On a recent radio appearance, I was asked an intriguing question.
“Who was the best prospect you’ve ever graded?”
I’ve been evaluating prospects and covering the NFL draft professionally since 2004, which meant the 2023 draft was my 20th. The question and the timeframe was a nice catalyst to go back and examine some of the older evaluations.
To answer the question directly, my highest-graded player ever was Wisconsin OT Joe Thomas in 2007. The grading scales and systems I use have changed over the years, but Thomas topped any iteration.
Here are the top-graded players from my evaluations at each position since the 2004 NFL draft.