Now that the season is over, draft talk is going to dialed up to 11, because 10 isn't high enough.
The NFL Draft has become a such a big deal that it's a prime-time, three-day unofficial kickoff to the 2012 season, with mini-camps and off-season workouts coming right behind it. It also gives college football fans a fairly unbiased look at how their team performed the previous season, as NFL talent evaluators spare no expense scouring the land for any conceivable diamond in the rough.
Under head coach Art Briles, Baylor had one of the finest seasons in program history in 2011, finishing with a Heisman Trophy winner as well as a 10-3 record with a win over the Washington Huskies in the Alamo Bowl, and the NFL has noticed.
According to National Football Post's Wes Bunting, the five deepest positions in the NFL draft are running back, wide receiver, quarterback, guard and cornerback, and two former Baylor players are considered to be top-100 picks in those positions.
While Baylor QB Robert Griffin III is currently ranked behind Stanford's Andrew Luck on most draft lists, many mocks have a team like the Cleveland Browns trading up all the way to No. 2 to select him:
Not only does the quarterback class feature a pair of potential blue-chip guys at the top end of the draft in Stanford's Andrew Luck and Baylor's Robert Griffin III. But there's also a number of late first/second round wild cards who have the skill set to mature into potential starters as well, giving teams a number of opportunities to find their potential future franchise signal caller in the top-100 picks.
The other top-100 former Bear is WR Kendall Wright, considered to be the second best wide receiver in this year's draft class behind Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon.