NFL Draft 2014: Rounding Up Top Experts' Final Rankings

With pundits having spent the past four months breaking down game film and analyzing combine numbers and pro days, this weekend's 2014 NFL draft is sure to be a blur.

That's right, draft week is finally upon us. But the real fun won't begin until Thursday night. 

Below, we'll take a closer look at what the top experts are predicting ahead of the first round.

Pick	Team	Todd McShay	Mel Kiper	Charley Casserly
1	Houston Texans	Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina	Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina	Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina
2	St. Louis Rams	Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn	Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn	Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn
3	Jacksonville Jaguars	Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson	Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson	Khalil Mack, LB, Buffalo
4	Cleveland Browns	Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M	Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M	Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson
5	Oakland Raiders	Khalil Mack, LB, Buffalo	Khalil Mack, LB, Buffalo	Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan
6	Atlanta Falcons	Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M	Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan	Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M
7	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M	Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M	Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M
8	Minnesota Vikings	Blake Bortles, QB, Central Florida	Blake Bortles, QB, Central Florida	Blake Bortles, QB, Central Florida
9	Buffalo Bills	Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan	Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M	Eric Ebron, TE, North Carolina
10	Detroit Lions	Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State	Odell Beckham Jr., WR, LSU	Justin Gilbert, CB, Oklahoma State
11	Tennessee Titans	Justin Gilbert, CB, Oklahoma State	Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State	Anthony Barr, LB, UCLA
12	New York Giants	Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh	Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh	Zack Martin, OT, Notre Dame
13	St. Louis Rams	Odell Beckham Jr., WR, LSU	Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, S, Alabama	Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh
14	Chicago Bears	Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, S, Alabama	Justin Gilbert, CB, Oklahoma State	Calvin Pryor, S, Louisville
15	Pittsburgh Steelers	Kyle Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech	Zack Martin, OT, Notre Dame	Kyle Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech
16	Dallas Cowboys	Zack Martin, OT, Notre Dame	Calvin Pryor, S, Louisville	Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, S, Alabama
17	Baltimore Ravens	Eric Ebron, TE, North Carolina	Eric Ebron, TE, North Carolina	C.J. Mosley, LB, Alabama
18	New York Jets	Brandin Cooks, WR, Oregon State	Brandin Cooks, WR, Oregon State	Odell Beckham Jr., WR, LSU
19	Miami Dolphins	Morgan Moses, OT, Virginia	C.J. Mosley, LB, Alabama	Cyrus Kouandjio, OT, Alabama
20	Arizona Cardinals	Ryan Shazier, LB, Ohio State	Derek Carr, QB, Fresno State	Brandin Cooks, WR, Oregon State
21	Green Bay Packers	C.J. Mosley, LB, Alabama	Ryan Shazier, LB, Ohio State	Stephon Tuitt, DE, Notre Dame
22	Philadelphia Eagles	Calvin Pryor, S, Louisville	Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Florida State	Louis Nix, DT, Notre Dame
23	Kansas City Chiefs	Marqise Lee, WR, USC	Marqise Lee, WR, USC	Marqise Lee, WR, USC
24	Cincinnati Bengals	Jason Verrett, CB, TCU	Kony Ealy, DE, Missouri	Bradley Roby, CB, Ohio State
25	San Diego Chargers	Anthony Barr, LB, UCLA	Anthony Barr, LB, UCLA	Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State
26	Cleveland Browns	Cody Latimer, WR, Indiana	Kyle Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech	Derek Carr, QB, Fresno State
27	New Orleans Saints	Dee Ford, DE, Auburn	Cody Latimer, WR, Indiana	Jason Verrett, CB, TCU
28	Carolina Panthers	Joel Bitonio, OT, Nevada	Morgan Moses, OT, Virginia	Morgan Moses, OT, Virginia
29	New England Patriots	Stephon Tuitt, DE, Notre Dame	Ra'Shede Hageman, DT, Minnesota	Ra'Shede Hageman, DT, Minnesota
30	San Francisco 49ers	Ra'Shede Hageman, DT, Minnesota	Jordan Matthews, WR, Vanderbilt	Cody Latimer, WR, Indiana
31	Denver Broncos	Xavier Su'a-Filo, G, UCLA	Jason Verrett, CB, TCU	Ryan Shazier, LB, Ohio State
32	Seattle Seahawks	Kony Ealy, DE, Missouri	Stephon Tuitt, DE, Notre Dame	Jace Amaro, TE, Texas Tech

Todd McShay High on Jadeveon Clowney, Johnny Manziel

USA TODAY Sports

ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay believes that polarizing prospects Jadeveon Clowney and Johnny Manziel could each hear their name called in the top five on Thursday night.

McShay projects Clowney going to the Houston Texans at No. 1 overall and predicts Manziel will come off the board at No. 4 to the Cleveland Browns. However, he appears much more confident in the Clowney projection, per his latest mock draft (paid subscription required):

"

I'm not sold on this one, but I keep hearing that Manziel could go early, and Cleveland is a logical landing spot given its need at QB. He's a leap-of-faith pick, as I've said many times in the past few months; he has a rare ability to create, but the team that takes him must be confident that he'll do what he needs to on and off the field to win from the pocket and that he'll be able to stay healthy long term, given his playing style.

"

But McShay may be onto something as ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter tweeted some interesting information on Monday, per fellow insider Chris Mortensen:

McShay also predicts Sammy Watkins and Khalil Mack will be top-five picks, projecting Watkins to the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 3 and Mack to the Oakland Raiders at No. 5 overall.

Interestingly, McShay only has two quarterbacks coming off the board in Round 1. In addition to Manziel at No. 4, he predicts Central Florida's Blake Bortles will go eighth overall to the Minnesota Vikings. 

Mel Kiper in Agreement With McShay?

USA TODAY Sports

Although Mel Kiper and McShay routinely disagree when it comes to the NFL draft, ESPN's go-to gurus appear to be on the same page heading into the 2014 NFL draft.

Kiper and McShay's top five are identical, and seven of their top-10 picks match up perfectly. 

Like McShay, Kiper makes the "best player available" argument (paid subscription required) for Clowney going No. 1 overall and points to Cleveland's need for a quarterback as evidence for why they might take Manziel at No. 4. Kiper also has Auburn offensive tackle Greg Robinson going No. 2 overall to the St. Louis Rams, Watkins coming off the board at No. 3 and Mack going No. 5 to Oakland.

Kiper agrees with McShay that Texas A&M wide receiver Mike Evans will go No. 7 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and that Bortles will fall to the Vikings at No. 8. 

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

The two experts also agree on five other prospects in Round 1. Both like Aaron Donald at No. 12 (New York Giants), Eric Ebron at No. 17 (Baltimore Ravens), Brandin Cooks at No. 18 (New York Jets), Marqise Lee at No. 23 (Kansas City Chiefs) and Anthony Barr at No. 25 (San Diego Chargers).

It remains to be seen how Round 1 will pan out. However, it appears that neither pundit will have bragging rights when the dust finally settles on Thursday night.

NFL Network's Charley Casserly Snubs Manziel 

While both McShay and Kiper predict Manziel will be a top-five selection this spring, NFL Network analyst and former general manager Charley Casserly couldn't disagree more. 

According to Casserly's latest mock, not only will the Browns pass on the former Heisman Trophy winner, but every other team with a first-round pick will as well. 

Cassely explained his decision during a segment on NFL Network: 

"

First of all, I don't see him as a top-10 player...I don't see Jacksonville at No. 3 doing it because I think there's a more valuable player there. Cleveland, I think there'll be a more valuable player there...I don't see Oakland taking a chance...

"

Casserly agrees with ESPN's experts that Clowney will come off the board first, followed by Robinson. He even projects Watkins and Mack as top-five picks. The big difference is at No. 4 overall, where Casserly believes the Browns will pass on Manziel and add the explosive Watkins.

And instead of drafting a sliding Manziel at No. 26 overall, Cassely predicts Cleveland will take Fresno State signal-caller Derek Carr. 

Although Casserly has a ton of credibility as a former NFL executive, everything is speculation leading up to Thursday night, and once teams begin making trades and shaking up the draft order, it's anyone's guess as to who will wind up where.

However, if one thing is for certain, it's that the storylines will follow the big names like Clowney and Manziel wherever they land this spring.

Follow Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Patrick Clarke on Twitter.