The most notable name still left is West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith, once thought to be a top-10 pick.
The Jacksonville Jaguars (33rd overall) and Philadelphia Eagles (35th) are possible landing spots for the former Mountaineers’ signal caller, but he’ll have competition from Southern Cal’s Matt Barkley and Syracuse’s Ryan Nassib to be the next quarterback off the board.
Notre Dame All-American linebacker Manti Te’o is also still available and waiting for his phone call to find out where he will be playing next season in the NFL. He is arguably the top defensive player still available after the first round.
Also, for the first time since 1963, zero running backs were selected in the first round. Teams in the second round will have their pick of the top running backs in this year’s class, including Alabama junior Eddie Lacy.
The strength of this year’s draft will be in those second- and third-round picks, where dozens of future NFL starters are found. Entering Friday, here are the top-40 players still available according to NFLDraftScout.com:
1. QB Geno Smith, West Virginia (6-3, 218, 4.59)
2. OT Menelik Watson, Florida State (6-5, 310, 5.29)
3. WR Robert Woods, Southern Cal (6-1, 201, 4.51)
4. CB Jamar Taylor, Boise State (5-11, 192, 4.39)
5. QB Matt Barkley, Southern Cal (6-3, 227, 4.84)
6. MLB Manti Te’o, Notre Dame (6-1, 241, 4.82)
7. DE Cornellius Carradine, Florida State (6-4, 276, 4.75)
8. WR Keenan Allen, California (6-2, 206, 4.53)
9. RB Eddie Lacy, Alabama (5-11, 231, 4.53)
10. DE Margus Hunt, SMU (6-8, 277, 4.62)
11. TE Zach Ertz, Stanford (6-5, 249, 4.76)
12. DT Johnathan Hankins, Ohio State (6-3, 320, 4.95)
13. DE Damontre Moore, Texas A&M (6-5, 250, 4.95)
14. CB Johnthan Banks, Mississippi State (6-2, 185, 4.61)
15. SS Johnathan Cyprien, Florida International (6-0, 217, 4.64)
16. LB Arthur Brown, Kansas State (6-0, 241, 4.68)
17. DT Jesse Williams, Alabama (6-4, 323, 4.94)
18. MLB Kevin Minter, LSU (6-0, 246, 4.81)
19. DT Kawann Short, Purdue (6-3, 299, 5.16)
20. QB Ryan Nassib, Syracuse (6-2, 227, 5.06)
21. OT Terron Armstread, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (6-5, 306, 4.71)
22. WR Justin Hunter, Tennessee (6-4, 196, 4.44)
23. DE Sam Montgomery, LSU (6-3, 262, 4.81)
24. CB David Amerson, NC State (6-1, 205, 4.44)
25. OG Larry Warford, Kentucky (6-3, 332, 5.58)
26. RB Johnathan Franklin, UCLA (5-10, 205, 4.49)
27. DE Alex Okafor, Texas (6-5, 264, 4.78)
28. WR Terrance Williams, Baylor (6-2, 208, 4.52)
29. RB Montee Ball, Wisconsin (5-11, 214, 4.66)
30. QB Tyler Wilson, Arkansas (6-2, 215, 4.95)
31. FS Phillip Thomas, Fresno State (6-1, 208, 4.65)
32. CB Dwayne Gratz, Connecticut (5-11, 201, 4.47)
33. TE Vance McDonald, Rice (6-4, 267, 4.69)
34. OLB Jamie Collins, Southern Miss (6-4, 250, 4.64)
35. RB Le’Veon Bell, Michigan State (6-2, 230, 4.60)
36. WR Quinton Patton, Louisiana Tech (6-0, 204, 4.53)
37. CB Darius Slay, Mississippi State (6-0, 192, 4.36)
38. DT John Jenkins, Georgia (6-4, 346, 5.21)
39. OLB Khaseem Greene, Rutgers (6-1, 241, 4.71)
40. CB Tyrann Mathieu, LSU (5-9, 186, 4.50)