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It is not a particularly insightful or controversial statement, and you won’t find that many people who disagree – but it is worth just pointing out to the few remaining doubters – Ndamukong Suh is the best player in…

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It is not a particularly insightful or controversial statement, and you won’t find that many people who disagree – but it is worth just pointing out to the few remaining doubters – Ndamukong Suh is the best player in this years draft class. Any position, any scenario, any team.

JaMarcus Russell proves that number 1 picks don’t always live up to the hype, but Suh seems to be as sure a thing as there is.

Aligned with his natural speed off the snap, long arms, power, and healthy dose of nastiness, is a willingness to really work at his game. Suh could already be playing in the NFL with a bank balance suitably inflated. However, he chose to stay another year in Nebraska to work on his game, so that he could be a genuine “game changer”.

Coaches have talked about his insatiable desire to try new schemes and his hours in front of the video tape in glowing terms. It appears that the hard work has paid off – below is a list of the notable awards the 300lb 6 foot 4 behemoth has picked up this season –

Outland Trophy (Best lineman)
Chuck Bednarik Award (Nations best defensive player)
Lombardi Award (Top collegiate lineman)
Bronco Nagurski Trophy (Top Defensive Player)
CBS Sportline defensive player of the year.

On top of that he was short-listed for the prestigious Heisman Trophy. A mere nomination may not sound much, but defensive players don’t win the Heisman Trophy. In fact only Charles Woodson (current NFL defensive player of the year) has picked up the award in modern times. Rare company indeed for Suh to keep.

Further proof of Suh’s incredible desire and workrate is the fact he went and worked out at the combine. As the elite college player in his year, Suh is pretty much guaranteed to be the top pick regardless of what he does between now and the draft. However, as he said himself “I have nothing to hide” – he went, did the drills and just underlined his enormous worth to the team lucky enough to draft him.

Currently The St Louis Rams have the first overall pick. That franchise has so many holes that they should just pick the best player. The best player is Suh. However, there has been some talk that their quarterback needs may see Sam Bradford rise to the top of the class. This would be a mistake. There are already enough quarterbacks available who are improvement on what they currently have (Carolina today released Jake Delhomme for example).

By picking Suh, the Rams ensure (injury withstanding) that they will have a dominant person in defence to build around. They should go back to old school football (or current day New York Jets football). Make themselves tough to beat, use the run (in Steven Jackson they have one of the best running backs in the league) and limit the quarterback duties. This formula would see them dominate the clock as well as, eventually winning more than they lose – just ask Rex Ryan.

If Sam Bradford was Peyton Manning I may be saying things differently, and this is no reflection on Bradford who will be a fine player, but overall number 1 pick is a little rich for him.

Almost every mock draft, or analysis I have read has Suh as the number one pick. Experts can be wrong, but in this case I think they are all bang on the money. Suh IS the way to go.

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