1. Manny Lawson, LB, N.C. State: Here's a college defensive end rising up the draft boards for good reason. He's 6-foot-5, 241 pounds and runs a 4.4 40-yard dash. His 17 sacks in the past two seasons tells a little of his story about the kind of athlete he is, but a conversation I had with him recently told me a lot more. Lawson was offered a basketball scholarship to Davidson College coming out of high school, which tells me he will not struggle in space dropping back in pass coverage in a 3-4 defense. As a high school track-and-field athlete, he triple jumped close to 50 feet and long jumped just under 25 feet, making him one of the best jumpers in the country. As a college defensive end, he was a member of N.C. State's 4x100-meter relay team. Imagine a 6-5 defensive lineman on a sprint relay team -- that is rare! He finished up our conversation telling me his post-football career plans involve his other love, architecture.

6. Davin Joseph, G, Oklahoma: Talking with Joseph was like talking to an NFL line coach. He's played against the best, remembers everything about every opponent he faced in his four years at Oklahoma, and has an opinion about all of them. Successful NFL offensive linemen usually are some of the brightest guys on a team and Joseph will fit right into that mold. He recalled little subtleties about Oregon's Haloti Ngata from his junior year, stunts that former USC defensive tackle Shaun Cody used in the Orange Bowl two seasons ago, and what his blocking plan would be when he faces Michigan's Gabe Watson again. Any team who interviewed Joseph walked away knowing he was a sure bet to have a long NFL career.

4. Reggie Bush, RB, USC: Why a quick segment on the top pick in the NFL draft? Because he carries himself as a very humble young man that doesn't assume he's the top football player in America. I have talked with Bush many times and there are two things that jump out at me the most: his total focus to doing things the right way all day every day, and how much NFL owners who meet him are going to feel comfortable paying him a ton of money because he is a safe pick -- and a man with integrity.