The Beard's Mock Draft

The National Football League will conduct its annual draft Saturday and Sunday.

For me, it is one of my favorite weekends to sit back and relax, waiting for my favorite teams to make their selections.

Last year, I was frustrated when my hometown Houston Texans had Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall fall into their laps at pick No. 18, only to trade the pick away and draft yet another offensive lineman.

Granted, they did manage to find a gem in West Virginia's Steve Slaton in the third round, but the constant rollover on the offensive line since its inaugural season has made me ponder if there is just cause for patenting "The Boselli Curse."

The Texans made perennial Pro Bowler Tony Boselli their first pick in the expansion draft only to never see him play a down because of injuries. Ever since, the Texans' offensive line has had a slew of problems.

With all of the "experts" putting in their two cents on how they think the draft will play out, I've decided to put together my own for the first round.

1. Detroit Lions -- Jason Smith, OT, Baylor

Many are suggesting either quarterbacks Matt Stafford or Mark Sanchez to go No. 1, but with recent news that Daunte Culpepper has dropped 30 pounds and getting in better playing shape, I believe they will go for a big body up front to not only protect Culpepper, but also enhance the running game with Kevin Smith.

2. St. Louis Rams -- Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia

With the recent departure of Orlando Pace to the Chicago Bears, the Rams will find a suitable replacement in Monroe, which should be the start of a much needed overhaul of the offensive line which has been absolutely horrid the past couple of seasons

3. Kansas City Chiefs -- Aaron Curry, OLB, Wake Forest

The Chiefs will be tempted to take Stafford or Sanchez at this spot, but should take the "defense wins championships" approach and take Curry to team up with Derrick Johnson and Glenn Dorsey for a very imposing front seven.

4. Seattle Seahawks -- Mark Sanchez, QB, USC

With Matt Hasselbeck coming off an injury plagued season, Seattle will take Sanchez to be groomed for a couple of seasons before taking over the reins, and fill as a more suitable backup than Seneca Wallace.

5. Cleveland Browns -- Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas

The Browns struggled to put pressure on the quarterback last season and Orakpo will fill that need quite nicely. However, don't be surprised to see them trade out of this spot if the right deal comes along for Braylon Edwards.

6. Cincinnati Bengals -- Michael Oher, OT, Mississippi

Oher should probably be taken later in the round, but the Bengals will take a chance and try to solidify an offensive line that played more like a leaking dam last season, and hopefully give Carson Palmer a chance to comeback from his injuries to have a healthy year.

7. Oakland Raiders -- Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech

The Raiders desperately need a talented receiver to be a main target for JaMarcus Russell and Crabtree has the efficiency the team needs.

8. Jacksonville Jaguars -- Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri

The Jags have had drafted receivers flop in recent years, but adding Maclin to learn from recent addition Torry Holt will give David Garrard more firepower to work with.

9. Green Bay Packers -- B.J. Raji, DT, Boston College

The Packers will all but wet themselves to have Raji fall to them because he is the perfect player for new defensive coordinator Dom Capers' 3-4 defensive scheme.

10. San Francisco 49ers -- Matt Stafford, QB, Georgia

Stafford will most likely enter a battle with Shaun Hill and Alex Smith to be the signal caller for the 'Niners, but he will bring the patience and arm strength the team has been searching for since Steve Young retired.

11. Buffalo Bills -- Aaron Maybin, DE/OLB, Penn State

The first of the "hybrids" will come off the board to the Bills, who may consider OT Andre Smith to replace Jason Peters, who was recently traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, but will err on the side of caution and take the energetic Maybin.

12. Denver Broncos -- Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia

With the M.A.S.H. unit of running backs on injured reserve for the Broncos last season, they will also consider Chris Wells, but take Moreno for his pass-catching abilities.

13. Washington Redskins -- Andre Smith, OT, Alabama

GM Daniel Snyder will take the enigma of this draft based on the need to beef up the Redskins' offensive line.

14. New Orleans Saints -- Malcolm Jenkins, CB, Ohio State

Jenkins will be the player of choice to tighten up the Saints' secondary with hopes of eliminating some of the high-scoring shootouts they ended up being a part of last season.

15. Houston Texans -- Brian Cushing, LB, USC

With Jenkins off the board and not willing to nab Vontae Davis this early, the Texans will take one of the three highly regarded USC linebackers who can cover both the run and pass effectively, even with the recent acquisition of Cato June.

16. San Diego Chargers -- Rey Maualuga, LB, USC

The Chargers will be hoping for Moreno or Wells to fall to them, but will take Maualuga to strengthen its linebacker corps with Shawne Merriman expected to come back from injury.

17. New York Jets -- Josh Freeman, QB, Kansas State

Favre's gone and nothing looks appetizing in the pantry, so the Jets will nab Freeman and his cannon arm, who is still a work in progress.

18. Denver Broncos -- Tyson Jackson, DT, LSU

The Broncos' defense has struggled against the run in recent years and Jackson is the big body the need to plug the holes.

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- Clay Matthews, LB, USC

After letting Derrick Brooks hit the open market, the Bucs will take the last of the big-time USC linebackers, who can make an immediate impact.

20. Detroit Lions -- Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State

This will be a risky pick with all of the needs the Lions have. However, Pettigrew will fill a great need to have a second receiving option alongside Calvin Johnson.

21. Philadelphia Eagles -- Michael Johnson, DE, Georgia Tech

Should the draft fall this way, look for the Eagles to package Johnson with the 28th pick, and other considerations, to send to the Browns for Orakpo and Braylon Edwards.

22. Minnesota Vikings -- Alex Mack, C, California

Minnesota will avoid the potential of taking another first-round flop at wide receiver and take Mack to fill the void left by Matt Birk and keep a strong front line for Adrian Peterson to run through.

23. New England Patriots -- James Laurinaitis, LB, Ohio State

Slow, aging linebackers basically forces the Patriots' hand with this pick, with hopes he doesn't fall apart like fellow Buckeye Andy Katzenmoyer did years ago.

24. Atlanta Falcons -- Max Unger, C, Oregon

The Falcons would like to address the defensive side of the trenches, but will gladly take Unger to give added protection for Matt Ryan.

25. Miami Dolphins -- Everette Brown, DE, Florida State

Jason Taylor's departure prior to last season left the Dolphins in need of a strong pass rusher who can also stop the run. Brown should be able quickly fill the gap and strengthen Miami's defense.

26. Baltimore Ravens -- Percy Harvin, WR, Florida

The Ravens have been searching for a playmaker for a number of years and Harvin should be able to grow quickly by working with fellow receiver Derrick Mason.

27. Indianapolis Colts -- Peria Jerry, DT, Mississippi

The one thing missing from Tony Dungy's defense that he had in Tampa was the presence of a big defensive tackle. Jerry will fill that need for the Colts in head coach Jim Caldwell's first season at the helm.

28. Philadelphia Eagles -- Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Maryland

The Eagles will make this pick for the Browns as part of the trade I am anticipating, giving Cleveland a quick, tall receiver to take the place of Braylon Edwards.

29. New York Giants -- Sean Smith, CB, Utah

The one glaring need the G-Men had last year was stopping the passing game. Smith gives them a tall option as a Nickel back to start with and could break into the starting lineup by mid-season.

30. Tennessee Titans -- Hakeem Nicks, WR, North Carolina

Typically the Titans don't like to draft receivers in the first round, but after a lack of a No. 1 target in recent years, the prospect of Nicks will be too good to pass up.

31. Arizona Cardinals -- Robert Ayers, DE, Tennessee Ayers has been shooting up draft boards and the need is there with the departure of Antonio Smith to the Texans.

32. Pittsburgh Steelers -- Darius Butler, CB, Connecticut

There's not too much the Steelers need after their Super Bowl victory, but Butler will provide depth to a secondary that had some injury issues in 2008.