NFL Draft Predictions: Breaking Down Most Intriguing Storylines

While the top three spots in the 2012 NFL draft are fairly solidified, there are still several important storylines that have yet to fully play out.

Here is a look at the three most intriguing questions surrounding this year's draft as we close in on the big day:

Who will the Cleveland Browns select?

The Browns will have plenty of options when they are finally on the clock with the fourth pick in this year's draft. If all goes according to plan, Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Matt Kalil will be off the board, but that leaves a whole lot of talent for Cleveland to select from.

I think the Browns' best bet would be to take Alabama running back Trent Richardson. After watching hours of tape on him, Richardson stood out to me as an elite talent out of the backfield who could be among the NFL's best players in just a few seasons.

He is strong, has fantastic balance, superb vision and runs hard between the tackles, but is fast enough to break away from defenders at the second level.

He is the best running back to enter the draft since Adrian Peterson back in 2007. 

The Browns could also opt for LSU's Morris Claiborne, who should develop into a shutdown cornerback. But in reality this pick will come down to either Richardson or Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon. 

Blackmon is the top receiver on the board, and that is a position of need for Cleveland. But the Browns can get a decent wideout later in the draft, and the gulf between Blackmon and the other receivers in this class isn't as wide as the separation between Richardson and the draft's other running backs. 

With Peyton Hillis off to Kansas City via free agency, Richardson would be the smart pick for the Browns at No. 4.

Is Ryan Tannehill worth a top-10 pick?

Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill's stock has been skyrocketing since he aced his pro day. He has now become a legitimate top-10 pick. 

The Miami Dolphins would seem to be the logical landing place for the draft's third-best quarterback, but it's possible another team would be willing to trade up to land him. The Dolphins own the eighth pick in the draft, and after studying Tannehill on tape, I think he is worthy of that selection based on Miami's dire need for a franchise signal-caller.

Tannehill possesses a tight, three-quarter delivery that, while unorthodox, is mechanically sound. In fact, as his college career went on, he repeated that delivery with consistency, and his arm strength and accuracy improved as a result. He is intelligent, makes good decisions with the football and is a hard worker who has developed rapidly.

He spend just one-and-a-half seasons as a quarterback in college after converting over from wide receiver, so Tannehill likely won't see the field for at least a year. But he has tremendous upside and that's what makes him worthy of a top-10 pick.

The Dolphins should jump all over him at No. 8.

Will the Rams' gamble pay off?

The Rams got a sweetheart of a deal to trade the No. 2 pick to the Washington Redskins. They moved down to the No. 6 overall pick and received Washington's first-round picks in 2013 and 2014, along with Washington's second-round pick this year. That's quite a haul.

But the kicker is that St. Louis might fill its biggest need despite trading down. 

The Rams desperately need a No. 1 receiver for franchise quarterback Sam Bradford to throw to. There is only one player who fits that description in the 2012 draft class: Oklahoma State wideout Justin Blackmon.

As mentioned above, Blackmon could go No. 4 to the Browns, but if he falls to the Rams at No. 6, the trade the team made with Washington will look like one of the greatest deals in draft history. St. Louis will have scored two future first-round picks, a second-rounder this year, plus the draft's best player at their biggest position of need.

That would be quite a coup.