We’re only a few days away from the NFL draft — also known as Football Nerd Christmas — which means it’s time for my annual All-Juice Team, where I recognize 22 prospects I like because of their effort, attitude or performance.

I dubbed this the “All-Juice” team five years ago because juice is a phrase that, in football terms, means having the goods.

In general, my track record has been OK. Like any well-meaning prognosticator, I’ve had some home runs (like MVP Patrick Mahomes) in 2017 and some huge whiffs (Paxton Lynch in 2016). I’ve been the most proud of my ability to identify a handful of players that the team I covered prior to joining Yahoo Sports — the Kansas City Chiefs — ended up drafting. In 2015, Kansas City took All-Juice member Steven Nelson, and in 2016, they took another in Eric Murray. In 2017, they took Mahomes and Tanoh Kpassagnon, and in 2018 they took Armani Watts and Tremon Smith. The focus may be the whole league now, but yeah, it’d be awesome to keep that streak going, though I’m sure I just jinxed myself.

I’ve picked players I’ve heard good things about during the pre-draft process. Just to be clear, I took no more than two players from each of the following tiers of prospects (who have been assigned grades based on where I think they’ll be taken in the draft):

7.5-7.1: Top 10 pick

7.0: 11-20

6.9: 21-32

6.8: Top half of the second round

6.7: Bottom half of the second

6.6: Top half of the third

6.5: Bottom half of the third

6.4: Fourth-round pick

6.3: Fifth-round pick

6.2: Sixth-round pick

6.1: Seventh-round pick

6.0: Priority free agent

There are some painful omissions since the strategy was to build the team the way I think a smart NFL franchise would: by picking the best combination of players I could find at quarterback, receiver/tight end, left tackle, edge rusher, defensive tackle and cornerback, and surrounding them with alphas, athletes and edgy players who love football.

OFFENSE

Murray, one of two All-Juice offensive co-captains, is the most explosive dual-threat quarterback to come along since Cam Newton in 2011, and he’s a more accurate passer. Throw in his rare “second-reaction” ability — a coveted trait after Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes crushed the league with it last season — and Murray is the personification of “juice” at quarterback in today’s NFL, small stature and all. Grade: 7.5

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The 5-foot-8, 208-pounder is the most explosive running back in this class. He showed it in college, rushing for an absurd 1,909 yards and 22 touchdowns on only 214 carries last season. His vision can be spotty, but athletically he has rare breakaway ability. If he’s behind a good offensive line, it’s Pro Bowl time. Grade: 6.7

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I’ll happily tap the man nicknamed “Hollywood” to be my feature receiver, and reunite this DeSean Jackson clone with his college quarterback. Brown is only 5-9 and 166 pounds, but he’s always the fastest player on the field, and a superb vertical threat and route-runner. For the quantity of short passes from Murray, Brown’s elite run-after the catch ability is a boon. Grade: 6.9

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Wesley is a massive 6-4, 203-pound target with huge (and reliable) 10-inch mitts and impressive route-running ability. He tests below the NFL mean as an overall athlete at the position, but his contested catch ability and 4.45 speed give him a chance to overcome that. He’s only a one-year starter, but after tallying 88 catches for 1,410 yards and nine touchdowns in 2018, he reminds me of a less-explosive Mike Evans. Grade: 6.2

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Yeah, it’s another small guy at 5-9, 166. But what Scott lacks in bulk, he makes up for with playmaking ability. He’s a slightly above average NFL athlete for the position — he ran a 4.39 at his pro day — and I liked his route-running and vertical ability in 2018, when he tallied over 1,100 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. Grade: 6.1

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