Throughout the next couple of months I’ll take a look at each position group leading up to the 2012 NFL Draft. Where should we start? Well at quarterback, of course.

The Best in Class: Andrew Luck, Stanford
There are many scouts who are intrigued by Robert Griffin III’s skill set and natural feel for the game, so there will be plenty of people suggesting that Griffin should be the first signal caller off the board in April. But “pound for pound” Luck is still the top quarterback prospect in this draft, if not the top all-around prospect, period. What impresses me most about Luck is his pocket awareness. He anticipates pressure and reacts to it instead of looking for it at the snap. He also keeps his eyes down the field, which is an attribute that all of the elite NFL quarterbacks posses. He goes through his progressions well, displays sound footwork, and has a better arm than people give him credit for. He’s also extremely bright, as evidence of his ability to call plays at the line of scrimmage in Stanford’s offense, and you rarely see him get frazzled. At this point Luck looks like a safe bet at the top of the draft, which is saying a lot considering the position he plays.

The Challenger: Robert Griffin III, Baylor
It appears that the Colts are set on taking Luck with the No. 1 overall pick but Griffin has plenty of time to change their minds. A smart, savvy player with the ability to create using his arm or his legs, Griffin has improved as a passer every year he’s been at Baylor. He has very good arm strength and can fit the ball into tight windows at the second level. He’s also a natural athlete with a high ceiling and plenty of room to grow if a team surrounds him with the right coaching staff. The main knock on Griffin is that he isn’t comfortable taking snaps from under center and isn’t particularly strong at reading the blitz at the snap. But he seems more “boom” than “bust” and certainly has the attention of fans in Cleveland.

Don’t Sleep On: Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State
Weeden isn’t drawing the same attention as Luck, Griffin, or even Texas A&M’s Ryan Tannehill. But at 6-foot-4 with a big, accurate arm, Weeden is worth a long look for quarterback-needy teams looking to either move up into the late first round or early second. His age (28) might scare teams away but the fact remains that he has all of the physical attributes and intangibles that pro teams look for in a quarterback. There are some concerns about his inconsistency and he has a habit of forcing throws into coverage, but he could be a perfect fit for teams like the Jets, Seahawks or Broncos.

Mid-Round Sleeper: Ryan Lindley, San Diego State
The biggest knock on Lindley is that he needs to improve his overall footwork and coordination inside the pocket. Thus, this isn’t a prospect that a team can plug into their offense and have him start in year one or two. But at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, Lindley looks the part and has very good arm strength. He can make all of the throws at the next level and is an accurate passer. He would be perfect for a team that already has its starter in place but is looking to groom a developmental quarterback for down the line (i.e. the Giants, Falcons or Packers).

Sporting News draft analyst Russ Lande writes that Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore is in danger of being undrafted following a poor week in Mobile for the Senior Bowl.

Coming to Mobile, Moore needed to really step up, but things could not have gone much worse for him. Not only did he measure under 6 feet, but he showed below-average arm strength and lacked accuracy on passes longer than 10 yards. He did not show the arm strength to make all the NFL throws with good velocity and had a long delivery and release, which made it easier for defenders to break, close and make plays on his passes. Moore will have to be amazing at the Combine and his pro day if he hopes to get drafted.

This isn’t all that surprising of a report. Moore isn’t the type of quarterback who will force defenses to cover the entire field because his arm strength is limited. His lack of size also becomes a problem when a defense is able to create pressure from the interior and push the pocket into his face. He simply has a lack of physical skills that cannot be overcome, even by a great combine or Pro Day performance.

But that doesn’t mean that Moore won’t prove to be a quality backup or provide depth at the next level. He’s very accurate with the football, has good pocket awareness and he’s able to decipher information quickly. Thus, he shouldn’t be discouraged if he isn’t drafted because he does have a future in the NFL if he gets in the right system.

This kid is a beast and he’s likely moving up on many draft boards.

Will Courtney Upshaw be a defensive end or an outside linebacker in the NFL? The Alabama star and surefire first-round pick has insisted throughout Senior Bowl week that he has no preference.

But this much seems assured: The preference of opposing offensive tackles would be that he take up another line of work.

One of the standouts of a dominating Crimson Tide defense, Upshaw has had a fine week of practice at the Senior Bowl. He has worked with the defensive ends throughout the week, though he plans to do OLB drills at the Combine and at Alabama’s pro day. However, Upshaw did get some work standing up in a 3-4 look this week, noted Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett, a member of the South coaching staff this week.

Haslett is among those who have been impressed by the first-team All-American, who garnered BCS championship game MVP honors with seven tackles and a sack in Alabama’s shutout of LSU.

“He’s a tightly built guy that’s powerful, extremely fast,” Haslett said. “… I think he’s got so much upside. I think he’s a heck of a football player.”

Power is the 6-1½, 273-pound Upshaw’s game, whether he’s playing the run or getting after the quarterback. The opposition knows this. What follows is a lot of pushing — and pulling, as Upshaw noted.

It’s early in the process, but draft mania is already catching fire. With Twitter we now have an outlet where more and more people can discuss topics like the draft. Upshaw will get a ton of attention throughout this process.

You draftniks ready for another year of speculation, frenzy and intrigue leading up to this year’s NFL draft? Here are five players to keep an eye on this Saturday the 2012 Senior Bowl kicks off from Mobile, Alabama.

Nick Foles, QB, Arizona
The consensus ranks Stanford’s Andrew Luck and Baylor’s Robert Griffin III as the top two quarterbacks in this year’s draft, but who will be the third signal caller to come off the board? Some like Texas A&M’s Ryan Tannehill but keep an eye on how Foles plays this weekend. He’s a big kid at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds and made strides as a senior this past year despite playing behind two freshman tackles. Arm strength definitely won’t be a problem but his accuracy and decision-making has often been questioned throughout his collegiate career. Once Luck and Griffin come off the board in the top 10 picks, Foles could be selected anywhere between the first and third rounds. Thus, this is one player that could definitely improve his draft stock with a strong showing in Mobile.

Melvin Ingram, DE, South Carolina
Top-rated defensive tackle Devon Still of Penn State will miss the Senior Bowl with a sprained big toe, so here’s Ingram’s chance to steal the spotlight. This isn’t regarded as a very strong draft for pass rushers but Ingram is a raw talent that can get to the quarterback in a variety of ways. He’s a three-technique defensive lineman who proved he could consistently beat blockers on the inside while at South Carolina. That said, 4-3 and 3-4 teams will take a long look at him because he exhibits a fast first step and good burst off the ball. He does a nice job of shedding blockers in the run game as well so again, he’ll intrigue teams that run a 3-4.

Mike Adams, OT, Ohio State
USC’s Matt Kalil and Iowa’s Riley Reiff are projected to be the top two tackles taken off the board but Adams is already gaining some attention in Mobile because of his frame. He’s massive at 6-foot-7 and 323 pounds, with an 82 1/2 –inch wingspan and huge 11-inch hands. Despite his size, he’s a good athlete with natural bend and is being viewed as a left tackle at the next level (as opposed to some college prospects that are forced to move to the right side because of limitations in their game). He was suspended the first two games of the 2009 season for violating team rules, was cited in January of ’09 for misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia (chargers were eventually dropped) after being stopped for running a stop sign, and was part of the group that was suspended for “Tattoogate.” But he has all of the physical tools to become a top 15 pick in April.

Joe Adams, WR, Arkansas
The top receiver in this year’s draft, Justin Blackmon, is a junior, while Kendall Wright, Michael Floyd and Nick Toon have all been declared out of the Senior Bowl with various injuries. Thus, Saturday is a great opportunity for a guy like Adams to impress. He returned a punt for a touchdown in Arkansas’ victory over Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl, which was his fourth punt-return TD of the season. He’s a perfect fit in the slot because of his quickness and vertical ability, as well as the fact that he has trouble disengaging defenders at the line. He needs to improve as a route runner but NFL teams will definitely look at him as a returner and a potential No. 3 wideout.

Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama
Jenkins was overshadowed earlier in his college career by former top-10 pick Joe Haden (Browns) at Florida and then was kicked off the team his senior year following his arrest on misdemeanor marijuana charges (his second run in with the law). If he can stay out of trouble this kid has a ton of natural talent and could be a steal in the second or third round. He played a lot of man at North Alabama and has the ability to develop into a very good cover corner at the next level. Because of character concerns he’ll likely fall further in the draft than he should, but he’s got first-round talent.

There will be plenty of time to discuss whether or not the Indianapolis Colts should draft Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the No. 1 overall pick.

Plenty of nauseating time.

But for now, here’s the official order for the 2012 NFL Draft, minus the 12 playoff teams, that is. I’ll keep this list updated throughout the postseason so you’ll know exactly where your team will be selecting come April.

1. Indianapolis Colts (2-14)
2. St. Louis Rams (2-14)
3. Minnesota Vikings (3-13)
4. Cleveland Browns (4-12)
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-12)
6. Washington Redskins (5-11)
7. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-11)
8. Carolina Panthers (6-10)*
9. Miami Dolphins (6-10)*
10. Buffalo Bills (6-10)
11. Seattle Seahawks (7-9)**
12. Kansas City Chiefs (7-9)**
13. Arizona Cardinals (8-8)
14. Dallas Cowboys (8-8)
15. Philadelphia Eagles (8-8)
16. New York Jets (8-8)
17. Cincinnati Bengals (from Oakland)
18. San Diego Chargers (8-8)
19. Chicago Bears (8-8)
20. Tennessee Titans (9-7)

* – Order will be decided by coin flip at the scouting combine in February.

Everyone assumed Aaron Curry was a can’t miss prospect when he was drafted #4 overall in the 2009 NFL Draft, but so far he’s been a bust. He wasn’t even starting in Seattle when they traded him to the Oakland Raiders this week.

Now he’s the starter in Oakland:

Three days ago Aaron Curry was a backup strongside linebacker in Seattle. Now he’s preparing to start at the weakside for the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

Curry’s prospects took a sudden turn Friday when coach Hue Jackson announced that the first-round pick in the 2009 draft will replace Quentin Groves in the Raiders’ starting defense at home against the Cleveland Browns. Groves has been a starter since signing with Oakland before last season.

I’m a little surprised here, so we’ll see if Jackson is making the right call. I wonder how guys in the locker room will feel about a starter losing his job to another guy before one practice.

I was listening to the NFL Network with week, and Gil Brandt basically called out Aaron Curry as a player who doesn’t give you maximum effort. Brandt explained you can get away with that at certain positions, but at the linebacker spot it was essential that you had guys with high motors who gave you everything they had.

Many players have revived their careers in Oakland under the legendary Al Davis. That said, the Raiders have brought over plenty of veterans who did nothing. Let’s see what happens to Curry.

Don’t listen to observers when they say there’s no sense in handing out grades following the NFL draft. I agree with the notion that it generally takes three years before anyone can properly evaluate a team’s draft, but why should that stop anyone from making observations? After all, when a major trade breaks in one of the main four sports, do we say, “Damn, I really want to break down this trade but we’ll have to wait three to four years before we do because we won’t know how things will play out!” Of course not – we analyze the deal ad nauseam, share our opinions and then either bask in the news or cry ourselves to sleep. That’s one of the many things that makes sports great.

With that in mind, here are 32 quick-hit observations (one for each team) from the 2011 NFL Draft. I don’t like to hand out grades because a) everyone does them and b) they’re just not fun for me. But I did something like this after the 2009 draft and I figured it would be cool to do something similar this year. Feel free to tell me how wrong I am in the comments section or please, share your own opinions on another wild NFL draft.

1. Even the biggest Cam Newton supporters have to admit that the young man will be a major project for Carolina. He could wind up being in the Hall of Fame some day after leading the Panthers to three Super Bowls, but it’s going to take some time. He ran the spread option at Auburn – the kid will need a few years to learn and grow in a pro-style offense.

2. I love Von Miller the prospect but I don’t love Von Miller the prospect in Denver’s 4-3 defensive front. I wonder if one day we’ll look back at the Broncos’ selection at No. 2 and say: “They should have went with Marcell Dareus.”

3. Speaking of Dareus, how well did the Bills make out at No. 3? They needed to get more playmakers on the defensive side of the ball and now they have someone who they can plug in on Day 1 and watch him compete. They must have been ecstatic when he fell past Denver.

4. Andy Dalton isn’t a spectacular prospect but he’s a fit for Jay Gruden’s offense and hey, he wants to play for the Bengals (something that cannot be said about Carson Palmer). And I have a feeling A.J. Green will make people forget about Chad Ochocinco (and quite frankly, all of his attention-seeking ways).

5. The Cardinals had to be disappointed that Von Miller didn’t fall to them at No. 5 but Patrick Peterson isn’t a bad consolation prize. Ryan Williams in the second round was a bit of a head-scratchier though. I like Williams, but is he a fit in an already crowded backfield? Two value picks that I really liked: Sam Acho and Quan Sturdivant. Acho fills Arizona’s need for a pass-rusher and Sturdivant was considered one of the top inside LBs available in the draft.

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Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier has made it clear to the media in Minnesota that first round pick Christian Ponder will have every opportunity to win the starting quarterback job this year.

“That would be the ideal situation – we’ve got our Matt Ryan, we’ve got our [Joe] Flacco,” Frazier told ESPN 1500 Twin Cities. “But because of the uncertainty of the offseason, it’s just hard to determine exactly how you want to approach it.”

Translation: If we don’t wind up trading for Donovan McNabb, then the rook will probably start for us next season. (Because hey, who else would start? Patrick Ramsey? Hahahaha…ahhhhhh.)

After taking Ponder in the first round last Thursday, it seems unlikely that the Vikings would trade for McNabb, but you never know. What they could wind up doing is waiting to see if Washington releases McNabb and then pursuing him on a one-year deal. That way Ponder could sit and learn Bill Musgrave’s offense for a year before taking over in 2012. The only problem with that line of thinking is that you assume McNabb would be fine only taking a one-year deal so that he could groom his eventual replacement.

While I was just as surprised as anyone when the Vikings selected Ponder in the first round last week, I do think he’s a perfect fit for Minnesota’s offense. Musgrave has been heralded for his work with young quarterbacks and he’ll have the opportunity to show what he can do with Ponder, who was arguably the best West Coast Offense prospect in last weekend’s draft. Musgrave obviously did a great job grooming Ryan in Atlanta and it’s not like Ponder wouldn’t have talent around him if he wound up starting as a rookie. As Frazier pointed out, we’ll just have to wait and see how the rest of the offseason plays out to see if Ponder will have the opportunity to start in ’11.

Chad Ochocinco has taken to his Twitter page to express his feelings about the Bengals and head coach Marvin Lewis this week.

On Tuesday, the Ocho tweeted: “Y’all ever lost somebody you felt was close to you, but they flip on you without giving you the script? Marvin Lewis hurt my feelings.”

Ochocinco has repeated several times that he loves Lewis, but he’s too hurt to make it work in 2011. When he was asked if the Bengals should select Georgia receiver A.J. Green with the No. 4 overall pick in the draft, Ochocinco responded with: “He’d be perfect. I’ve done all I can, my time is up.”

On Friday, Ochocinco turned it up a notch with his criticism of Lewis:

“Lewis: who’s 60-67 all-time, 0-2 in playoffs, and only 2 seasons with +.500 record, can’t criticize my thumbs for tweeting. They win 4 me”

Is anyone surprised by Ochocinco’s comments? This is what he does. He likes going against the grain and being flamboyant. He likes the attention and he likes being boisterous. He thrives off this and he doesn’t really care about what he says and he doesn’t care about what you think. This…is…what…he…does.

The problem with “what he does” is that people are getting tired of it. It seems like Lewis and the Bengals are tired of the way Ocho handles himself and even people outside of the organization are sick of his act as well.

So the fact that Ochocinco says these things doesn’t bother me and it doesn’t bother some Bengal fans. (Some fans even like it.) But if you’re going to do these things, if you’re going to tweet about how your coach is essentially a loser, then you run the risk of your team flipping on you “without giving you the script.”

49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh told the media on Friday that second round pick Colin Kaepernick will be given the opportunity to start as a rookie.

“Alex (Smith) has the ability the license to be the starting quarterback and so does Colin,” Harbaugh said.

Smith is a free agent but the consensus seems to be that San Fran will bring him back on a one or two-year deal – assuming he wants to return, that is. If the 49ers do bring Smith back, he would be the favorite to start over Kaepernick next year, and he should be.

I don’t want to take Harbaugh’s comments out of context. He’s a former NFL quarterback and he knows that sometimes it takes a while for a young signal caller to grasp playing in the pros. But I don’t like the idea of Kaepernick starting right away. He played in the pistol offense at Nevada – no matter how talented he is, it’s going to take some time for him to learn how to play in a pro-style offense. Imagine being taught Spanish in college and then turning around having to learn Italian in order to succeed in your profession. It’s going to take some time and Kaepernick should hold a clipboard in his first year.

Now, before 49er fans get upset with me and call me a moron because they think I’m criticizing Kaepernick – I’m not. In fact, this is what I wrote in my “15 Observations from the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft” piece after the Niners took Kaepernick on Friday evening:

3. It may take a couple of years but give Jim Harbaugh some time and he could turn Colin Kaepernick into a good pro quarterback. Kaepernick is a bit of a project but the kid has good size, a great arm and is one hell of an athlete. He has all the tools to succeed and if fans are patient, this could wind up being a beautiful marriage.

If he turns out to be the rookie of the year, then great! I would love to see Kaepernick succeed because he’s easy to root for. I just think everyone in the Bay area should be patient when it comes to this young man‘s development. He could be a real good quarterback in due time.