The Ultimate 2014 NFL Draft Guide

You've never gone so long without football.

For months, you've wandered across a parched and barren wasteland. No wings. No beer. No fat-guy touchdowns. With your mind being assaulted by hype, spin, rumors and tail-chasing news cycles, you trudged forward as best you could for as long as you could manage.

Now, with parched mouth and bleary eyes, you're crawling toward autumn with the last of your strength. Suddenly, you look up and see a radiant neon beacon of art-deco glory: the Radio City Music Hall.

The NFL draft is finally here, and your suffering is over.

Let Bleacher Report's crack NFL staff help you up, dust you off and give you a VIP tour.

We have all the must-know info. We have the big boards and big names, mock drafts and expert analysis. We have the latest news and rumors, in-depth profiles on the most intriguing prospects and firsthand accounts of what it feels like to go through the process. We have team-by-team primers for all 32 NFL squads and up-to-the-minute predictions from our top NFL experts.

Now straighten your hair, fix your tie and get ready for three straight days of glitz, glamour, glad-handing and gridiron on the NFL's grandest stage.

Where, When and How to Watch

Craig Ruttle/Associated Press

Where: Radio City Music Hall, New York City

When: Thursday, May 8 (first round), 8 p.m. ET; Friday, May 9 (second and third rounds), 7 p.m. ET; Saturday, May 10 (fourth through seventh rounds), noon ET.

How to Watch: ESPN, NFL Network (on TV), Bleacher Report TeamStream (live video analysis on mobile).

Complete Draft Order

Chris Trotman/Getty Images

By now, most hardcore NFL fans know exactly where their team is picking in the first round—but tiebreakers, coin flips and compensatory picks make figuring out the order of every single draft pick a chore.

Fortunately, Bleacher Report hasn't just put together a seven-round, 256-pick list of the entire 2014 NFL draft but a full breakdown of all the teams that are most likely to move up or down. In that list, it's easy to see exactly where (and how) your chosen NFL squad holds precious draft selections; stay tuned to find out if they stand pat or take control of the board.

If you still hadn't heard where your team is slotted, or you just want to see where the others ended up, here's the complete first-round order:

1. Houston Texans 
2. St. Louis Rams (from Washington Redskins) 
3. Jacksonville Jaguars 
4. Cleveland Browns 
5. Oakland Raiders 
6. Atlanta Falcons 
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 
8. Minnesota Vikings 
9. Buffalo Bills 
10. Detroit Lions 
11. Tennessee Titans 
12. New York Giants 
13. St. Louis Rams 
14. Chicago Bears 
15. Pittsburgh Steelers 
16. Dallas Cowboys 
17. Baltimore Ravens 
18. New York Jets 
19. Miami Dolphins 
20. Arizona Cardinals 
21. Green Bay Packers 
22. Philadelphia Eagles 
23. Kansas City Chiefs 
24. Cincinnati Bengals 
25. San Diego Chargers 
26. Cleveland Browns (from Indianapolis Colts) 
27. New Orleans Saints 
28. Carolina Panthers 
29. New England Patriots 
30. San Francisco 49ers 
31. Denver Broncos 
32. Seattle Seahawks

Matt Miller's Top 100 Big Board

You want to know who the best players available are? You want to know just how much value your team got with each of its picks throughout the draft?

Bleacher Report NFL Draft Lead Writer Matt Miller has published his 365-prospect final rankings, and his top 100 big board is right here:

Top 100 Rankings

Rank	Player	Pos.	School	Height	Weight
1	Teddy Bridgewater	QB	Louisville	6'2"	214
2	Jadeveon Clowney	DE	South Carolina	6'6"	266
3	Sammy Watkins	WR	Clemson	6'1"	211
4	Greg Robinson	OT	Auburn	6'5"	332
5	Khalil Mack	OLB	Buffalo	6'3"	251
6	Jake Matthews	OT	Texas A&M	6'5"	308
7	Justin Gilbert	CB	Oklahoma State	6'0"	202
8	Mike Evans	WR	Texas A&M	6'5"	231
9	Kony Ealy	DE	Missouri	6'4"	273
10	C.J. Mosley	ILB	Alabama	6'2"	234
11	Aaron Donald	DT	Pittsburgh	6'1"	285
12	Johnny Manziel	QB	Texas A&M	6'0"	207
13	Eric Ebron	TE	North Carolina	6'4"	250
14	Anthony Barr	OLB	UCLA	6'5"	255
15	Derek Carr	QB	Fresno State	6'2"	214
16	Ha Ha Clinton-Dix	FS	Alabama	6'1"	208
17	Odell Beckham Jr.	WR	LSU	5'11"	198
18	Kyle Fuller	CB	Virginia Tech	6'0"	190
19	Dominique Easley	DT	Florida	6'2"	288
20	Jason Verrett	CB	TCU	5'9"	189
21	Blake Bortles	QB	Central Florida	6'5"	232
22	Taylor Lewan	OT	Michigan	6'7"	309
23	Darqueze Dennard	CB	Michigan State	5'11"	199
24	Dee Ford	DE	Auburn	6'2"	252
25	Timmy Jernigan	DT	Florida State	6'2"	299
26	Zack Martin	OT	Notre Dame	6'4"	308
27	Carlos Hyde	RB	Ohio State	6'0"	230
28	Cyrus Kouandjio	OT	Alabama	6'7"	322
29	Calvin Pryor	FS	Louisville	5'11"	207
30	Jimmie Ward	SS	Northern Illinois	5'11"	193
31	Brandin Cooks	WR	Oregon State	5'10"	189
32	Bradley Roby	CB	Ohio State	5'11"	194
33	Jace Amaro	TE	Texas Tech	6'5"	265
34	Cody Latimer	WR	Indiana	6'2"	215
35	Kyle Van Noy	OLB	BYU	6'3"	243
36	Davante Adams	WR	Fresno State	6'1"	212
37	Ryan Shazier	OLB	Ohio State	6'1"	237
38	Morgan Moses	OT	Virginia	6'6"	314
39	Xavier Su'a-Filo	OG	UCLA	6'4"	307
40	Jeremiah Attaochu	OLB	Georgia Tech	6'3"	252
41	Demarcus Lawrence	DE	Boise State	6'3"	251
42	Marcus Martin	C	USC	6'3"	320
43	Weston Richburg	C	Colorado State	6'3"	298
44	Ra'Shede Hageman	DT	Minnesota	6'6"	310
45	Charles Sims	RB	West Virginia	6'0"	214
46	Zach Mettenberger	QB	LSU	6'5"	224
47	Louis Nix III	DT	Notre Dame	6'2"	331
48	Will Sutton	DT	Arizona State	6'0"	303
49	Pierre Desir	CB	Lindenwood	6'1"	198
50	Austin Seferian-Jenkins	TE	Washington	6'5"	262
51	Antonio Richardson	OT	Tennessee	6'6"	336
52	Joel Bitonio	OT	Nevada	6'4"	302
53	Tre Mason	RB	Auburn	5'8"	207
54	Bishop Sankey	RB	Washington	5'9"	209
55	Scott Crichton	DE	Oregon State	6'3"	273
56	Donte Moncrief	WR	Mississippi	6'2"	221
57	Chris Borland	ILB	Wisconsin	5'11"	248
58	Jarvis Landry	WR	LSU	5'11"	205
59	Ja'Wuan James	OT	Tennessee	6'6"	311
60	Lamarcus Joyner	CB	Florida State	5'8"	184
61	Allen Robinson	WR	Penn State	6'2"	220
62	Marqise Lee	WR	USC	6'0"	192
63	Phillip Gaines	CB	Rice	6'0"	193
64	Aaron Murray	QB	Georgia	6'1"	207
65	Jimmy Garoppolo	QB	Eastern Illinois	6'2"	226
66	Jaylen Watkins	CB	Florida	5'11"	194
67	Martavis Bryant	WR	Clemson	6'4"	211
68	Terrence Brooks	FS	Florida State	5'11"	198
69	Deone Bucannon	SS	Washington State	6'1"	211
70	Trent Murphy	OLB	Stanford	6'5"	250
71	Storm Johnson	RB	Central Florida	6'0"	209
72	Trai Turner	OG	LSU	6'3"	310
73	Devonta Freeman	RB	Florida State	5'8"	206
74	Kelvin Benjamin	WR	Florida State	6'5"	240
75	Troy Niklas	TE	Notre Dame	6'6"	270
76	Bruce Ellington	WR	South Carolina	5'9"	197
77	Jackson Jeffcoat	DE	Texas	6'3"	247
78	Kareem Martin	DE	North Carolina	6'6"	272
79	Marcus Smith	DE	Louisville	6'3"	251
80	Jordan Matthews	WR	Vanderbilt	6'3"	212
81	Jeremy Hill	RB	LSU	6'1"	233
82	AJ McCarron	QB	Alabama	6'3"	220
83	Kevin Norwood	WR	Alabama	6'2"	198
84	Terrance West	RB	Towson	5'9"	225
85	Robert Herron	WR	Wyoming	5'9"	193
86	Jordan Tripp	OLB	Montana	6'3"	234
87	Stephon Tuitt	DT	Notre Dame	6'5"	304
88	George Uko	DT	USC	6'3"	284
89	Paul Richardson	WR	Colorado	6'0"	175
90	Carl Bradford	OLB	Arizona State	6'1"	250
91	Telvin Smith	ILB	Florida State	6'3"	218
92	Kevin Pierre-Louis	OLB	Boston College	6'0"	232
93	Gabe Jackson	OG	Mississippi State	6'3"	336
94	Ed Reynolds	FS	Stanford	6'1"	207
95	Christian Kirksey	OLB	Iowa	6'2"	233
96	Jack Mewhort	OT	Ohio State	6'6"	309
97	Ego Ferguson	DT	LSU	6'3"	315
98	DaQuan Jones	DT	Penn State	6'4"	322
99	Ahmad Dixon	SS	Baylor	6'0"	212
100	Marcus Roberson	CB	Florida	6'0"	191

Matt Miller's Final Mock Draft

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

You know how Bleacher Report NFL Lead Writer Matt Miller ranks the top 365 draftable prospects. Now, find out which teams he thinks they best fit with in his final seven-round mock draft.

For this mock, he drafted each prospect based on what he thinks each team should do, not necessarily what he's hearing the team will do.

Miller has also turned in a last-day mock of the first round—his ultimate guess at where the biggest names will end up. If you want to know how the board will break for your team on Thursday night, hit up Miller's final mock here.

Bleacher Report Expert Predictions

The draft can be one of the craziest, most unpredictable events on the entire NFL calendar. From wild reaches to stunning falls, blockbuster trades to missed-pick snafus, the draft is notoriously tricky to predict—why else would mock drafts flood the Internet every spring?

The Bleacher Report crew of NFL experts banded together to predict the unpredictable.

In a series of 26 prop-bet style categories, from "First Quarterback Taken" to "College Conference with Most First-Round Picks," our experts projected and predicted all of the headline-grabbing twists and turns of the draft.

They predict a long, grim time in the green room for a certain quarterback, a trade-heavy first round and the most likely landing spots for top prospects like Sammy Watkins, Carlos Hyde and Eric Ebron.

Expert Draft Notebooks

Among Bleacher Report's NFL lead writers are three of the most tuned-in reporters in the business, and they have all the latest news, notes and nuggets from around the NFL—plus their own insightful analysis.

Dan Pompei's Read Option column is a weekly must-read, and his draft-week installment is no different. It starts with an in-depth look at why Khalil Mack is a serious candidate for the No. 1 overall pick, contains news about the latest trade rumors and takes a hard look at eight polarizing prospects whom NFL scouts just can't agree on.

Mike Freeman's 50-Point Stance, a PED-enhanced "fabulously awesome draft week edition" of his usual 10-Point Stance column, lives up to the billing: It has 50 points' worth of analysis, facts, news, rumors, speculation, videos and tweets. It's not just about the draft, either; Freeman talks about Ndamukong Suh, concussions, Darren Sharper and a host of other topics.

Matt Miller's Scouting Notebook is always full of great tidbits. This week's edition has quotes from NFL scouts who took a look at Miller's draft board and gave him valuable, anonymous feedback. To see where real NFL teams agree and disagree with Miller, check out his final, predraft Scouting Notebook.

The Stars of the 2014 NFL Draft

In every draft, there are a few names that everyone can't wait to hear called.

Not just the top few picks but the electrifying talents, bigger-than-life characters and enigmas. There are players who were college superstars, but whose talents may not translate to the pro game. There are players who carry vague baggage, and we won't be sure how far down draft boards it'll take them.

The biggest name is the one that has been on the lips of the football-watching world ever since the hit in the above video: Jadeveon Clowney. 

His name has been shouted from the rooftops as a once-in-a-generation talent and whispered in dark tones as a potential problem child. While some analysts chipped in their two cents with their opinion of his character or lack of production, Bleacher Report NFL Lead Writer Michael Schottey broke down Clowney's tape to find out the truth.

Of course, the best name in the draft won't be called by Roger Goodell on the Radio City Music Hall stage at all: "Johnny Football." Johnny Manziel's nickname was well-earned in his two years as Texas A&M's starting quarterback. The Heisman Trophy on his mantle would capture plenty of interest, even if his off-field exploits and debatable field-reading skills didn't make his draft stock a moving target.

Bleacher Report Lead Writer Matt Bowen, who spent seven years breaking down quarterback play as an NFL safety, analyzed exactly what Manziel brings to the table—and where he needs to improve to become as brilliant in the pros as he was in college.

Jason Cole broke down everything else about Manziel, from the off-field issues that dogged him to the current mindset of NFL decision-makers.

Quarterbacks are always a big draw; a first-round quarterback can set a franchise up for 15 years—or set it back three years. Teddy Bridgewater was penciled in as the No. 1 overall pick of this draft practically since before the 2013 draft, but his stock has taken a tumble after his rough pro day.

Bleacher Report NFL Analyst Gary Davenport broke down Bridgewater's fall, and I broke down his film to explain why his doubters will be proven wrong once he gets on an NFL field.

Another quarterback who just might be the first signal-caller off the board, Derek Carr, is in a hauntingly familiar situation. Cole broke down the story of how Carr escaped the shadow of his big brother, 2002 No. 1 overall pick David.

One of the most interesting figures in the draft class is Khalil Mack. At every step in his young football life, he was an unheralded nobody who blew everything up whenever he got a chance. Now, as Schottey tells Mack's tale, the pass-rusher out of tiny Buffalo has a legitimate shot to be drafted No. 1 overall.

A lot less is said about Anthony Barr, who at times in the draft cycle has been alongside Mack as a top-tier pass-rushing linebacker prospect. Schottey looked at why Barr both intrigues and repels evaluators.

What about Jake Matthews? Manziel's protector at Texas A&M and the son of a Hall of Famer, he's slipped from a lock for the first few picks to the bottom half of the top 10—and maybe the third left tackle off the board. I wrote about why he could be the biggest steal of the draft.

Another guy who could be the first off the board at his position or fall much farther than that: Darqueze Dennard, the physical cornerback from Michigan State who could be the best man-to-man corner in the draft or a penalty machine. Bowen broke down film to find Dennard's ceiling, floor and scheme fit.

One last name to watch: pass-rusher Michael Sam. Next season, we should expect that a player's sexuality, whatever it might be, isn't worth mentioning. If and when a team turns in a draft card with his name on it, Sam will be the first openly gay player in the NFL.

Bleacher Report NFL Lead Writer Michael Freeman explained why that's so important—for NFL players like Wade Davis, who had to live in the closet, as well as for future rookies who won't have to face Sam or Davis' burden.

Bleacher Report Scouting Database

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Whether you're doing last-minute info-cramming on your favorite prospects, looking to go in-depth on players available at a certain position or shouting "Who?" at your TV after your favorite team just turned in a card, the Bleacher Report Scouting Report Database has you covered.

Draft experts Ryan Lownes, Ryan McCrystal, Alex Dunlap, Darren Page and Ian Wharton teamed up to fill out extensive scouting reports for hundreds of prospects; with more than a dozen (or two or three dozen) prospects scouted at every position, it's a comprehensive guide to every prospect you'll want to know more about.

Team-by-Team Draft Primers

Craig Ruttle/Associated Press

Now this, right here? This is what you really came for.

As fascinating as the big names, big personalities, poker-game gamesmanship and stage hugs can be, what you really want to know is what picks your team has, what kinds of players it needs and who'll likely be available at each of those spots.

Bleacher Report's NFL Divisional Lead Writers Knox Bardeen, Erik Frenz, Brad Gagnon, Andrea Hangst, Christopher Hansen, Zach Kruse and Tyson Langland, along with NFL Analyst Gary Davenport, have put together team-by-team draft primers that'll give you the information you're really after.

1. Dolphins primer (Frenz)
2. Jets primer (Frenz)
3. Bills primer (Frenz)
4. Patriots primer (Frenz)
5. Steelers primer (Hangst)
6. Ravens primer (Hangst)
7. Browns primer (Hangst)
8. Bengals primer (Hangst)
9. Raiders primer (Hansen)
10. Broncos primer (Hansen)
11. Chargers primer (Hansen)
12. Chiefs primer (Hansen)
13. Colts primer (Davenport)
14. Jaguars primer (Davenport)
15. Titans primer (Davenport)
16. Texans primer (Davenport)
17. Cowboys primer (Gagnon)
18. Redskins primer (Gagnon)
19. Giants primer (Gagnon)
20. Eagles primer (Gagnon)
21. Vikings primer (Kruse)
22. Lions primer (Kruse)
23. Packers primer (Kruse)
24. Bears primer (Kruse)
25. 49ers primer (Langland)
26. Seahawks primer (Langland)
27. Cardinals primer (Langland)
28. Rams primer (Langland)
29. Falcons primer (Bardeen)
30. Buccaneers primer (Bardeen)
31. Saints primer (Bardeen)
32. Panthers primer (Bardeen)

View from the Draft Floor...and the Front Office

NFL Photos/Getty Images /Getty Images

Lost in all the TV lights, tickers, sidebars and highlight packages are the actual human beings who are involved in this process.

Bleacher Report NFL Lead Writer Matt Bowen went through the process as a prospect; here's his take on the experiences and emotions of that day.

Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Greg Gabriel was on the other end of the draft-day phone calls—in NFL war rooms as a scout and executive. Here's his insider's guide to draft day.

Day 1 Predictions

Al Bello/Getty Images

Bleacher Report NFL Lead Writer Michael Schottey has been covering the draft for more than a decade, and he's seen a lot of wild stuff go down.

His predictions for the first round contain surprises big (Aaron Donald goes in the top 10) and small (four cornerbacks will be taken in the first round). He also has an interesting thought on who'll be the first quarterback off the board.

Hit it here for all of Schottey's first-day draft predictions.

Ultimate Draft Hype Tape

You probably thought you were ready for the NFL draft.

You probably thought you were excited for the NFL draft.

But after hearing all the unfamiliar names, the dry facts and figures, and the weights, measures and statistics for four long months, here's a vivid reminder of what the NFL draft is all about: football.

College football's most exciting players are about to make the NFL that much better, and Bleacher Report's video team has put together a killer hype tape to get you amped for the possibility of seeing these players on Sundays.