NFL scouts say they know him, but they're wrong...

Alan Branch, junior defensive tackle, Michigan

WHAT NFL SCOUTS ARE SAYING

Branch is trending downward after some questionable performances at combines and such. ESPN ($):

Branch is losing some momentum as the draft nears. He elected to bolt school early after his most productive season as a junior and he also showed good mobility for his size at the combine. There's no question that Branch possesses the rare physical tools to make an impact in the NFL, but he takes too many plays off on film and he wasn't overly impressive during private interviews with some teams.

Meanwhile, John Murphy at Yahoo lists Branch as his #1 falling prospect:

At times, he appears to be less of the dominant interior defender that can take up space and fight through double teams and seems more another disappointing underclassman that has riddled this position in recent years. He was a little out of shape at his pro day workout as several scouts noted that he was out of breath and lacked explosiveness in his drills. To his credit, he has not made any excuses, but there is now more of a consensus that he could need a lot of motivation to reach or play his best.

PROBABLY GETTING DRAFTED...

The current buzz is that Branch is dropping down into the 15-20 range. The fictional Fanhouse Dolphins had the good sense to grab him ninth in the ongoing Fanhouse mock draft, but there are rumblings that Louisville DT Amobi Okoye may go before Branch.

GUY WHO WATCHED HIM FOR FOUR THREE YEARS IS SAYING

Anyone who takes a 19-year-old who was a nice but not dominant player in college over Alan Branch is on drugs or is Matt Millen. Michigan's run defense was the best the NCAA had seen in the past ten yards and Branch was a key component of that. Even when Michigan's defense collapsed towards the end of the year it couldn't be blamed on Branch: against Ohio State he had a fumble recovery and an interception (fifteen yards downfield!); in the Rose Bowl USC's offensive explosion only came after they stopped running entirely. Criticizing his pass rush is odd since he's a defensive tackle, and concerns about his athleticism are kind of ridiculous. At Michigan, Branch consistently tracked down running backs on screens and when they (infrequently) broke past the line of scrimmage. And though his TFL and sack numbers weren't on par with a few other defensive tackles, he got plenty of penetration, disrupting plays but not getting statistical credit for it.

You can check any of the play-by-play breakdowns I did of Michigan's '06 season if you want confirmation of this latter assertion. I especially recommend games against Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Iowa, and the infamous game versus Penn State in which he nearly killed Anthony Morelli. You'll see many instances in which Branch disrupts the timing of a play without getting a tackle or sack. You will also see the gushing of a man hopelessly in love with a guy playing like a top-five draft pick. Meanwhile, Okoye has a cool name, a cool story, and vastly fewer onfield accomplishments. Taking him over Branch would be rank combine overrating of the most heinous sort.