By Brian Vornberg

The NFL Draft is quite possibly the most anticipated sporting event of the entire spring season aside from college basketball’s March Madness. Fans of football everywhere begin to conjure up images of Packers fans with that annoying fake cheese on their heads making the trek all the way to New York City for draft day, almost forgetting to take the cheesehead off for just a couple of seconds to go through security at the airport.

The Jets faithful, who despite not having to go anywhere but their own back yard still find some way to gripe and moan and boo about their most recent first round pick, probably at the ever-necessary yet always un-glamorous left tackle position. Ah, yes. The things that people will do to witness this event.

I too am a victim of this phenomenon. Every year I succumb. Looking up every possible mock draft out on the web. Researching who might go where. Waiting for the Bengals to select yet another offensive player rather than shoring up that always vulnerable defensive front seven. The NFL Draft is a spectacle and is the most fun that any fan of college or professional football can have while waiting for the next football season to roll around. Let’s face it. It’s the most fun that any guy can have besides maybe cracking open a cold one during Saturdays or Sundays in the fall.

It is also a football writer’s dream. This is what football writers love to do. To predict, analyze, speculate, and breakdown every single aspect of a player’s game. It is truly a second Christmas for people like myself. Only the gifts are being able to correctly predict where each player might end up and the only Jesus involved is “Touchdown Jesus” at Notre Dame.

What sparks the most interest in anyone who watches the draft every year is the sheer unpredictability of it all. You could make as many mock drafts as you wanted and you still wouldn’t be able to understand everything that goes on. Every year, gems like Tom Brady, Marques Colston, and Osi Umenyiora can be found and be the difference in winning a Super Bowl or not making the playoffs. Guys from all schools, big and small, are capable of contributing right away.

This year’s draft is especially intriguing. The skill position prospects are very strong and very wide open. Last year’s running back class was relatively weak where as this year’s class is super strong. The same can be said at wide receiver. Maybe the most intriguing thing of all is that there is not one quarterback that stands alone at the top of this year’s class. Guys like Brian Brohm, Matt Ryan, Chad Henne, and Joe Flacco might all be capable of going in right away and turning a program around. The wide receiver class is also very deep and ridiculously up in the air. The only sure-shot receiver in the class is probably DeSean Jackson out of Cal.

By Brian Vornberg

Head to the next page for Brian's Top Five players at each position.

QB

1. Brian Brohm (6'4", 224, 4.8 - Louisville)

2. Chad Henne (6'2", 224, 5.15 - Michigan)

3. Matt Ryan (6'5", 218, 4.9 - Boston College)

4. Joe Flacco (6'6", 230, 4.9 - Delaware)

5. Josh Johnson (6'3", 195, 4.75 - San Diego)

RB

1. Darren McFadden (6'2", 215, 4.4 - Arkansas)

2. Jonathan Stewart (5'11", 230, 4.5 - Oregon)

3. Rashard Mendenhall (5'11", 224, 4.5 - Illinois)

4. Chris Johnson (5'11", 195, 4.3 - East Carolina)

5. Matt Forte (6'2", 223, 4.6 - Tulane)

WR

1. DeSean Jackson (6'0", 172, 4.45 - California)

2. Malcolm Kelly (6'4", 219, 4.55 - Oklahoma)

3. James Hardy (6'7", 220, 4.6 - Indiana)

4. Adarius Bowman (6'4", 220, 4.55 - Oklahoma State)

5. Mario Manningham (6'0", 178, 4.45 - Michigan)

TE

1. Martin Rucker (6'6", 255, 4.7 - Missouri)

2. Fred Davis (6'4", 245, 4.75 - USC)

3. Dustin Keller (6'4", 240, 4.65 - Purdue)

4. John Carlson (6'6", 259, 4.7 - Notre Dame)

5. Jermichael Finley (6'5", 240, 4.65 - Texas)

OL

1. Jake Long (6'7", 313, 5.05 - Michigan)

2. Ryan Clady (6'6", 317, 5.25 - Boise State)

3. Branden Albert (6'7", 315, 5.35 - Virginia)

4. Roy Scheuning (6'4", 317, 5.25 - Oregon State)

5. Chris Williams (6'6", 320, 5.25 - Vanderbilt)

DT

1. Sedrick Ellis (6'1", 285, 4.95 - USC)

2. Glenn Dorsey (6'2", 299, 5.05 - LSU)

3. Pat Sims (6'4", 314, 5.05 - Auburn)

4. Trevor Laws (6'1", 295, 5.00 - Notre Dame)

5. Kentwan Balmer (6'5", 295, 5.05 - North Carolina)

DE

1. Chris Long (6'4", 284, 4.8 - Virginia)

2. Derrick Harvey (6'4", 262, 4.75 - Florida)

3. Vernon Gholston (6'4", 264, 4.75 - Ohio State)

4. Lawrence Jackson (6'5", 265, 4.9 - USC)

5. Phillip Merling (6'5", 280, 4.75 - Clemson)

LB

1. Dan Connor (6'3", 233, 4.65 - Penn State)

2. Keith Rivers (6'3", 220, 4.6 - USC)

3. Erin Henderson (6'3", 236, 4.7 - Maryland)

4. Tavares Gooden (6'2", 238, 4.5 - Miami, FL)

5. Curtis Lofton (6'0", 238, 4.75 - Oklahoma)

S

1. Reggie Smith (6'0", 196, 4.5 - Oklahoma)

2. Kenny Phillips (6'2", 210, 4.45 - Miami, FL)

3. Craig Steltz (6'2", 209, 4.6 - LSU)

4. Thomas DeCoud (6'2", 204, 4.45 - California)

5. Jamar Adams (6'2", 210, 4.5 - Michigan)

CB

1. Aqib Talib (6'2", 205, 4.55 - Kansas)

2. Mike Jenkins (6'0", 200, 4.5 - South Florida)

3. Patrick Lee (6'0", 201, 4.45 - Auburn)

4. Leodis McKelvin (5'11", 190, 4.45 - Troy)

5. Justin King (6'0", 186, 4.4 - Penn State)

K

1. Brandon Coutu (6'0", 200, 5.1 - Georgia)

2. Art Carmody (5'8", 165, 5.1 - Louisville)

3. Taylor Mehlhaff (5'11", 184, 4.95 - Wisconsin)

4. Alexis Serna (5.8", 170, 4.7 - Oregon State)

5. Shane Longest (5'11", 180, 4.85 - St. Xavier)

P

1. Durant Brooks (6'0", 202, 5.2 - Georgia Tech)

2. Ken Debauche (6'2", 220, 4.95 - Wisconsin)

3. Mike Dragosavich (6'5", 214, 4.85 - North Dakota State)

4. Tim Reyer (5'11", 201, 5.00 - Kansas State)

5. Owen Tolson (6'2", 201, 5.00 - Army)