Southern Miss wide receiver DeAndre Brown has decided to make himself available for the NFL draft. Brown made the decision on Thursday. ?I felt like it was time for me to enter the draft,? Brown said. ?I did what I had to do at Southern Miss. It was in my best interest to move on.? If the 2011 NFL Draft were held next week, Brown would be considered a mid-round prospect. But the wide receiver can easily improve his NFL stock with strong workouts before the April 22-24 draft.

Andrew Luck would be the consensus first overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, should he decide to leave Stanford and declare. "If Andrew Luck had to make his decision today as to whether he would stay or go to the NFL, he'd say he was staying in school," says a Stanford source. Luck has not made a final decision and will face Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl on Monday. The source said he 'knew' Luck is currently leaning towards remaining at Stanford. "A lot can happen between now and Jan.15th," said the source, referring to the date underclassmen must declare themselves eligible. "There will be a lot of conversations still to come. And whenever he goes pro, he will be a fantastic NFL quarterback. But this is a kid who truly enjoys college." The source continued: "For a lot of guys who declare early, it's partly because the schoolwork is such a grind for them. It's not that way for Andrew." The Panthers own the top overall pick.

Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green is set to enter the upcoming NFL, according to sources. ?There is a 100 percent chance he is gone, and a possible (NFL) lockout has no bearing on his decision," said sources. During his junior season, Green caught 49 passes for 771 yards and nine touchdowns. Green is expected to be a top-five selection in the 2011 NFL Draft.

Nick Foles will return to Arizona for his season despite being a top quarterback prospect for the NFL draft. Foles lead the Pac-10 in passing yards per game. "Yeah I plan on being back," he said on Thursday. "I've been asked that question a lot. I love it here. It was a dream of mine as a kid to play college football. I'm very fortunate to be out here playing so I plan on being back."

Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide could lose three underclassmen to become first round picks. Julio Jones, Mark Ingram and Marcell Dareus are all projected to be first round picks if they declare. "Typically, if guys are first-round picks I tell them I support them going out in the draft," said Saban, a former Miami Dolphins coach. "With the unknowns this year, I've kind of reduced that to guys that are a top-15 pick or they don't have a chance to move up in the future."

Draft order is based on standings through Week 13. I limited commentary to the top 10 for this one, mainly because those slots are less likely to dramatically change and because it?s still way too early to forecast what teams are thinking about players. As always, this is my best guess as to what the given teams would do with the given picks. It does not necessarily represent what picks I would make. Round 1 1. Carolina Panthers: Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford Forget that they drafted three quarterbacks in 2010, because they will have a brand new coaching staff and front office in 2011. Nothing will be more appealing to a new regime than getting to start fresh with Luck, whom many scouts and personnel evaluators consider the best QB to hit the draft since Peyton Manning. 2. Detroit Lions: Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU A physical big-play corner with great size and confidence, Peterson offers bonus value as an exceptional return man. The Lions are a defense that values corners that can both create INTs and tackle, and that?s Peterson. Questions about his top-end speed are overstated, just as they were about Joe Haden--who isn?t as fast or dynamic as Peterson yet is still having a Rookie of the Year-type season for Cleveland. 3. Cincinnati Bengals: DaQuan Bowers, DE, Clemson One long-time scout I spoke with recently compared Bowers to Bruce Smith, a powerful bull that can disrupt the run and get to the QB from a 5-technique. Cincy will have a new coaching staff in place in 2011, so they might want to address the ugly Carson Palmer decline here instead. 4. Buffalo Bills: A.J. Green, WR, Georgia Wide receiver is not their biggest need (DE, LB, OL) but the Bills have never been shy about choosing top-end talent over need. Green will grade out the highest of any remaining player regardless of position for a lot of people, and I would bet that?s true of GM Buddy Nix here. 5. Arizona Cardinals: Derek Sherrod, T, Mississippi State I make this selection based on my belief that they will go after a veteran QB (McNabb? Vince Young?) and will want to bolster the protection to keep that investment upright. Sherrod is going to be a draft board riser once OL-needy coaches start to watch Bulldogs game tape. 6. Denver Broncos: Nick Fairley, DT, Auburn No matter whom they bring in as the new coach and decision maker, the Broncos must upgrade their up-the-gut defense. Fairley has a lot of Shaun Rogers to his game, and he has the athletic prowess to be a star as either a 4-3 DT or a 3-4 DE. 7. San Francisco 49ers: Cam Newton, QB, Auburn This might actually be low for Newton, who brings great leadership presence along with his crazy size and athleticism. He?s a far more accurate and consistent thrower than Jake Locker even with his limited experience, but the presence is what will make him an easy sell for the Niners. 8. Dallas Cowboys: Marcell Dareus, DT, Alabama Dareus is very attractive to 3-4 defensive teams because he?s already thrived in that scheme under a former NFL coach at Alabama. He is a more dynamic (potentially) version of 2009 #3 overall pick Tyson Jackson, though he does have some bust factor to him too. 9. Tennessee Titans: Von Miller, DE/OLB, Texas A&M: It?s rare that an injury helps a player, but a bad ankle forced Miller to learn to read plays better and not rely on his freakish quickness and closing speed. Those attributes came back and now Miller is a much better all-around talent that happened to lead the nation in sacks in 2009. 10. Washington Redskins: Jake Locker, QB, Washington Mike Shanahan loves the mobile, gutsy gunslinger QB, and that aptly describes Locker. It?s at this point that I provide the friendly reminder that these picks do not necessarily reflect what I would do with the given selections, and that reminder here is not a coincidence. 11. Houston Texans: Cameron Jordan, DE, California 12. Minnesota Vikings: Ryan Mallett, QB, Arkansas 13. Cleveland Browns: Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State 14. San Diego Chargers: Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska 15. New England Patriots (from OAK): Ryan Kerrigan, OLB/DE, Purdue 16. Seattle Seahawks: JJ Watt, DE, Wisconsin 17. Indianapolis Colts: Anthony Castonzo, T, Boston College 18. Miami Dolphins: Stefen Wisniewski, C, Penn State 19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Robert Quinn, OLB, North Carolina 20. Green Bay Packers: Akeem Ayers, LB, UCLA 21. St. Louis Rams: Julio Jones, WR, Alabama 22. Jacksonville Jaguars: Jimmy Smith, CB, Colorado 23. Kansas City Chiefs: Bruce Carter, LB, North Carolina 24. New York Giants: Jarvis Jenkins, DT, Clemson 25. Baltimore Ravens: Ras-I Dowling, CB, Virginia 26. Philadelphia Eagles: Nate Solder, T, Colorado 27. New Orleans Saints: Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa 28. Chicago Bears: Orlando Franklin, T/G, Miami FL 29. New York Jets: Marvin Austin, DT, North Carolina 30. Pittsburgh Steelers: Tyron Smith, T, USC 31. Atlanta Falcons: Cameron Heyward, DE, Ohio State 32. New England Patriots: Jonathan Baldwin, WR, Pittsburgh Round 2 33. New England Patriots (from CAR): Allen Bailey, DE, Miami FL 34. Detroit Lions: Demarcus Love, T, Arkansas 35. Cincinnati Bengals: Christian Ponder, QB, Florida State 36. Buffalo Bills: Justin Houston, DE/OLB, Georgia 37. Arizona Cardinals: Gabe Carimi, T, Wisconsin 38. Denver Broncos: Janoris Jenkins, CB, Florida 39. San Francisco 49ers: Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama 40. Dallas Cowboys: Donta Hightower, LB, Alabama 41. Tennessee Titans: Blaine Gabbert, QB, Missouri 42. Washington Redskins: Mike Pouncey, C/G, Florida 43. Houston Texans: Jerrell Jernigan, WR, Troy 44. Minnesota Vikings: Robert Sands, S, West Virginia 45. Cleveland Browns: Phil Taylor, DT, Baylor 46. San Diego Chargers: Stephen Paea, DT, Oregon State 47. Oakland Raiders: Dontay Moch, LB, Nevada 48. Seattle Seahawks: Thomas Claiborne, G, Boston College 49. Indianapolis Colts: Drake Nevis, DT, LSU 50. Denver Broncos (from MIA): Ryan Broyles, WR, Oklahoma 51. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Quinton Carter, S, Oklahoma 52. Green Bay Packers: Ben Ijalana, G, Villanova 53. St. Louis Rams: Davon House, CB, New Mexico 54. Jacksonville Jaguars: Colin Kaepernick, QB, Nevada 55. Kansas City Chiefs: Mason Foster, LB, Washington 56. New York Giants: Rahim Moore, S, UCLA 57. Baltimore Ravens: Aaron Williams, CB, Texas 58. Philadelphia Eagles: Brandon Burton, CB, Utah 59. New Orleans Saints: Kendall Hunter, RB, Oklahoma State 60. Chicago Bears: Leonard Hankerson, WR, Miami FL 61. San Diego Chargers (from NYJ): Jason Pinkston, T, Pittsburgh 62. Pittsburgh Steelers-- Ryan Williams, RB, Virginia Tech 63. Atlanta Falcons: D.J. Williams, TE, Arkansas 64. New England Patriots: Johnny Patrick, CB, Louisville