NFL Draft Rankings 2013: Middle Linebackers

Athlon gets the fans ready for the NFL draft with position by position rankings for 2013.

Each year a unique set of prospects enters the professional ranks with a chance to make an immediate impact on the country's most powerful sport. The 2013 NFL Draft, held April 25-27, won’t be any different. The best inside linebacker prospect might be the most covered, most scrutinized prospect in the entire draft. Manti Te'o heads a class that isn't all that deep but has some elite playmakers at the top of the board.

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NFL Draft Rankings 2013: Defensive Tackles

Athlon gets the fans ready for the NFL draft with position by position rankings for 2013.

Each year a unique set of prospects enters the professional ranks with a chance to make an immediate impact on the country's most powerful sport. The 2013 NFL Draft, held April 25-27, won’t be any different. The nose tackle position is a rare commodity that is highly coveted by every NFL franchise. And the 2013 class features a deep collection of elite prospects at the top of the rankings. However, after the top ten names are called, there could be a severe drop off in talent. Look for teams to go early on defensive tackles.

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NFL Draft Rankings 2013: Offensive Tackles

Athlon gets the fans ready for the NFL draft with position by position rankings for 2013.

Each year a unique set of prospects enters the professional ranks with a chance to make an immediate impact on the country's most powerful sport. The 2013 NFL Draft, held April 25-27, won’t be any different. Left tackle is the second most important position on the field, as salaries and a history of early draft picks have indicated. It's fairly simple, actually. If the quarterback is the most important player on the field then he who protects the quarterback is No. 2. And the No. 1 overall pick in 2013 could be a bookend tackle.

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NFL Draft Rankings 2013: Guards and Centers

Athlon gets the fans ready for the NFL draft with position by position rankings for 2013.

Each year a unique set of prospects enters the professional ranks with a chance to make an immediate impact on the country's most powerful sport. The 2013 NFL Draft, held April 25-27, won’t be any different. Guards and centers generally don't go very high in the draft as good ones can be found in the mid-to-late rounds. Two guards were taken a year ago in the first round — No. 24 and No. 27 overall — and no centers. The 2013 interior linemen class features one of the best guards scouts have seen in years and it means more than two inside blockers could go in the first round.

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NFL Draft Rankings 2013: Tight Ends

Athlon gets the fans ready for the NFL draft with position by position rankings for 2013.

Each year a unique set of prospects enters the professional ranks with a chance to make an immediate impact on the country’s most powerful sport. The 2013 NFL Draft, held April 25-27, won’t be any different. The evolution of the tight end position has been interesting to track over the last few seasons. Smaller, quicker players are being lined up in the slot while bigger, more physical options are getting time in the backfield. Even the Colts drafted two tight ends last year, one to catch passes and stretch the field and the other to block and be a red-zone target.

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SEC Football 2013 Spring Preview and Storylines

LSU is one of a few SEC teams with key question marks to address this spring.

Thanks to seven consecutive national championships, the rest of college football is looking up at the SEC. And while there are some worthy challengers ready to make a push in 2013, there appears to be no end in sight to the SEC’s recent string of dominance.

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NFL Draft Rankings 2013: Running Backs

Athlon gets the fans ready for the NFL draft with position by position rankings for 2013.

Each year a unique set of prospects enters the professional ranks with a chance to make an immediate impact on the country’s most powerful sport. The 2013 NFL Draft, held April 25-27, won’t be any different. The running back position has become one of the easiest to find in the middle and late rounds each year. For every Adrian Peterson taken in the first round, there has been a Ray Rice, LeSean McCoy, Arian Foster, Maurice Jones-Drew and Frank Gore. Running backs can be found deep in the draft, and in that sense, this is an excellent running back class. 

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College Football's Top 10 Spring Storylines to Watch for 2013

Can Johnny Manziel pick up where he left off last season?

The battle to win college football’s 2013 national championship is officially underway. Spring practice kicked off for a handful of teams in February and will begin for most of the remaining FBS teams in March. While it’s often difficult to glean much from spring practice, it’s a time of new beginning for a1l 125 teams.

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Ranking the SEC's College Football Coaching Jobs for 2013

Florida ranks as the No. 1 coaching job in the SEC.

We have ranked every college football program in the country, based on the attractiveness of the position from a coaching perspective. We considered many factors — tradition, facilities, location, money  — but in the end, we simply asked ourselves the following question: Where would we want to coach? Today we focus on the SEC.

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10 Most Intriguing Names to Watch at the NFL Combine

Who are the most interesting players to watch in Indianapolis?

Millions of dollars are made and lost at the NFL Combine and 2013 won’t be any different. Player interviews, mental acumen, agility, strength and speed tests all help NFL scouts, executives and coaches attempt to quantify over 300 different prospects over one weekend in Indianapolis.

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