We're now less than two weeks away from draft weekend. No better time to get out your Wall Street Journal, turn on the TV and chat about what's hot and what's not on the market. Here are five players' stocks that are rising and cresting at the perfect times; and five players whose stocks are slipping when it matters most. RISING: 1. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, CB, Tennessee State: Rodgers-Cromartie is still riding high from what was a pre-draft season unlike any other we've witnessed in recent memory. Rodgers-Cromartie performed brilliantly in the Senior Bowl, taking defensive MVP honors, and then stole the show at the NFL Combine a few weeks later. The numbers? A 4.29 40-yard-dash, a 38.5-inch vertical and 17 reps of 225 pounds on the bench. In a matter of a few weeks, Rodgers-Cromartie went from a small-school star who could go in the first round to potentially being the first cornerback taken in this year's draft. 2. Vernon Gholston, DE/LB, Ohio State: Gholston was always considered a potential top-10 pick, but he solidified a spot in the first six with a Pro Day that left scouts scraping their jaws off the floor in Columbus on March 7. The 6-foot-3, 270 pound man-child showed off a 4.58 40-yard dash time and exhibited a 42-inch vertical. Forty-two inches! From a 270-pound guy! That's Dwight Howard-like stuff. It seems as though most pundits have Chris Long going before Gholston come April 26, but don't be shocked if it goes the other way. Hell, Gholston could very well be the first player taken, going No. 1 to Miami. 3. Chad Henne, QB, Michigan: This whole stock business is funny. Back in December, you couldn't find a soul willing to speak a positive word about Chad Henne. At the time, the senior signal caller at Michigan was 0-4 against Ohio State, 0-3 in Bowl Games and winless in games involving a team called Appalachian State. That all seems like years ago now. An MVP performance in the Capital One Bowl, MVP honors for the North team at the Senior Bowl, and an above-average performance at the Combine — in what is not a deep draft for quarterbacks — and suddenly everyone's riding high on the Chad Henne train. I've heard some pundits call him the most NFL-ready quarterback outside of Matt Ryan. Whether true or not, Henne and his agent won't argue. Originally considered a nice value pick in the third or fourth round, Henne could go as soon as early second round, or even late in the first. Don't be shocked if a quarterback-hungry team trades up and snags Dallas's 28th pick to grab Henne. The good news for him? He'll never have to face the Ohio State Buckeyes in the NFL. 4. Jerod Mayo, LB, Tennessee: In what's quite honestly a very thin draft for linebackers, Jerod Mayo has found his name rising up draft boards over the past several weeks. A strong finish to his junior season, paired with a fabulous showing at his Pro Day, has made Mayo a strong possibility for the first round. I may be a little trigger happy slotting Mayo to go as early as 15th overall to the Lions, but I'm not alone on the Mayo bandwagon. It seems as though his name and draft placement are inching higher and higher on mock drafts across the web as the weeks go by. It's not undeserved. In his first year at middle linebacker in '07, Mayo recorded a mind-blowing 140 tackles for the SEC East champion Vols. good read LINK to rest of story http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8040144/On-the-clock:-Would-John-Adams-be-proud-of-NFL-GMs?
