1. Detroit Lions: Matthew Stafford QB
2. St. Louis Rams: Jason Smith OT
3. Kansas City Chiefs: Aaron Curry OLB – Even in a 3-4 offense, you can easily find a place for a player like Curry
4. Seattle Seahawks: Eugene Monroe OT – Some would say that the Seahawks are smarter off drafting their future QB in Sanchez but logic says that Matt Hasselback cant throw the ball to their new WR if he cant have an O-line to block for him. The Seahawks play in a division with the NFC champions so the pressure to win now is a lot higher than the pressure to win in the future. Plus, like I said, it would be dumb to waste the money you just spent on TJ Houshmandzadeh.
5. Cleveland Browns: Brian Orakpo DE – The Browns could go with Crabtree with this pick, and it would not be a dumb move at all. However, the WR position is pretty deep this year and I bet they would be happy picking up one in the 2nd round. The D-line really needs help as the Browns were the 2nd worst team in defensive sacks with 17. Orakpo could get half of that amount by himself.
6. Cincinnati Bengals: Andre Smith OT – The Bengals like troublemakers and they need to boost the O-line. Sounds like a match made in heaven.
7. Oakland Raiders: Jeremy Maclin WR – Michael Crabtree sounds like the more logical choice, but that would go against everything Al Davis stands for. Maclin is the faster of the two WRs and Davis prefers speed, so Maclin is the choice.
8. Jacksonville Jaguars: Michael Crabtree WR – The Jags are gonna be so excited to see that Crabtree is available for them to get. Yes, they just signed Torry Holt, but after that, their next best WR is Reggie Williams. Obviously they need help at WR.
9. Green Bay Packers: B.J. Raji DT – Once again a team that will be excited to pick when they see their options. The Packers would love a great nose tackle for their 3-4  defensive scheme and Raji would fit the bill.
10. San Francisco 49ers: Mark Sanchez QB – This pick is the toughest one to figure out. The 49ers could go with Aaron Maybin at DE, Michael Oher to bolster their O-line, or even Malcolm Jenkins to convert into a safety. However, Sanchez would be a great insurance policy for their future QB position. They can let him ride the bench while they provide Shaun Hill and Alex Smith with one more final shot. If Hill or Smith finally work out, then they have their QB and maybe a trade bargaining chip in Sanchez.  If not, then they just gave Sanchez a year to learn the system.
11. Buffalo Bills: Aaron Maybin DE – Plain and simple, the team has two needs, DE and TE. This is too high of a pick for Brandon Pettigrew, and Aaron Maybin could have even been a top 10 pick.
12. Denver Broncos: Tyson Jackson DE – As long as Sanchez is already gone, I consider this my first lock pick. Jackson is suited for a 3-4 defense and Denver is in dire need of help on the D-line.
13. Washington Redskins: Everette Brown DE – This one is pretty much a coin flip between Brown (the best DE left) or Michael Oher (the best OT left). I choose Brown considering the investment that Dan Snyder has already put into the D-line with Haynesworth. He already has the meat, now just needs the bread.
14. New Orleans Saints: Malcolm Jenkins CB – The Saints will be happy if Jenkins is still around. He is exactly what they need in the secondary with his versitality. As long as he is available, he is my second lock of the draft.
15. Houston Texans: Brian Cushing OLB – Cushing will be able to fill the void at LB that the Texans need. They could go with Clay Matthews instead, especially since his uncle is part of Kubiak’s staff.
16. San Diego Chargers: Michael Oher OT – The chargers need help at OL and Oher will fit the bill if he falls this far.
17. New York Jets: Darrius Heyward-Bey WR – With Coles gone, the Jets need to add to the WR depth chart, DHB is fast and big, and just what young QBs need for success.
18. Denver Broncos: Chris “Beanie” Wells RB: I used to think that the Broncos going after a RB was a ridiculous idea considering how many they have to choose from currently. Ever since the Cutler trade though, I realize that the run game is going to become more dominant on this offense, and with that you need a more dominant RB.
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Josh Freeman QB:  Yes the team signed Byron Leftwich and they have a full depth chart, but they are always looking for a franchise QB. Freeman would just be another piece of the offensive puzzle that the Bucs have been putting together this offseason with Winslow and Ward.
20. Detroit Lions: Robert Ayers DE – Anyway the Lions can improve their defense they will take, especially if that means getting a DE which is something they lack.
21. Philadelphia Eagles: Knowshon Moreno RB – Lock #3 for the draft as long as he is still available. Moreno has the hands to be the next Westbrook and help expand the playbook for Andy Reid.
22. Minnesota Vikings: Percy Harvin WR – Perhaps the recent allegations of marijuana usage will make Harvin drop even a few more spots, but I think Harvin would make this offense a little more dangerous. You have your deep threat in Berrian, your stud RB in AP, and now to mess with defenses, throw in a playmaker like Harvin, who has been compared to Reggie Bush. Imagine an offense with Bush and Peterson, sound exciting to you?
23. New England Patriots: Clay Matthews OLB – Jared Mayo is already perfect as a MLB, and this defense is still old. Add Matthews at OLB and you start turning the defense back into the multiple winning Super Bowl defense of the past.
24. Atlanta Falcons: Peria Jerry DT – the Falcons could just as easily go with Brandon Pettigrew to give Matt Ryan another target, but I still think they will add to their D-line and a strong DT is what they need.
25. Miami Dolphins: Vontae Davis CB – Unless they are blind, the Dolphins saw how a dominant young CB can help change a defense when Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie turned into Superman during the playoffs. The Dolphins would be smart to draft a playmaker in the secondary.
26. Baltimore Ravens: Kenny Britt WR – The WRs on this team are old, and the QB is young. Therefore, it seems pretty obvious that the Ravens will draft a WR, its just a matter of which one that is still available. Britt will be the choice however based on his size and speed over the other WRs remaining in the draft.
27. Indianapolis Colts: Evander Hood DT – The Colts want another WR with Harrison gone, but they need a DT to plug up the holes and slow down the opposing teams’ run game.
28. Buffalo Bills: Brandon Pettigrew TE – The Bills do need a good OT to fill the spot that is now open with Jason Peters gone, and while Pettigrew isn’t a tackle or guard, he can do the job of blocking pretty well and is a great value pick at 28.
29. New York Giants: Hakeem Nicks WR – The Giants showed last december how bad their team can be without a gamebreaker at WR. While Nicks isn’t one of the top 3 WRs in this draft, he does have talent and can be counted on when it matters. I still think the Browns could own this pick however if they trade Braylon Edwards to the Giants
30. Tennessee Titans: Rey Maualuga OLB: The Titans will not address WR in the first round unless something odd happens in the draft due to the fact that they picked up Nate Washington in the offseason. They will however add to their dominant defense with Maualuga and hope that they don’t lose steam with the loss of Haynesworth.
31. Arizona Cardinals: Eben Britton OT – The only other thing that the Cardinals do consistently besides winning titles is to have a weak offensive line. The O-line is getting good, but will be better with Britton.
32. Pittsburgh Steelers: Alex Mack  C – The Steelers still need a good Center to help keep Big Ben on his feet. There are two other centers that the Steelers could choose instead, so it is a bit of a toss-up, but I guarantee they choose a Center one way or another.

Now what I don’t agree with is that they need to turn it around as quick as possible and make drastic moves. We can look back to the drafts of the last decade and can count numerous draft busts, especially at the QB position. Stafford has been in high regard ever since he was recruited out of high school. I don’t doubt that the man has potential, but so did Alex Smith, Kyle Boller, and Matt Leinart.  However in the last two years, the first OT picked has dramatically helped their new team. The Dolphins were 1-15, drafted Jake Long,  and (with the help of FA pick-up Chad Pennington) made the playoffs the next season. Go back one more year, the Browns opted for an OT over a highly touted QB. The Browns were still able to get that QB later via trade (which is maybe what the Lions should do with their other 2 picks in the first 33 overall selections), but they didn’t even use Quinn that year and had their 3rd string QB at the time (Derek Anderson) lead them to an impressive 10-6 season that was unfortunately not enough to get them a playoff berth. That success could be directly related to the improved offensive line that Joe Thomas gave them.

Lastly, getting Stafford (even if you let him sit the pine while Culpepper runs the show for half a season) does not fix anything if he still doesn’t have time to get the ball to Calvin Johnson. The Lions have been in the top 3 for most sacks allowed for the last 3 years. They average 56 sacks a year for the last 3 years. In that 3 year time, they have accumulated 10 wins. Thats right, 10 wins in only 3 years. The Chicago Bears however, with nothing more than an average QB have won 29 games in the last 3 years, and averaged 32 sacks per year. Do you see the correlation here? If the Lions want to seriously improve their team, then they need to draft the best value for their money in Jason Smith and not take a chance and roll the dice with Matthew Stafford.

On a side note, unless the OT move works for the 3rd time in 3 years, the Lions will likely have a top 10 pick next year as well, which means they will have their shot at Sam Bradford or Tim Tebow, two QBs who are in higher regard by most than Matthew Stafford.

Conclusion: draft Jason Smith, be smart, and how about maybe even using your 2007 QB draft choice Drew Stanton. He has barely been used, and will be a lot cheaper to use than Stafford will.

Before publication of this article, the Dragon baseball team was 13-6 with a 2-3 record in district and only nine games left in the season, but Coach Carter isn’t too worried. So far the losses in district play have only been by a couple runs so Carter believes his team is staying competitive in all the games, “I don’t think anyone out there is better then us. We are competitive as a team. We haven’t played out best baseball yet in my opinion.” The Dragons are currently fifth in the district with only the top four teams making the playoffs but Carter feels that they are right on track to get back in the playoffs. His plan to do that is, “one game at a time. We just need to focus on the flaws we have in our game. We can’t control the other teams, only can control our team.”

Elander has been a part of the team since being called up during his freshman year. He feels that he is able to best contribute to the success of the team by “not necessarily (being) a role model but someone that can come up in the clutch.” He thinks that the team will be able to make the playoffs, but they need to “win some games first definitely. Almost a given for RR to be in the playoffs. Baseball can be a selfish game, but we play together for the team.”

The Dragons appear to be poised for another playoff season. They have the experience that they lacked last year, the team is in better shape, and now they have a few “shut-down” type of players to lead the team. Even though they play in one of the toughest districts in the state, it seems that for these Dragons, the competition only pushes them harder to succeed.

TJ Herr