The draft is less than a week away. Draft boards from teams are essentially set and are now being carefully guarded. Here are some predictions for what we’ll see next week. Some are serious, some are fun, and less than five will probably come to fruition. 1. The inability to trade any veteran players, plus the uncertainty that there will ever be another draft, means there will not be any trades in the first 10 picks. There will still be a host of trades in the 17-32 overall range though; I predict just 7 of those 16 picks will be made by the team that currently sits in the slot. 2. There will be no running backs or tight ends in the first round, and just two of each in the second round. History will prove that teams were correct to lightly regard these classes. 3. There will be a run on offensive linemen in the middle of the first round. All of the following will come off the board between 15 and 25 overall: Mike Pouncey, Derek Sherrod, Anthony Castonzo, Gabe Carimi, Danny Watkins, and Nate Solder--most likely in that order. 4. Cincinnati and Minnesota, both in desperate need of QB help, pass on quarterbacks with their initial picks. However, they will maneuver to draft Andy Dalton and Christian Ponder, respectively, before pick #35. 5. The Denver Broncos will not draft an offensive player before the 7th round. This is a good thing for Broncos fans. 6. New England will keep pick #17, but will trade each of their next three picks to pick up an additional pick in 2012. This is why I’m incredibly optimistic that the draft will not die as part of the new CBA; Robert Kraft would never betray Bill Belichick and agree to a deal that leaves him holding a bag of emptiness. 7. There are three sets of teammates that play the same basic position where the second player drafted will wind up having a better NFL career than the first one: Iowa DEs Christian Ballard over more heralded Adrian Clayborn, Texas CB Curtis Brown (and perhaps Chykie Brown to0) over Aaron Williams, and Arizona DEs Ricky Elmore over Brooks Reed. It still amazes me that three Texas DBs are going to be drafted in the first four rounds after how consistently terrible the Longhorns secondary performed last year. Either they were terribly coached underachievers, or they are badly overrated by talent evaluators. My suspicion is that it’s more of the latter, especially Williams. 8. Oakland’s first pick will be Stefen Wisniewski, and they’ll move up if they feel they have to in order to secure him. At least two different analysts will mix up his lineage, however; his uncle, not his father, is the Raiders’ OL assistant and former stud. His father was a Colts defensive lineman during the move to Indy. 9. The Radio City fans will loudly and vociferously boo Roger Goodell for the first handful of times he approaches the podium. The first time The Commish utters the phrase, “We have a trade”, the booing directed his way will cease for the rest of the night. 10. There will be a QB bubble near the end of the first round, with Jake Locker, Ryan Mallett, Andy Dalton, Christian Ponder, and Colin Kaepernick all selected before the 40th pick. Then there will be a drought where only Ricky Stanzi comes off the board over the next three rounds. 11. Three teams will drop out of the first round completely: Green Bay, Atlanta, and Chicago. All three of those teams will take wide receivers with their “bonus” picks acquired to fall back. That’s very good news for Torrey Smith, Jonathan Baldwin, and Titus Young. 12. At least two specialists will be drafted before the 7th round: Nebraska’s Alex Henery and UCLA kicker Kai Forbath. Henery can both punt and kick, and that ability to kill two roster birds with one stone will give him increased appeal. 13. You will hear the firefighting backstory of Baylor OL Danny Watkins ad nausea, but here are two other pretty cool facts about him: he can rip a full can of beer in half with his bare hands, and his hockey background proved exceptional at prepping him for line play. Skating backwards at 270 pounds while wearing 15 pounds of equipment and suddenly changing direction has given him some of the best feet and balance of any OL prospect to come along in a long time. That’s not technically a prediction, but I happen to really like the guy. He’s an ideal Pittsburgh Steeler, if he lasts that long. 14. At least three times the ESPN analysts will refer to the Dolphins as “Bill Parcells” team and talk about how a prospect fits the “Parcells way”. Parcells has no role with the team anymore, and he hasn’t pulled off a truly good draft since the 1990s, but that won’t stop them. 15. There will be more players drafted from the Colonial Athletic Conference, which plays 1-AA, than the 1-A Mid-American Conference. That’s as it should be. I’m a proud grad of MAC member Ohio University, but my Bobcats (which have been to back-to-back bowls) wouldn’t go .500 in the CAA the past couple of years. 16. After taking Cam Newton at #1 overall, the Panthers will not use another pick on an offensive player, except maybe a late-round tight end. What’s often left unsaid about Carolina is that they have an outstanding (when healthy) offensive line, the deepest RB package in the league, and they feel they hit on WRs Brandon LaFell and David Gettis a year ago. 17. Every non-specialist participant in the Senior Bowl will be drafted by the end of the 5th round, save two: Toledo C Kevin Kowalski and USC C Kris O’Dowd. Neither of those will be drafted. 18. Jets fans will wildly cheer their team’s first round selection, a sea change from the pre-Ryan years where they reliably, and often justifiably, let loose some Bronx cheers for every decision the Jets made. They’ll want to reconsider those joyous exultations if they pick Temple DL Muhammad Wilkerson, who feasted on vastly inferior MAC offenses with an upright technique that won’t get him anywhere in the NFL. 19. Most people will point to the two Auburn players, Cam Newton and Nick Fairley, as the prime candidates for the biggest bust in this draft. My choices: Prince Amukamara and Tyron Smith. I have my reasons… 20. Cleveland will draft two wide receivers and two pass rushers each, including one of each in the first two rounds. As they are a Mike Holmgren team, they will also draft a quarterback in the 5th or 6th round. My guess: Tyrod Taylor, the new Seneca Wallace. 21. Three players from Hawaii will be drafted within 25 picks of one another sometime in the 70-95 overall range: wideouts Kealoha Pilares and Greg Salas, and running back Alex Green. Green will be the best pro of the three. At least one of them will wind up in Green Bay. 22. Last year the analysts heaped praises galore on Jahvid Best…until the Lions drafted him, when he suddenly became a “reach” pick that was slammed by most as a poor choice. This year that player and team will be Gabe Carimi and the Buffalo Bills, who will trade up to pick him in the first round. All of the sudden his great run blocking will be usurped by how often he winds up playing on his knees. 23. Teams will not hold violations of NCAA rules regarding selling merchandise or premature dealing with agents against any of the talented players that were suspended for all or parts of 2010. AJ Green will remain a top-5 pick, Robert Quinn is a top-10 pick, Marvin Austin will go in the top-40, and Greg Little sneaks into the bottom of the 2nd round. That’s about where they would have gone sans disciplinary action. NFL teams know the NCAA rules are ludicrous, ridiculous anachronisms that have nothing to do with their NFL futures. 24. The negative pall of the lockout will be most felt during the broadcasts when players meet with the press and have to face the question, “What’s next?” They cannot answer that, both because they don’t know and they have to dance on the edge of the knife so as not offend their future teammates or their future employers. Expect a lot of “uhhs”, “hmmms” and pregnant pauses while the draftees figure out how to eject gracefully from the question. 25. Two players that almost no one expects to get drafted Thursday night that will be surprise 1st rounders: Virginia CB Ras-I Dowling and North Carolina DT Marvin Austin. 26. The Colts will draft at least two offensive linemen, including a tackle with their first round pick. They will not take a quarterback despite some recent chatter that they might try to get Peyton Manning’s replacement this year. 27. Four recent first round picks that will not make their teams in 2011: Aaron Maybin, Tyson Jackson, Kentwan Balmer, and Lawrence Jackson. Balmer and Jackson have already been traded for late-round picks but that won’t save them with their new teams either. Note that three of the four (all but Jackson), along with the already released Vernon Gholston, were defensive linemen asked to change from a 4-3 to a 3-4; that is not coincidental. 28. Boston College LB Mark Herzlich will get drafted in the 5th round. Two years ago he would have been a likely top 25 pick before he came down with cancer. He has fought back valiantly, but he just isn’t the same player anymore. He’s one to root for, and expect a nice featurette on Herzlich during the Saturday portion of the draft. 29. When they were all freshmen, Southern Miss wideout DeAndre Brown was better than both Julio Jones and AJ Green. A broken leg and an unsavory attitude have marred his stock to where most draftniks expect him to be no earlier than a 5th round pick. I think some team will remember the freshman sensation and take him in the 3rd round. 30. St. Louis will draft two wide receivers, a running back, a defensive tackle, a defensive end, and a safety. All of them will not just make the team, but will contribute in 2011. 31. Last year there were 39 players drafted that were not at the Combine. That number will increase to 47 this year. The first non-invitee to be drafted this year will be Marshall LB Mario Harvey, who will be drafted in the 110-125 overall range. 32. Mr. Irrelevant will be Fordham safety Isa Abdul-El Quddus, who will make the Texans roster as their #3 safety. Jeff.Risdon@RealGM.com