friday, too. Houston would have to wait through half of Friday before having his named called at that rate.â†µ

â†µâ†µBy all accounts, it looks like Ghee is the low man in this situation. In the NBA, when a guy gets an unusual invite to the green room in the draft, something is up. There’s some indication he might go early. If that’s the case with Ghee, then no one has picked up on it to this point.â†µ

â†µâ†µ(Mock drafts referenced from Sporting News, CBS, NFL.com and Move The Sticks)â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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