Michigan State Running Back Le’Veon Bell Appears in Mel Kiper Jr. Top 25

In a major upset Michigan State running back Le’Veon Bell makes an appearance in Mel Kiper Jr’s initial 2013 top 25 players. Bell comes in at #21 overall. It’s really surprising to me. Bell lacks the dynamic abilities that almost all first round running backs possess, but he does have great size. Bell is not currently in my personal top five running backs.

The inclusion of Bell was the big surprise, but there are some other interesting rankings. Kiper Jr. puts draftnik favorite Logan Thomas all the way up to #4 overall.

Quarterbacks Landry Jones, Keith Price, Aaron Murray, Tyler Bray, and Geno Smith are on the outside looking in. Taylor Lewan the Michigan Offensive tackle is well regarded by Kiper Jr. as well. Lewan checks in at #12th overall. Lewan will have to show that he is not too tall. Lewan is currently listed at 6’8 and often players of that size struggle with balance, leverage, and too much waist bending.  Scouts will be watching that closely this year.

Marcus Lattimore is the 19th ranked player, but that might be due more to his injury than anything else. Kiper writes about Lattimore “Will be watched closely as he comes back from an ACL injury. Should be full speed by the time the season gets going. Explosive, tightly-packed player who packs a punch but moves better than a player his size should. Elite if healthy.”

Perhaps the biggest omission is Florida State DE/OLB Brandon Jenkins or the two Texas pass rusher Alex Okafor and Jackson Jeffcoat

Be sure to check it out, even though it’s Insider content and let me know what you think. We’ll be unveiling all of our position rankings and breaking down what to watch throughout the summer.

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