Julio Jones, the star of the NFL Combine last week, will spend this week as the fastest-moving player in the 2011 NFL mock draft season. With A.J. Green's stock unchanged from before the combine, either wide receiver could emerge a top-five pick in this week's SB Nation Mock Draft. And it looks increasingly likely that they'll be the only two wide receivers in the first round.
Jones's outstanding 40 times and great reviews from scouts and bloggers were only made more impressive when it was revealed that he played through a broken foot all week. A.J. Green's 4.50 40 disappointed some observers, but a middling showing at the Combine isn't enough to dent a draft stock that's proven so solid to date.
Whoever comes out on top can only mean bad news for the St. Louis Rams, who appear ever less likely to pick a wide receiver with their awkward 14th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Jonathan Baldwin, the receiver most likely to sneak into the first round with a great showing at the combine, only compounded his recent problems with a distinctly unimpressive week.