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Will Another NFL Team Step Up And Throw A Raiders Curveball In the Draft?

If there was one thing you could count on in the NFL Draft, it was Al Davis doing the completely unexpected. Davis never cared what the projected draft order was, he had the guys he liked and he drafted them at his slot whether they were ranked high or not.

Over-drafting is something Davis excelled at, and it made for great television as the broadcasters tried to cope with some picks that were completely out of left field.

Will another team do that this year? The Raiders don't have a first-round pick, so someone has to pick up the slack.

Matt Millen is gone from Detroit, and Eric Mangini also is unemployed. So we are missing the three usual suspects when it comes to bad drafting.

To clarify, Mangini had Mike Tannenbaum in New York. Once Mangini was the sole voice of authority in the draft in Cleveland in 2009, he decided passing on Clay Matthews twice and over-drafting wide receivers by two rounds and lineman by three rounds was a good draft strategy. This is why he is unemployed.

My pick for curveball draft move this year is the Washington Redskins. Assume Cam newton and Blaine Gabbert are off the board by the 10th pick and the Redskins want a quarterback. They'll take Pat Devlin and light the room on fire.

They'll have to pull Mel Kiper off the floor and put the paddles on him to revive him. It will be glorious.

In this mock, logic is thrown out the window because it's nothing but curveballs. The Panthers take Cam Newton, the Broncos take Patrick Peterson, the Bills take Nick Fairley and the Bengals take A.J. Green.

The Cardinals take Von Miller while the Browns take Da'Quan Bowers. The 49ers take Blaine Gabbert while the Titans take Robert Quinn. Dallas takes Prince Amukamara and Mike Shanahan spends the next two years telling everyone why Devlin was a good pick before being fired.

For complete draft coverage, check out our NFL Draft Hub. For a look at a video mock draft, check out All 32 Selections With Video Highlights.

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Bill Belichick Knows How To Draft, And He Loves The Art Of The Deal

Bill Belichick got so much value out of his 2010 draft class it's silly. Almost every player drafted last year either finished the year as a starter or a major contributor in some way. That kind of success is ridiculous, but it's why the Patriots finished 14-2.

Good drafting is how you win Super Bowls. The Packers, Steelers and Patriots all draft well and their records and Lombardi trophies prove it.

In the current draft order, the Patriots have the 17th pick and the 28th pick. Belichick will trade down at least once because his needs all are available at the end of the first round with no issues.

The Patriots need a wide receiver, and unless Belichick decides to surprise everyone and try and trade up for A.J. Green, he'll wait for Jonathan Baldwin or Torrey Smith. There are a few other possibilities, but those are the two names that stand out after Julio Jones. There also is Titus Smith, but we'll see what happens.

The Patriots will trade down once and then draft Adrian Clayborn, defensive end out of Iowa with their first pick, and then take Smith at wide receiver with their second pick.

They'll grab an offensive lineman with the 33rd pick, probably Benjamin Ijalana. After that, it's all depth, and the Patriots will have a ton of it.

For complete draft coverage, check out our NFL Draft Hub. For a look at a first-round mock with video highlights, check out All 32 Selections With Highlights.

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Jake Locker, Colin Kaepernick And Ryan Mallett Will Wait Their Turn In The 2011 Draft

After Cam Newton and Blaine Gabbert, where do the rest of the quarterbacks go?

In my last mock, I had Blaine Gabbert going to San Francisco and Cam Newton going to Minnesota.

No other teams will draft a quarterback in the first round, so the second round comes up and we get to start the speculation all over again.

Jake Locker will not be the first quarterback picked in the second round. That honor will go to Colin Kaepernick, who will get his chance to start in Tennessee. Locker goes to the Washington Redskins with their second-round pick.

There also is Christian Ponder, who might also beat out Mallett, who has had some unspecified "character concerns" float around his name recently. Mallett also had a terrible 2010 season and now probably stays on the board until the third round, where he could go to the Seahawks or Ravens as a depth pick.

Ponder goes to the Bengals, who need a hedge against Carson Palmer leaving. This probably isn't the best choice for Cincinnati here, but the Bengals draft identity is making bad choices with the occasional good choice.

For complete draft coverage, check out our NFL Draft Hub. For a look at a video mock draft, check out All 32 Selections With Video Highlights.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers Will Have To Make Some Bold Moves In This Year's Draft

The Pittsburgh Steelers need to get Mike Pouncey out of this draft. To do that, the Steelers probably are going to have to trade up.

The Steelers have the 31st Pick in the draft, meaning there are a lot of teams ahead of them who are going to want offensive lineman. Pouncey is projected to go between the 20th and the 25th pick.

The Steelers best option is to try and trade up, probably with the New England Patriots. Bill Belichick never met a first-round pick he wasn't willing to trade away, and that would jump the Steelers ahead of the Giants, one of the teams who might take Pouncey ahead of the Steelers.

Nate Solder is the top-rated offensive lineman at the moment, and he could go to the Lions with the 13th pick. If the Lions pass, then the Steelers can wait.

Trading up most likely will cost them their second round pick, which means they'll have to wait until the third round to draft again. The Steelers should take a cornerback with that pick, and the rest of the draft is just trying to find more depth and hoping to find some diamonds in the rough.

For a complete look at the draft, check out our NFL Draft Hub. For a look at a video draft, check out All 32 Selections With Video Highlights.

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Which Teams Will Draft QBs Early? Which Ones Will Wait For New CBA?

Predicting which quarterbacks will go where is a tricky enough process in a normal year with this many high-round prospects and the amount of teams with needs.

Ordinarily, free agency and trades takes care of some teams prior to the draft and the slotting takes care of itself with few surprises.

You do get years where a Brady Quinn or Aaron Rodgers take huge falls, but those kinds of falls are almost impossible to predict.

Cam Newton and Blaine Gabbert will go in the Top 10 with Newton going no later than Tennessee. Gabbert lasts no longer than the Redskins.

In this scenario, the Panthers take Nick Fairley, the Broncos take Patrick Peterson, the Bills take Von Miller, the Bengals take Da'Quan Bowers and the Cardinals take Robert Quinn.

The Browns take A.J. Green while the 49ers take Marcell Dareus. The Titans take Newton while the Cowboys take Prince Amukamara. The Redskins take Gabbert and the other quarterbacks wait their turn until the second round.

For complete draft coverage, check out our NFL Draft Hub. For a look at a draft with video, check out All 32 Selections With Video Highlights.

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The Lions Have Several Needs, But Is The 13th Pick The Right Place To Strike?

The Lions needs going into the draft are an offensive lineman, a pass-rushing linebacker and another good corner.

In most mocks, Da'Quan Bowers, Robert Quinn, Patrick Peterson and Prince Amukamara are gone. The next tier of pass rushers and cornerbacks can wait a few picks.

This leaves Nate Solder as the current favorite offensive lineman prospect. Can the Lions take him at 13th without possibly losing out on the benefits of a trade-down?

The answer is no. Beneath the Lions are the Rams, Dolphins, Jaguars, Patriots and Chargers. The Giants with the 19th pick are the next team even remotely interested in an offensive lineman in the first round.

There are a lot of trade possibilities at 13 because the Jaguars may want to trade up a few spots while the Jets and Steelers definitely want to move up.

The Lions probably don't want to drop below the Giants unless they think the Giants will target someone else, so why take the risk?

Taking Solder is a solid pick at 13, but if the Lions can move down a few spots and get some draft picks back, then it definitely is a deal worth doing.

For a complete look at the draft, check out our NFL Draft Hub. For a look at a draft with video, check out All 32 Selections With Video Highlights.

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The Cowboys Could Be Trading Down If Their Top Need Is Off The Board

Part of every draft are the trades, especially in the early rounds. Some trades are good, as in the Jets trade for Mark Sanchez in 2009. Some trades are bad, as in the Browns trade for Mark Sanchez in 2009.

The Jets stole a pick and got a starting quarterback while the Browns didn't get nearly enough for what the Jets wanted and ended up losing out on Clay Matthews in favor of a guy who still was going to be on the board in the second round.

But that's a different argument for another day. This year, the Dallas Cowboys have to be looking at trading down because their biggest needs in the first round are a new cornerback or an offensive lineman.

If Patrick Peterson and Prince Amukamara are off the board by the ninth pick, the Cowboys will be hoping their phone is ringing about a trade because none of the offensive linemen on the board this year are going anywhere at the ninth pick. Jones can trade down several spots and still get a good lineman.

In this scenario, Peterson is a Bronco and Amukamara is a Brown. The best offensive lineman can be had in the middle of the round, so Dallas looks to trade with the Rams or the Vikings, who may want to trade up to secure certain prospects.

In this mock, A.J. Green is in Cincinnati, so the Rams trade up ahead of Washington to make sure they get Julio Jones. Dallas takes Nate Solder with the 14th pick in a draft where Nick Fairley goes to Carolina and Cam Newton goes to Tennessee. The Bills take Von Miller while the Cardinals take Robert Quinn.

For a complete look at the draft, check out our NFL Draft Hub. For a look at a draft with video, check out All 32 Selections With Video Highlights.

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Cam Newton Could Go To The Panthers If Jerry Richardson Is Crazy Enough

Right now no one expects Cam Newton to go to the Panthers. Panthers owner Jerry Richardson had his eyes set on Andrew Luck. With Luck gone, the team is giving every indication it will give Jimmy Clausen another year to develop.

But let's assume Richardson all of a sudden falls in love with Newton and decides to take him first. Stranger things have happened, so it isn't like it is outside the realm of possibility. With that premise in mind, how does the rest of the Top 10 mock out?

The Broncos take Nick Fairley while the Bills go after Patrick Peterson. The Bengals will snatch up Da'Quan Bowers while the Cardinals take Von Miller.

The Browns take A.J. Green and the 49ers take Robert Quinn. The Titans take Blaine Gabbert while the Dallas Cowboys breathe a sigh of relief and take Prince Amukamara, negating the need for another year of Michael Jenkins stinking the joint up.

The Redskins settle for Marcell Dareus or entertain trade offers. One team the Redskins might hear a request from are the Jacksonville Jaguars, who might want to trade up and take a defensive end like Cameron Jordan before another team has a chance to grab him.

For complete draft coverage, check out our NFL Draft Hub. For a look at a draft with video, check out All 32 Selections With Video Highlights.

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With Green In Carolina, Dallas Loses Out On Top CB Prospects

If the Panthers decide to draft A.J. Green with the first overall pick, this completely changes how the Top 10 draft picks fall.

With Green off the board, the Broncos now have to decide if they want Nick Fairley or if they go after Da'Quan Bowers or Patrick Peterson. They decide to go with Fairley and take the best defensive lineman in the draft.

The Bills then move and take Von Miller. This may be a bit of a surprise but the Bills just aren't going to take a project quarterback like Cam Newton with the third pick. They'll wait until the second round and spend less money on a Jake Locker or Ryan Mallett.

The Bengals take Da'Quan Bowers while the Cardinals stick with Robert Quinn. This leaves the Browns with a choice of either Prince Amukamara or Marcell Dareus. I think they take Amukamara and Jerry Jones starts phoning teams about a trade down.

The 49ers take Marcell Dareus as Jim Harbaugh won't want to take a project quarterback this high either. The Titans will, though, because Bud Adams is losing his mind. Cam Newton to the Titans and the South rejoices.

The Cowboys trade down, possibly with the Rams, who will want to take Julio Jones. The Top 10 is rounded out by the Redskins, who take Cameron Jordan.

For a complete look at the NFL Draft, check out our NFL Draft Hub. For a look at a draft with video, check out All 32 Selections With Video Highlights.

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The Panthers Go Defense And Allow A.J. Green To Fall

In this scenario, the Panthers do exactly what a lot of mocks are predicting, they take Nick Fairley with the first overall pick and add one heck of a beast to their defense.

With Fairley off the board the Broncos either can go after Da'Quan Bowers or Patrick Peterson and not be wrong on either picks. In this mock, the Broncos take Peterson while the Bills make the big news by taking Cam newton.

The Bengals waffle between A.J. Green and Bowers but end up taking Bowers, trusting their young wide receivers to develop. It's probably the wrong pick, but that's what I expect the Bengals to do (Make the wrong pick, that is).

The Cardinals aren't drafting a quarterback in the first round and grab Robert Quinn while the Browns rejoice and get A.J. Green. The San Francisco 49ers zig instead of zag and take Marcell Dareus instead of a quarterback.

The Titans take Blaine Gabbert while the Cowboys take Prince Amukamara and come away from the first round very happy.

The Top 10 then is rounded out with the Redskins taking Von Miller since Jake Locker and Ryan Mallett aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

For complete NFL Draft coverage, check out our NFL Draft Hub. For a look at a draft with video, check out All 32 Selections With Video Highlights.