Quarterbacks figure to rule at NFL draft

Quarterbacks are expected to be in high demand at Thursday's NFL draft in Chicago - with franchises falling over themselves to move up the pecking order.

Such is the pass-happy state of the game that both the LA Rams and Philadelphia Eagles traded up to the number one and two slots respectively for the presumed purpose of snaring a quarterback.

In exchange for sending a bunch of extra picks to the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns, the Rams and Eagles are expected to take quarterbacks Jared Goff of the University of California and Carson Wentz of North Dakota State.

After that, the pecking order seems to be a little murky, with San Diego holding the third pick.

Jalen Ramsey is rated the top defensive back, with Joey Bosa and DeForest Buckner among the leading defensive ends.

The top offensive line behemoths figure to be Laremy Tunsil and Ronnie Stanley, while explosive running back Ezekiel Elliott of Ohio State is an option for teams needing an offensive jolt.

One team that is missing from the first-round list is New England, whose 29th pick of the opening round was forfeited as part of the Deflategate punishment from the league.