NFL Draft notes.

According to ESPN's Sal Paolantonio, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions are currently discussing becoming possible trade partners. The Lions hold the second pick in this year's Draft and they are looking to trade down and the Bucs have the fourth pick and desperately want the best overall player in draft, Calvin Johnson. There are currently two possible scenarios right now.

1st scenario:

The Lions want to trade their second selection to the Bucs for their fourth selection and both of their second round picks(#35 and #64). If you look at the trade value chart then it's just about even and makes sense, but the Bucs are reluctant to pull the trigger. They have their hearts set on rebuilding with the draft and to do so they need to keep at least one of their 2nd round picks. Maybe if the Lions would be happy with one of the 2nd round picks then the deal would get done, but it's not a guarantee.

2nd scenario:

The second scenario and probably the best scenario for both teams(in my opinion) would involve a swap of draft rights just like in 2004 with Eli Manning and Phillip Rivers. The Detroit Lions would select Calvin Johnson at #2 and then the Bucs would select Gaines Adams at #4 then the two teams would swap the rookies and along with the Bucs sending Adams they would also send disgruntled cornerback, Brian Kelly and possibly a later draft pick as well.

It also has been recently released that the Lions have every attention on drafting Calvin Johnson and holding onto him. They would draft him, but still be open to listening to trade proposals. This would make the 4th wide receiver taken by Matt Millen in the past five years if they would do this.

The saga that is the Oakland Raiders

What to do, what to do? The NFL Draft is less than 20 hours away right now and it still up in the air what the Raiders will do. Will they take JaMarcus Russell? Will they take Calvin Johnson? Or will they trade down? All three are very possible and smart choices, let's face it, the Raiders have a lot of problems more notably on offense and trading down to get more draft picks would certainly help out. They are going to trade Randy Moss, that is cetain, teams have been calling Al Davis asking what will it take to get Moss and it isn't going to be much, probably a mid-round pick and the rights to take over his contract. So taking Calvin Johnson would be a good move seeing as how they won't have a true #1 receiver. But when it comes down to it, the guy they absolutely need to pick is JaMarcus Russell. Russell has the best potential at quarterback and we all know how much Al Davis loves his arm strength. If they don't take Russell then we will all be asking the same questions next April, "what will the Raiders do with the #1 pick?". Oh and if they do take Calvin Johnson I guarantee you they will either trade for the guy Russell is being compared to, Daunte Culpepper, or they will look to sign free-agent, Josh McCown. But I still think they are going to take Russell.

Brady Quinn or Adrian Peterson?....Or Joe Thomas???

The Cleveland Browns have a tough choice at the number 3 pick. They could go with the golden boy, Brady Quinn, who is the best quarterback right now in the draft. Yes, I think he's better than Russell, but Russell has more potential. The second choice for them right now would be Adrian Peterson. They traded away their starter for the past few years, Rueben Droughns, and they did sign former 2,000 yard rusher, Jamal Lewis, to a 1-year contract. But Lewis is in the decline and they don't have another option right now at runningback. And Peterson is an amazing prospect with a great mixture of power and speed, he could be the next Eric Dickerson. But there are concerns about his health, he broke his collar bone and missed the second half of Oklahoma's season but he did play in their bowl game agaisnt Boise State and it was just released a few days ago that he re-aggravated the injury and could miss the start of training camp so this could scare a lot of teams away. But what it's going to come down to is, first are the Browns willing to give Charlie Frye and or Derek Anderson another year to see if they can develop? They have to answer that before they even think about drafting Quinn/Peterson. To add more questions, now Joe Thomas' name is apparently now in the mix. I don't think they will take Thomas, but who knows.

There's always sleepers, and here's mine

Ben Grubbs, OG(AUB)- Ben Grubbs is the highest ranked offensive guard in the entire draft and if he was a tackle, he'd be a top 15 pick this year. He's an outstanding athlete that has played tight end and defensive tackle before settling on offensive guard in 2004. He has great quickness and is very smart and strong. He is still developing and has a ton of upside.

Projected round: Late 1st early 2nd.

Josh Beck, QB(BYU)- Josh Beck is one of the most underrated quarterbacks this year. He didn't get a lot of headlines partly because he went to BYU, but he's been for the past three years and had a huge year last season, throwing for 3,885 yards, 32 touchdowns and just 8 interceptions while completing almost 70% of his passes. He is very accurate but his arm strength is only a little above average, a true leader that steps up under pressure and can hurt a defense with his feet.

Projected round: 3rd or 4th round.

Ben Patrick, TE(DEL)- Although he has recently seen his stock rise considerably, he is still a sleeper that could turn out to be one of the best tight ends in this year's class. He's a smooth route runner with outstanding hands and good size at 6'3" 250. Very smart and puts a lot of effort at being a blocking TE just as much as a pass catching TE. He has all the intangibles to be a successful tight end for many years to come and the team that does draft him is getting an Alge Crumpler clone. In my opinion, no matter where he is drafted, he will turn out to be one of the biggest steals of the draft.

Projected round: Mid to late 2nd

Anthony Spencer, DE(PUR)- At one time he was a 1st round projection but has recently fallen to the 2nd round, but don't let that fool you, Anthony Spencer is going to be one of the top defensive ends this season. He racked up 26.5 tackles for loss(led the nation), 93 tackles and 10.5 sacks. He could end up as an Adalius Thomas type player, a defensive end/outside linebacker hybrid. He's a big time playmaker with great speed off the snap and is a solid tackler and is very productive against the run.

Projected round: Early 2nd.

Tarell Brown, CB(TEX)- I have said before that I think he could become one of the better corners this year, I loved how he played at Texas, he has good size, very fast, hits like a safety and plays the game angry. He's a solid tackler and plays the run well too. He does have some character issues that he needs to work through, he was arrested on marijuana and weapon charges in September of 06' and then again charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession in March of 07'. He was highly regarded as a top Pro prospect before he ran into law trouble, but if he can work through these issues he could be very a productive NFL corner.

Projected round: 4th round to 5th round

Justin Durant, OLB(HAMP)- A very underrated linebacker out of Hampton University, he's been constantly around 100 tackles the past three seasons, including 124 in his junior year. He is a smooth athlete with good speed and quickness. He very strong and closes in quickly, he's a big hitter and is good in coverage as well. He is a little undersized at 6'0" 230 but he makes up for it in his play and fiery demeanor. He's a three-time MEAC Defensive Player of the Year and will make an excellent weak-side linebacker in the NFL.

Projected round: Late 2nd round early 3rd

Calvin Johnson is a by far the best player in the draft

Let me first start off by saying, Calvin Johnson is the best receiving prospect I have seen coming out of college in some time. He is truly a freak of nature, seriously, he's 6'5" 240 and runs a sub 4.40 in the 40 yard dash he has some of the softest hands and runs routes to a tee. He's has been compared to players like Terrell Owens and Randy Moss, but I think he's going to be better than both. Experts have said he has the body type and strength of Owens and the speed and catching ability of Moss. But first of all he's way bigger than the 6'3" 225 Owens, but overall I feel that comparison is pretty good, but he's way faster. And the speed and catching ability of Moss is also a pretty good comparison, but you know, with out the attitude of both guys. He has the body of a tight end but the speed and hands of a receiver, people 6'5" 240 aren't supposed to be able to run that fast, it's just not fair. He's going to make a hell of a pro.

Former Virginia Tech standout, Bruce Smith, will announce the Bill's first pick.

The NFL's career sacks leader and former Bills star defensive end Bruce Smith will announce Buffalo's first-round pick in the draft. Bruce Smith, former Virginia Tech star, will announce the pick as part of a "Salute to Virginia Tech" following last weeks massacre in which 32 students and professors were murdered. Smith played college ball at Virginia Tech, and was drafted first overall by the Bills in 1985. Others with Virginia Tech connections to take part in the draft are Atlanta Falcons quarterback, Michael Vick and cornerback, DeAngelo Hall and Virginia Tech head coach, Frank Beamer.

"All of us in Hokie Nation are heartbroken," said Smith, who retired after the 2003 season. "As far as the league asking me to announce the Bills' pick, I consider it to be an honor."

That's all for now, more will come as the draft nears. I am going to be live blogging the NFL Draft tomorrow, which starts at 11 AM.

UPDATE:

According to NFL.com's Adam Schefter, the Lions have settled on who they will pick tomorrow with their 2nd overall pick.

" The Detroit Lions organization met Friday and concluded that, unless a blockbuster trade offer comes their way, they will draft Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson."

He also goes on to say that if the Raiders do select LSU quarterback, JaMarcus Russell with the 1st pick, then they have no choice to go with the best player available. If they do get Johnson and don't trade him, they have a scary trio of wide-outs, Roy Williams, Mike "Furreyous" Furrey and now Calvin Johnson, Jon Kitna will have plenty of targets to throw to. Now if they can just fix their defense and running game.

Also in that article it mentions that a "long-time employee" of the Raiders said that "I'm hearing the Raiders might not take (JaMarcus) Russell." And said that he heard them say that they will be taking Calvin Johnson.