Breaking Down The Top 5

1)Kansas City selects QB Geno Smith, West Virginia

            This selection will be more of a symbolic selection.  Kansas City is going to clean house from the top down, and that will begin with GM Scott Pioli. The major knock on Pioli has been the fact that he invested so much money out QB Matt Cassell, and never drafted someone to challenge Cassel when he struggled. Kansas City has one of the most loyal fan bases in the NFL, but Sundays in KC have been hostile towards ownership who is being blamed for the Chiefs low quality of play. It has been so bad in Kansas City, some are even claiming it has caused death.

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            Romeo Crennel will certainly lose his job as well, and with coaches like Chip Kelly from Oregon, Bob Stoops from Oklahoma, and possibly Bill O’brien from Penn State, the Chiefs will look to nab an offensive minded coach who will draft a franchise quarterback. Enter Geno Smith. Smith is tall, athletic, with a powerful arm. Half-way through the season, Geno Smith was heads above all competitors in the Heisman race, only to suffer a second-half collapse. But the scouts will drool over what Geno could potentially do day in and day out and what he has shown throughout his college career, and he will be too much to pass up.

2) Jacksonville selects LB Jarvis Jones, Georgia

            Jacksonville has shown enough on offense with Chad Henne, Justin Blackmon, Cecil Shorts III, and Jalen Parmele, to make Jags fans forget about a couple of things.

Number 1: The offense with MJD, which could serve the Jags well not that they would have the negotiating power, and even if he does not want to bend, he could get the Jags a pick or two in the draft.

Number 2: Blaine Gabbert was terrible selection, and it will not serve the Jags well to make a similar selection in this draft. Henne has been serviceable, and he can provide a bridge for the Jags and their future quarterback whomever that be. But now the Jags will not be forced to make a selection for Geno Smith or Matt Barkley, the two best quarterbacks in this draft, whose stock has fallen terribly.

            So with that, the Jags can do something they have never done before, and select the best player in the draft. Jarvis Jones is that player. Paul Posluszny has been a solid addition but Jarvis Jones could provide a dominate force on the defense the Jaguars have never had.

3) Carolina Panthers select DT Star Loutuleli, Utah

            The Panthers quickly learned that Cam Newton is, in fact, not Superman. Defenses have quickly caught up to the style of play but the real story in Carolina is the lack of fire power that surrounds Cam. Unfortunately the 2013 Draft offers very little in terms of offensive explosion in the first round. However if you look back at Cam’s National Championship Auburn Tigers team, the Tigers were anchored on the defensive side of the ball by defensive tackle Nick Fairly. Maybe it is ironic that the Panthers are in need of a big player in the middle of the defense.  

            Star Loutuleli has been regarded as the best defensive tackle in the country and he could provide instant relief to a very weak defense.

4) Oakland selects LB Mani T’eo, Notre Dame

            If Oakland is in this spot, to select this player, Oakland could turn around the entire course of the franchise. Oakland has been notorious for either drafting players too high (Darrius Heyward-Bey), drafting guys with character issues (JeMarcus Russell) or drafting guys with injury plagues (Darren McFadden) it is no wonder why Oakland has not made the playoff since 2003. Enter Manti Te’o

            Te’o could be the player the Raiders build around, not only build around his skills, but build around his character. Te’o would be an instant leader and by far the best defender on the team. The Raiders would still have a long way to go, but it would be a major step in the right direction.

5) CLEVELAND TRADES WITH ARIZONA, Arizona selects QB, Matt Barkley, USC

            With the collapse of the Eagles and Michael Vick, Ralph Wilson of the Buffalo Bills declaring the Bills want a franchise quarterback in the draft, and the daily drama that is the New York Jets and their quarterback situation, Matt Barkley despite his plummet on most draft boards he will still be a hot commodity.

            There is no denying that the significance of drafting a quarterback in the first round. Granted there is a long history of flops in the first round (JeMarcus Russell, Tim Couch, cough cough Mark Sanchez) but I more recent history has shown that first round quarterbacks can provide somewhat of a B12 shot for a franchise (i.e. Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, RG3, Ryan Tannehill, etc.) which is why it is not unforeseeable for a team like the Bills, Eagles, and Jets to take a chance with Barkley who was regarded as the best QB prospect at the start of the season and who has put up monster numbers at USC.

            Cleveland, picking in the 5 spot, selected a quarterback in last years draft, that being Brandon Weeden, and Weeden has not had that bad of year to warrant Cleveland to abandon ship on him after a single season. Cleveland has shown a lot of fight in the past few weeks. Since their ten point loss to the Bengals on October 14^th, the Browns are 2-3, their three losses coming to the Colts (13-17) , the Cowboys (20-23), and the Ravens (15-25) all of who are in playoff contention and all three games came down to the final minutes. Their wins have been over the Chargers and Steelers two teams very familiar with the playoffs.

            So it would make sense for Cleveland to trade down for the best package because while the Browns may have some nice pieces, they need more nice pieces.

            After the first month of the season Arizona was being considered one of the best contenders in the NFC. After their marquee win in New England, the defense looked dominant, Larry Fitzgerald looked to be the dynamic receiver he once was, and the quarterback play was adequate. What has happened since? The defense is still very good, Larry Fitzgerald is still very good, and the quarterback play has been abysmal. If any team in the NFL could use a shot in the arm at quarterback it is the Cardinals, and the dividends it would potentially pay off, would be huge. Some in Arizona still think if Kurt Warner was still quarterbacking the team today, they could make a run in January. Its been so bad in Arizona, if you listen close enough, some might even be whispering for Jake “The Snake” Plummer.