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17. San Francisco 49ers (from Carolina) - QB Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame: The question with Clausen is whether he's already been coached to the limits of his physical potential. The 49ers, who have modified their preferred power offense to fit Alex Smith's shotgun preferences, might not care. What they need to run inside power effectively is a quarterback who can run a system from under center and make all the short to intermediate throws. Clausen would be a near-perfect fit for such a scheme.

18. Pittsburgh Steelers - C Maurkice Pouncey, Florida: It's been a very long offseason for the Steelers, and a little reliability would be in order come draft day. Pouncey is as ready-made as any draft prospect - he's got the size, strength, and technique to excel at the nest level, especially in Pittsburgh's preferred shotgun, no-huddle stuff; it's a lot like what Pouncey helped run at Florida. Pouncey is also familiar with the option game, and

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With two days left before the first round of the draft, the boards are basically locked. What you hear in war rooms now is the sound of phones ringing, and teams talking trade. Due to cost concerns and possible labor issues, there may be more teams looking to back out of the top five than ever before. Thus, the mock you see below could change in regard to the teams at different draft slots, but at least in the top five, the player names probably don't change that much.

1. St. Louis Rams -- QB Sam Bradford, Oklahoma: The Rams have done their final due diligence on the man who will most likely be the first overall pick - they held a private workout last Friday with Bradford. By all accounts, it went very well - St. Louis offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur was seen to say "Perfect!" and bang fists with Bradford after a few of his better throws. At this point, all that's left for Bradford to do is to travel to New York and get ready to tell

San Francisco 49ers kicker Joe Nedney(notes) disagrees, and he's got the gold medal to prove it. On Monday, Nedney competed in a kicking contest at what's left of the old Kezar Stadium against a 340-pound robot named "Ziggy".

This was to promote the upcoming RoboGames in San Mateo (yes, how very Silicon Valley geeky!), and Ziggy, representing "Team Asimov", acquitted himself well. The 14-inch tall android booted a 45-yard field goal, putting the pressure on Nedney. However, there's a reason that humans are still best for the NFL - Nedney came through with a 50-yarder, saving his job and perhaps civilization itself.

"Even with robotics, there's still human error involved," Nedney told the media at the event. "But it definitely legitimizes my position, I feel really good right now," As well you should, Joe - but I'd watch my back if I were you. Ziggy's got a pretty mean look on his "face", and I wouldn't be surprised if those techies came up with a Robo-Kicker that booted the ball far

They come to the NFL every year, from all over the country. They rise up from the ranks of the late rounds or the undrafted, and many of them will confound even their own coaches with their abilities to get things done at the NFL level. Last year, Baltimore cornerback LaDarius Webb (Nicholls State), Chicago receiver Johnny Knox(notes) (Abilene Christian), Detroit defensive tackle Sammie Lee Hill (Stillman), and Jacksonville defensive tackle Terrance Knighton(notes) (Temple) each made a professional impact. Here are 10 prospects that could do the same thing in 2010 and beyond.

1. OT Jared Veldheer, Hillsdale - Veldheer probably gained his first national recognition at the Texas vs. The Nation game, but he's been on the radar of scouts for a while now. He was among the top performers at the Combine for his position, and there's a growing sense that in the right system, he's got the same potential as New England's Sebastian Vollmer(notes), a second-round pick in 2009 who wound up looking

When we talk about "risk" in the draft, what do we mean? If a team takes a flyer on a guy in the middle-to-late rounds - a spread-offense quarterback with little chance to make the pro transition, a receiver with demon speed and little else, a tackle on either side of the ball with great athleticism and iffy fundamentals, or a player at any position who's already been coached to his ceiling - well, the risk is negligible. Teams are playing dice with the universe after the first couple of rounds, and they know it. It's the picks early on that can come back and haunt a franchise for years if they're made without the proper scouting and background work. Here are 10 players with first- and second-round grades who also possess major risk factors that could make them either bargains or busts.

QB Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame: Of course, the big positive with Clausen is that he's pro-ready; his work with Charlie Weis presented him with the ability to get a head start on the intricacies of the

More comparisons: Safeties | OLBs | ILBs | DTs | DEs | OTs | TEs | WRs | RBs | QBs

As NFL receivers get bigger and faster, and more of them are put on the field in creative formations, the importance of the shutdown cornerback (that always-endangered species) might be more important than ever. The Defensive Player of the Year award was won by Charles Woodson(notes), with fellow cornerback Darrelle Revis(notes) finishing second in voting.

This draft class presents two players with extensive experience in man coverage, and several below them who operated primarily in zone coverage shells against spread offenses. Of course, the best can play both, and that's what Joe Haden and Kyle Wilson have in common. Who comes out on top in our tale of the tape?:

Joe Haden, Florida Haden Height: 5-11 Weight: 193 40 time: 4.52 Short shuttle: 4.34 3-cone: 6.94 Vertical: 35" Broad jump: 10'05" 225lb bench: 18 Starts: 40 Tackles: 218 INTs: 8 INT yards: 166 Passes defensed: 34 Forced fumbles: 3

Kyle Wilson,

More comparisons: OLBs | ILBs | DTs | DEs | OTs | TEs | WRs | RBs | QBs

As schemes change in the NFL, certain positions rise and fall in importance. Over the last few years, the NFL has become more of a dynamic and downfield passing league, with more shotgun sets and multi-receiver looks than ever before. When you're facing a team like the Patriots, Saints, Colts, or Chargers, and you're trying to corral passing options all over the place, your safeties play a crucial role. The idea these days is to keep everything in front of you on defense and try to eliminate the big play.

Two safeties stand apart in the 2010 NFL draft class: Eric Berry and Earl Thomas. Berry may be the most well-developed player at any position this year, while Thomas is a series of slightly raw tools just looking to bust loose. How do they fit in the NFL? Let's see what the tape says:

Eric Berry, Tennessee Berry Height: 6-0 Weight: 211 40 time: 4.40 Short shuttle: 4.23 3-cone: 6.80 Vertical: 43" Broad jump: 10'10"

With one week left before the draft begins, teams are in lockdown mode. Boards are being finalized, those last player checks are done, and if there's a nagging feeling in the back of your head that you need to go watch a bit more film on that long-snapper from Kutztown University ... well, now's the time to get with the program. Here's the second part of our penultimate mock- picks 1-16 can be found here.

This is also a good time to promote the "Tale of the Tape" series, which takes the two best players at a position and looks to see how they match up based on film study. We're up to the linebackers now (inside and outside here), with links to other positions below.

DT | DE | OT | TE | WR | RB | QB

Now, on to Part 2!

17. San Francisco 49ers (from Carolina) — QB Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame: The 49ers have needs along their offensive line, but they've also been a quarterback away from the playoffs more than once in recent years. No matter how much faith they've shown in Alex Smith, and