Round 1
1. Detroit Lions — QB Matthew Stafford, UCS: The Lions don’t have a franchise quarterback and Stafford is the best in the draft. The healing from the Matt Millen era begins today.
2. St. Louis — OT Eugene Monroe, Virginia: No one has to remind Rams fans how important Orlando Pace was during the team’s heyday. Monroe eventually could be as good as Pace.
3. Kansas City — OT Jason Smith, Baylor: The Chiefs could just as easily end up with Monroe if the Rams opt for Smith. Either way, general manager Scott Pioli will use this pick to bring in quarterback Matt Cassell’s new best friend.
4. Seattle — OLB Aaron Curry, Wake Forest: This is the safe, smart pick, although the Seahawks also could go with a wide receiver or even a quarterback here.
5. Cleveland — QB Mark Sanchez, USC. Face it. Brady Quinn isn’t Eric Mangini’s guy, and the Browns are likely to settle for the second- and fifth-round picks the New York Giants are offering for Braylon Edwards rather than endure another season of drama. Everything began pointing in this direction late in the week.
6. Cincinnati — WR Jeremy Maclin, Missouri. The Bengals need help along the offensive line, but they won’t pass up Maclin, who can also jack up their return game.
7. Oakland — WR Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech. We know how much Raiders owner Al Davis loves his flashy receivers. Crabtree can play, too.
8. Jacksonville — DT B.J. Raji, Boston College. There are other needs, especially at wideout and quarterback, where David Garrard regressed last season. But Raji is the kind of run-stopper the Jags can’t pass on.
9. Green Bay — LB Brian Orakpo, Texas: Orakpo is a perfect fit for the Packers’ new 3-4 scheme.
10. San Francisco — OT Andre Smith, Alabama: The Niners could use a quarterback, but with Stafford and Sanchez gone they will opt for quarterback insurance instead.
11. Buffalo — DE Aaron Maybin, Penn State: If Smith somehow drops past the 49ers he could be the Bills’ man. Otherwise look for them to go with Maybin, Paul Posluszny’s old defensive mate at Penn State.
12. Denver — DE Tyson Jackson, LSU: You might have noticed defense was a problem for the Broncos last year. Jackson could be a problem solver.
13. Washington — LB Rey Maualaga, USC: The ‘Skins would love to have Sanchez fall to this spot, but their consolation prize will be the first of three USC linebackers to go in the first round.
14. New Orleans — CB Malcolm Jenkins, Ohio State: Jenkins gives the Saints’ leaky secondary the lockdown corner it needs.
15. Houston — LB Brian Cushing, USC: Cushing will bring the pass rush from the strong side and beef up an inconsistent Texans defense.
16. San Diego — RB Chris “Beanie” Wells, Ohio State: The Chargers could go with a linebacker. Instead they go with an Eddie George-type back who can ease in as Ladainian Tomlinson’s eventual replacement.
17. New York Jets — WR Percy Harvin, Florida. Assuming the Jets aren’t able to trade up to take Sanchez, they’ll try to work a trade for Brady Quinn and add a play-maker who will help out whoever winds up as their quarterback.
18. Denver — QB Josh Freeman, Kansas State: This amounts to a luxury pick for the Broncos, who use it on what they hope will be Jay Cutler’s replacement.
19. Tampa Bay — OLB/DE Robert Ayers, Tennessee: With the top three quarterbacks gone the Bucs opt to beef up their defense.
20. Detroit — OT Michael Oher, Mississippi: After landing Stafford, the Lions reel in a tackle who can protect him for the next five or 10 years.
21. Philadelphia — RB Knowshon Moreno, Georgia: Brian Westbrook’s body won’t last forever, and Moreno is a potential top-10 talent who should still be available when the Eagles pick.
22. Minnesota — OT Eben Britton, Arizona: After whiffing on a tackle in free agency the Vikings find a good one still left in the latter stages of the first round.
23. New England — LB Clay Matthews, USC: Bill Belichick loves his linebackers, and the still-developing Matthews might prove to be the best pro from USC’s bumper crop in this draft.
24. Atlanta — DT Peria Jerry, Mississippi: With Tony Gonzalez in the fold, tight end is no longer a need, so the Falcons turn their attention to defense and bring in a run-stopper.
25. Miami — TE Brandon Pettigrew, Oklahoma State: This might not be a textbook Bill Parcells first-round pick, but Pettigrew’s blocking ability will win over the Tuna.
26. Baltimore — DE Michael Johnson, Georgia Tech: The Ravens know you can never have enough quality help on defense.
27. Indianapolis — WR Darrius Hayward-Bey, Maryland: Defense always seems to be a crying need for the Colts, but they go with Marvin Harrison’s replacement instead.
28. Buffalo — DT Evander Hood, Tennessee: Marcus Stroud gets his run-stuffing mate and the Bills get an early return from the Jason Peters trade.
29. New York Giants — OT Phil Loadholt, Oklahoma: Having brought in Edwards to address their needs at wideout, the Giants turn to bulking up the line.
30. Tennessee — CB Darius Butler, Connecticut: The Titans pounce on Butler, who could have gone much higher.
31. Arizona — WR Hakeem Nicks, North Carolina: With Anquan Boldin on his way out, the Cardinals begin re-tooling their offense.
32. Pittsburgh — C Alex Mack, California: The Steelers answer their long-term question at center by drafting Justin Hartwig’s replacement.
Round 2
33. Detroit — OLB Everette Brown, Florida State.
34. New England — S Louis Delmas, Western Michigan
35. St. Louis — WR Kenny Britt, Rutgers
36. Cleveland — RB Donald Brown, Connecticut
37. Seattle — ILB James Laurinaitis, Ohio State
38. Cincinnati — C Max Unger, Oregon
39. Jacksonville — WR Brian Robiskie, Ohio State
40. Oakland — OT Jamon Meredith, South Carolina
41. Green Bay — OLB Larry English, Northern Illinois
42. Buffalo — OT William Beatty, Connecticut
43. San Francisco — CB Alphonso Smith, Wake Forest
44. Miami — OLB Connor Barwin, Cincinnati
45. New York Giants — OLB Clint Sintim, Virginia
46. Houston — S Patrick Chung, Oregon
47. New England — DT Alex Magee, Purdue
48. Denver — S William Moore, Missouri
49. Chicago — WR Mohammed Massaquoi, Georgia
50. Cleveland — S Rashad Johnson, Alabama
51. Dallas — WR Derrick Williams, Penn State
52. Philadelphia — TE Shawn Nelson, Southern Miss
53. New York Jets — QB/WR Pat White, Virginia
54. Minnesota — C Eric Wood, Louisville
55. Atlanta — CB Sean Smith, Utah
56. Miami — G Andy Levitre, Oregon State
57. Baltimore — TE Jared Cook, South Carolina
58. New England — DT Jarron Gilbert, San Jose State
59. Carolina — DT Ron Brace, Boston College
60. New York Giants — RB LeSean McCoy, Pittsburgh
61. Indianapolis — RB Shonn Green, Iowa
62. Tennessee — DT Fila Moala, USC
63. Arizona — OLB Lawrence Sidbury, Arizona
64. Pittsburgh — DT Senn’Derrick Marks, Auburn
– John Dudley
