FanHouse JasonSmith

Here's the deal: Upper Deck got a bunch of NFL rookies together and offered up a free autographed Michael Jordan jersey to the guy with the best touchdown celebration.

Random, sure. But also worth the four minutes you would otherwise spend staring at an Excel spreadsheet while thinking about taking a smoke break.

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

The Buffalo Bills seemed destined to acquire a pass-rusher on the first day of the NFL Draft, and their 11th overall pick was a perfect place for that: with Tyson Jackson, Everette Brown and Aaron Maybin all available, the Bills weren't going to have a problem there.

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

The Rams entered the draft with far too many holes to be filled with simply seven picks. Steve Spagnuolo entered the Gateway City with the task of returning the Rams to national prominence after they have fallen apart in just a few years. There are some talented pieces in place, and they've addressed some needs this offseason, but many more positions need attention. The logical starting point -- because they've done it before with Orlando Pace -- was a stalwart left tackle. Jason Smith was taken to fulfill this role with the second overall pick.

On Thursday, Mark Sanchez told FanHouse's Ariel Helwani (as well as everybody else he talked to the last week or so) that he was all but certain quarterback Matthew Stafford would go to the Lions with the first overall pick.

Looks like he was right.

A week ago, the team reportedly opened negotiations with Stafford, offensive tackle Jason Smith and linebacker Aaron Curry, presumably in an effort to guarantee that they had somebody under contract come Saturday at 4PM ET.

In the weeks leading up to the Biggest Weekend of the NFL Offseason, I've wondered why the Rams haven't shown more interest in quarterbacks Matthew Stafford or Mark Sanchez. St. Louis has the second overall pick, managed just five wins in two seasons, and Marc Bulger looks like he's had enough.

Bulger's perceived disposition is a familiar one; quarterbacks who play behind an offensive line in name only often exhibit some combination of apprehension and apathy after years of physical abuse (Jon Kitna, David Carr, and Joey Harrington also come to mind). Of course, that's a solid argument for why the Rams should take Jason Smith or Eugene Monroe -- offensive tackles who could start immediately.

We still don't know who the Detroit Lions will choose as the first pick in Saturday's NFL draft, and it will be a couple years, at least, before we know whether that first overall pick was a wise choice or a bust. But we already know one thing for sure: The Lions have done a good job of using the local media to send up smokescreens about their intentions.

MLB Power Rankings: Where we care what you've done for us lately when we break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world each week.

HAVE YOU HEARD? YANKEE STADIUM HAS A WIND TUNNEL!!! Does it matter/is it real? Probably not. In fact, it might actually be on the other end of the spectrum of importance when compared to MLB Power Rankings. This week, we welcome another brand new No. 1 at the top of our rankings, although, all spoiler alerts aside, it's from the same division as last week! Debate the quality of your team, after the jump.

SI.com's Peter King, the distinguished longtime football writer and recent defector from the great state of New Jersey, does us the favor of emptying out his pre-draft notebook on this dreary Monday here in the northeast.

I, a short-time football writer and New Jersey loyalist, hereby do you the favor of picking through Peter's notes and offering my own thoughts on them, for what those thoughts are worth. (Insert nasty crack here.)

Peter introduces his notes "in no particular order," so we'll go ahead and do the same:

For most of the offseason, people who pontificate about such things had the Lions taking an offensive player with the first-overall pick. Quarterback Matthew Stafford was the popular choice, with offensive tackles Jason Smith and Eugene Monroe also in the mix. But maybe the organization should focus on fixing the defense, which, surprisingly, was the weakest unit on an 0-16 outfit last season.

Linebacker Aaron Curry has been described as the "safest pick of the draft," and has even been mentioned as a potential pre-draft Lions target. And today, after watching the team's final mincamp practice, MLive.com's Tom Kowalski has a suggestion: Detroit should use its first three draft picks to shore up the defense.

Last year, everything worked out. The NFL invited six players to Radio City Music Hall for the NFL Draft, and all were chosen with the first six selections. It hasn't always been that way; in 2007, a forlorn Brady Quinn spent six excruciating hours -- the last few out of camera shot in Roger Goodell's private viewing room -- waiting to hear his name called.

Two years before that, Aaron Rodgers sat uncomfortably through 23 picks before the Packers finally ended the misery and drafted him 24th.