2010 NFL Mock Draft: Perfect Top 10 - Chasing the Mock Drafter's Ultimate High

You had it.

Last year, you had what every draft fan lives for.

The ultimate mock draft.

This was the year. You studied every team’s depth chart, knew every team need, you knew whose stock was rising and whose was falling. Plus, you waited till the very last minute just so you could decipher every last rumor.

3:59 and click. It’s submitted and official.

Now you sit, highlighter in hand, ready to start marking off all of your fantastic picks.

Lions go with Stafford, that was a given.

Jason Smith to St. Louis, now we’re getting going.

The Chiefs select Tyson Jackson, proving that your late rumor crunching was well worth it.

Seahawks take Aaron Curry, four for four.

And then it happened. Every mock drafter's greatest fear. The dreaded trade.

The Jets move up for Sanchez and there it goes.

Watching that logo switch with time left on the clock is like a true punch to the gut.

Months of hard planning all down the drain. Simply another year ruined by a trade. They may be unpredictable but those trades sure are frustrating.

Because, to have a truly great mock draft, you need to have the top ten completely right. That’s the rule. The top ten and then about ten other correct picks scattered throughout round one constitutes a mock worthy of admiration.

Still, it’s rarely, if ever, accomplished.

The self-appointed experts would like you to believe they have a good clue, but in the end they’re usually less accurate than a lot of the fans.

Nonetheless, as impossible and elusive as it might be, every year the mockers still chase it. This will be the year that it all falls into place. This will be the year of their great mock draft.

It’s like a perfect March Madness bracket, no matter how virtually unlikely it is to happen, there is always that sliver of hope.

Then a trade or something like Donte Whitner happens and you’re back to square one.

It’s the same deal this year with Jimmy Clausen. It’s always that second quarterback floating out there that seems to throw a wrench into the whole thing.

This draft could go right as scripted, but it very well could be one of the wildest in recent memory.

So in the end it really is anybody's guess.

Here’s a look at five teams in the top ten that could destroy everyone’s mock this year.

The Tampa Bay Bucs at No. 3

They need to be a defensive tackle here because if it’s not, then all bets are off. It seems likely that if Detroit takes one of the big two tackles, the Bucs would take whoever is left over. However, if that card they're dealt doesn’t tickle their fancy, they might try trading down.

The Cleveland Browns at No. 7

If it plays out to where it’s Bradford and then the five lineman (Suh, McCoy, Okung, Bulaga, and Williams) coming off the board in the first six picks, then the question becomes what do the Browns do at seven?

They could hold the keys as this year’s draft catalyst and fulcrum. Everything may very well hinge on what they do.

It would seem crazy if the Browns passed over Eric Berry if he was available, but Jimmy Clausen is out there and the Browns are in need of a quarterback for the future.

Maybe they could surprise everyone and go down an entirely different avenue and pick a player like Jared Odrick, the defensive tackle from Penn State. Although, it would seem more logical to try and move a few spots down and get full value for him.

The Oakland Raiders at No. 8

I, for one, think Al Davis gets a bad rap. He has a reputation as this loose cannon on draft day who just picks guys based off of measurables.

I don’t feel that’s entirely true though.

Before last year, Oakland’s three previous drafts went pretty much as expected. Most, including myself, had Russell, McFadden, and Huff going to the Raiders. Plus, those were three of the most decorated prospects in their respective draft classes.

It makes me wonder sometimes why all of the people that rated Russell, McFadden, Huff, and Gallery as “sure-fire, can’t misses” are now the ones criticizing and chastising Davis and calling him a kook.

As for his pick this year, I will admit all bets seem to be off.

The Bruce Campbell talk lately seems a bit too cliche to be believed, but it is a possibility if the three other offensive tackles are off the board.

For one, I’d like to see the Raiders go in a different direction and maybe choose a wild-card player like Maurkice Pouncey.

The Buffalo Bills at No. 9

If the top three tackles are off the board and Jimmy Clausen is available for the quarterback-starved franchise, then that very well may be the pick.

As we saw with the Whitner selection a few years ago, though, you can never fully know for sure what the Bills will do.

The Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 10

Joe Haden, Jason Pierre-Paul, trade down?

It’s obvious the Jags have the desire to move down and acquire more picks while also avoiding a top-ten contract.

If they can find a trading partner like Cincinnati, who may want to hop up for Jason Pierre-Paul, look for them to slide down a few notches and try and pick up a second rounder.

The Tim Tebow factor also comes into play.