Eric Berry to enter draft as highest rated safety prospect

2009 Jim Thrope Award winner, Tennessee junior DB Eric Berry, will forego his seniotr season and enter the 2010 NFL Draft AP Photo/John Raoux

After his Tennessee Volunteers lost the Chic-Fil-A Bowl, junior safety Eric Berry the 2009 Jim Thorpe Award winner announced that he had just played his final college game, and will enter the 2010 NFL draft.

Berry doesn’t have to wait for the NFL advisory board to tell him where he will be drafted; he has a very good chance at going in the top ten, and is a virtual lock to be selected by pick number 10.

The fact here is every team that will pick in the top ten of the upcoming NFL draft could use a shut down safety, and whether one has him ranked as the best safety or just behind USC’s Taylor Mays, both players are likely to be drafted in the top ten.

The fact here is many believe Berry to be the best player in the 2010 Draft. This guy has a nose for the football, and knows exactly what to do when he gets it. He is the career leader in NCAA interception return yardage, and did everything he could do playing for a rather insignificant Tennessee team.

He may not be a big player, at 5-11 and 203 lbs, but it is very hard to find a flaw in his game. He is very durable, having started every game of his college career, dating back to 2007.

He will rate behind the top DT’s for the 2010 Draft, only because of which teams are ending up at the top of the draft. While all these teams could use a safety, they have higher needs on the Defensive line. Had in shaken out a little different we would be talking about Berry as the overall number one pick.

As it stands now the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the Cleveland Browns, would have a very tough time passing on Berry. The Detroit Lions could take him, but have other needs that are higher on the priority list. Depending on how the Lions scouts have the DT’s ranked, there is a very real possibility that the Lions could select him with the second overall pick.

In the case of the Lions, they need to work on their pass rush. Now there are two ways to do that, the ideal way would be to draft DT Ndamukong Sun and unleash him on their opponents. The second way to do that is build a fierce secondary that can tie up wide out long enough for D-Lineman to get to the QB. The Lions secondary already features Louis Delmas, adding Berry to that mix looks very attractive.

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