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By Stewart Mandel, SI.com

Theoretically, NFL execs are evaluating the same players you and I and other college football fans watched for the past four years, but you'd never know it sometimes by the way they mysteriously inflate or deflate some prospects' stock. What exactly are they seeing that makes Florida State's Greg Jones one of the top three or four running backs in this draft despite not finishing among the nation's top 100 rushers last season? What exactly did Rashaun Woods do wrong to be ranked behind at least six receivers whom he outperformed the past two seasons?

Here is my second annual "Overrated and Underrated" list of prospects at each position, based solely on my impressions after watching them throughout their college careers.

Quarterback


Overrated: Eli Manning, Ole Miss.
Is he a very good quarterback? Yes. Would he be considered the No. 1 overall pick with any other last name? I highly doubt it. By any measure, Manning, who completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 3,600 yards, 29 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, was no better than the fifth-best quarterback in the country last season (he actually finished 17th in pass efficiency). And that was a big step up from the previous two seasons, when his production wouldn't have merited inclusion in the top 20. You'd expect a "franchise" quarterback to have monster performances in his team's biggest games. Manning had his worst game of the season (16-of-36, 200 yards) in the Rebels' first-place showdown with LSU. He's a solid performer with a strong arm, but he simply doesn't dazzle you like some of his peers at the position in this draft. You could argue that he also didn't have as good a supporting cast -- can you name one Ole Miss receiver? But the Rebels were good enough to go 7-1 in the toughest conference in the country last season and only on a few occasions was it the direct result of Manning taking over the game.


Underrated: Philip Rivers, N.C. State
Rivers' college career -- the second-most productive in NCAA history, capped off by a senior season in which he led the nation with a 72.1 completion percentage to go with 4,491 yards, 34 touchdowns and just seven picks -- was the ahtletic equivalent of graduating with a 4.0 from Harvard. Only the NFL would say, "That's nice, but there's two guys we like better." Is it because of Rivers' unconventional release? Try asking Florida State's defenders from the past four years, many of whom have gone or will go on to the pros, whether that motion hinders him at all. Rivers was one of the most intelligent, mistake-free QBs college football has seen, very reminiscent of a Tom Brady or Joe Montana. Week in and week out he led N.C. State against teams that often had superior talent but were quickly neutralized by Rivers' leadership. Witness his two wins and near-miss last season against the 'Noles, his dramatic comeback against Ohio State that ultimately fell just short, or his four impressive bowl-game performances. Someone is going to get this guy later than they really should and be very happy.



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