Mock Draft

Every time I put out one of my mock drafts, readers tell me they think things would play out differently (chances are we'll both end up being wrong). Well, now you get a chance to play GM in my first-ever reader NFL mock draft. Here's how it works. I'll post a daily poll where you can vote to decide what the team that's on the clock should do with its pick. To keep it simple, I'll give you five options for each pick. If you think I missed somebody, let me know in the comments section.

Projecting baseball's annual amateur draft is often tougher than the other major sports. And it's certainly a more daunting task to predict whom the Orioles will select with their top pick now that they're in the unfamiliarly late territory of No. 22. But that won't stop the experts from trying. Here's a look at what some of the national mock drafts are predicting for the Orioles' first-round selection Thursday night: ** ESPN's Keith Law has the Orioles taking Jacksonville right-hander Chris Anderson in version 3.0 of his popular mock.

Now that the Jan. 15 deadline for underclassmen to declare for the NFL Draft has passed, the first set of mock drafts are out, with two players singled out as targets for the Ravens. Baltimore has the 27th pick in the draft, which will take place April 28-30. • ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. believes that the Ravens will go with Miami cornerback Brandon Harris, and ESPN.com's James Walker thinks the pick would fill a big need for the team. The Ravens have a great track record of drafting quality players late in the first round.

Here is a roundup of which first-round draft prospects the Ravens are linked to in 2013 NFL mock drafts. --- Rob Rang of CBS Sports believes the Ravens will select USC receiver Robert Woods on Thursday night. “The Super Bowl champs committed to quarterback Joe Flacco from a contract perspective, but must add to his weapons if he's to remain successful,” he wrote. “Speedster Torrey Smith gives the club a premium vertical threat but the team could see Woods as an ideal complement following the trade of Anquan Boldin .” --- Peter King of Sports Illustrated says the Ravens will draft Kansas State inside linebacker Arthur Brown with the 32nd pick.

After a wild first week in free agency that was punctuated with Peyton Manning signing with the Denver Broncos, we have a better idea of what needs teams will address in April's NFL draft. So now seems like a good time for our second mock draft of the offseason. (This mock draft does not account for potential trades.) And remember, these are called “mock” drafts for a reason. Try not to take them too seriously. 1. Colts: Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford. Luck will be under tremendous pressure in replacing Peyton Manning, an all-time great.

I got a lot of feedback on Wednesday's mock draft, and many of you disagreed with my early prediction that the Ravens would take Maryland wide receiver Torrey Smith with the 26th pick in the 2011 NFL draft. Some of you scoffed at the notion that wide receiver is a serious need for the Ravens , while others thought the Ravens would be better off selecting another wide receiver late in the first round. Let's be honest here. When it comes to guessing what GM Ozzie Newsome and the Ravens will do during the draft, we're all chucking darts at a dartboard with our opposite hands and a blindfold wrapped around our heads.

In today's Orioles draft target profile , Dan Connolly lays the strongest odds on the team using the No. 4 overall pick Monday night on University of San Francisco right-hander Kyle Zimmer. The consensus among the national pundits is that the Orioles will take another college righty, LSU's Kevin Gausman , with their only selection in the first night of baseball's amateur draft. As with any draft, the decision on that pick could depend heavily upon what the top three teams - Houston, Minnesota and Seattle - do with their choices.

In advance of the first round of the 2012 NFL draft, Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Preston gives his take on six college prospects who are linked to the Ravens   in the latest mock drafts from prominent national analysts. --- Peter Schrager, FOXSports.com: Dont'a Hightower, ILB, Alabama. “Hightower played both inside and outside linebacker at Alabama and was also used at DE in some sub-packages. Ray Lewis isn't getting any younger and there still isn't an eventual “replacement” in-house.

In today's Orioles draft target profile , Dan Connolly lays the strongest odds on the team using the No. 4 overall pick Monday night on University of San Francisco right-hander Kyle Zimmer. The consensus among the national pundits is that the Orioles will take another college righty, LSU's Kevin Gausman , with their only selection in the first night of baseball's amateur draft. As with any draft, the decision on that pick could depend heavily upon what the top three teams - Houston, Minnesota and Seattle - do with their choices.

In advance of the first round of the 2012 NFL draft, Baltimore Sun columnist Mike Preston gives his take on six college prospects who are linked to the Ravens   in the latest mock drafts from prominent national analysts. --- Peter Schrager, FOXSports.com: Dont'a Hightower, ILB, Alabama. “Hightower played both inside and outside linebacker at Alabama and was also used at DE in some sub-packages. Ray Lewis isn't getting any younger and there still isn't an eventual “replacement” in-house.

Finally, after months of teams poking and prodding NFL draft prospects, scouts picking apart players they had previously pumped up, and media folks like me doing hours of homework trying to make sense of it all, the 2012 NFL draft is less than 48 hours away. I would be lying if I told you that part of me wasn't ready for all of this just to be over and done with, but still, draft weekend is easily my favorite weekend on the NFL calendar. After all, 253 young men -- well, technically 252 young men plus 28-year-old Oklahoma State quarterback Brandon Weeden -- will hear their names called by the commissioner and realize lifelong dreams as they become NFL players.

I admit I was one of the skeptics when it comes to the NFL draft. When ESPN started televising it in 1980, I said: "Big guys in pricey suits walking across a stage - who's going to watch that?" Yep, I'm a regular visionary. A Nostradamus for our times. All that happened was that the draft turned into one of the biggest events on the sports calendar, as well as a TV ratings King Kong. But let's face it, whatever the NFL touches turns into ratings gold. Look at all the fans who tune in to the scouting combine in Indianapolis to watch beefy players do the vertical jump and three-cone drill.

Each day this week leading up to Thursday's NFL draft, we will highlight one prospect whom the Ravens could draft with the 29th overall pick. Today's player is Alabama inside linebacker Dont'a Hightower, one of four Crimson Tide defenders who are expected to be selected in the first round. Background: Born and raised in Tennessee, the now-22-year-old started as a true freshman for Alabama coach Nick Saban. He blew out his knee in 2009, but returned a year later to captain a Tide defense that allowed an NCAA-best 8.8 points per game.