Mark Sanchez: The Key to NFL Draft

First, you had him penciled in at No. 10 going to San Francisco. Then there was speculation that Seattle wanted him, but San Francisco wasn’t willing to trade up.

So, you crossed him out at No. 10 and put in an offensive tackle like Eugene Monroe, who you had going to Washington at No. 13 and penciled in Mark Sanchez at No. 4 to Seattle.

Then you heard the Broncos might be interested in trading its two first-round picks to move up in the draft to get Sanchez.

So, you crossed Seattle out of the No. 4 spot and put in Denver. Then you put another quarterback, Josh Freeman, in the No. 12 spot to Seattle.

So, who will Washington take at No. 13? Oh, well, you will worry about that later.

Now the latest word is that the Rams at No. 2 want Sanchez. So, you cross out Jason Smith and put in Sanchez at No. 2.

Okay, so now Seattle can take Jason Smith at No. 10 and Eugene Monroe can go back to Washington at No. 13.

Now wait a second, Seattle doesn’t have Sanchez anymore because St. Louis at No. 2 wants him. So, you can scratch out the Denver trade and…hmm?

Washington, New York, Jacksonville, Denver, and Seattle are all interested in trading up with the Rams to get Sanchez at No. 2. This is really getting complicated.

Today's NFL Draft can get pretty messed up, depending on who does or does not trade up to take Sanchez.

Now with Matthew Stafford agreeing to a $41.7 million deal with the Detroit Lions, Sanchez could actually be the No. 2 pick…or the No. 4…or the No. 8…or the No. 12…or who knows?

What did Pete Carroll mean when he said this kid wasn’t ready for the NFL? Half the NFL seems to be in love with Sanchez and his all-pro attitude. He’s big, strong, mobile, and he’s used to a pro-style offense.

In addition, Sanchez has acted very professional since the day he announced that he was entering the draft, in spite of his head coach calling him to task for doing so.

That professional attitude and demeanor probably means as much to an NFL GM as do his skills, and he does have an abundance of skills.

And tomorrow he will have an abundance of money, enough that maybe he can afford to give General Motors a loan.

So here we are on the day of the NFL Draft, with our mock draft cards looking like an offensive play against a "Cover Two" that John Madden has just scribbled across our TV screens. And we owe it all to Mark Sanchez.