NEW YORK -- Thirty yards away from the packed scrum of reporters surrounding Jadeveon Clowney, Greg Robinson stood alone.
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The mammoth offensive tackle out of Auburn didn't appear piqued by the lack of attention, and why should he? Robinson's a lock to go in the draft's top 10, if not the top five. Deemed as one of this year's safest prospects, the lineman was named by NFL Media's Daniel Jeremiah as the surest bet to morph into a future Hall of Famer.
We asked the road-grader where he thinks he'll wind up on Thursday night.
"Well, I think St. Louis really liked me," Robinson said at Wednesday's NFL Play 60 Youth Football Festival along the Hudson. "I've been hearing a lot of good things from them as far as when I was on my visit and when they came and worked me out, there was a lot of good things. And Atlanta, they really liked me, too."
Even teams with elite bookends are showing interest in Robinson, who told us that both Houston and the Rams have talked about him starting his career on the right side of the line. "I would like to play left tackle," said the behemoth. "It makes playing O-line a little more exciting, but I don't have a problem playing any other position."
Right side, left side -- it won't matter. He's got the physical tools to be a headache for opponents for a decade-plus at the pro level.
Here's what else we learned at Wednesday's gathering:
- Best interview of the bunch? Eric Ebron, the North Carolina tight end who pondered reports that the Baltimore Ravens see him as their "No. 1 target" in Round 1. "That would be beautiful, wouldn't it?" Ebron said with a grin, before acknowledging that no teams have shown more interest in the versatile, pass-catching tight end than the Lions and Bills.
- Amid whispers that Cleveland could bypassJohnny Manziel and pick a quarterback later in the draft, there's speculation that the Browns have eyes for Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater if he tumbles to No. 26. Asked about the prospect of playing in Kyle Shanahan's offense, Bridgewater said, "I think I would fit in perfect. What coach Shanahan's doing there is similar to what I did at the University of Louisville."
- Bridgewater's taken heaps of criticism during the draft process, but he promised that whoever calls his number this week is getting "a steal" at the position, and "a jewel of the draft."
- Six feet away from Bridgewater, Blake Bortles acknowledged that he hasn't paid attention to the endless parade of mock drafts, saying of his landing spot: "I don't really care. I look forward to finding out, I mean (number) one or 32 or 50 or 100, it will all be just as cool to me." Asked if he considers himself the draft's top passer, Bortles laughed, saying, "Obviously I do, but we'll find out what everybody else thinks tomorrow night."
- At 6-5 and 230 pounds, Bortles invites comparisons to pocket magician Ben Roethlisberger, but he admits that "footwork was a huge" focus for him during his development at Central Florida. Come Thursday night, the quarterback-needy Vikings loom as a fitting landing spot and Bortles told me his time with general manager Rick Spielman and the team "went really well," saying he got "really good vibes" from Norv Turner and his son Scott.
- Texas A&M wideout Mike Evans looks the part in the flesh. He's long and fluid and -- at a towering 6-foot-5 -- someone Bills general manager Doug Whaley opined over as a "dimension that we don't have" on offense. "The visit with the Bills was one of the best visits that I had," Evans told Around The League. "I'd love to play for them."
- Jadeveon Clowney has never been on a losing team and doesn't plan to start now. "Hopefully we turn that program around," he said of whoever picks him. "... The most games I lost in one season was three ... and I've been playing since I was six years old. And I don't want to lose. I hate losing, and I'll do anything to win a game."
The "Around The League Podcast" Draft Preview Spectacular is all you need before draft day.
