It’s that time of year again when everyone from armchair quarterbacks, has-been football players and fantasy gurus try to tell all who their favorite NFL team should draft to improve upon last season’s record.

This Saturday and Sunday at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the 2003 NFL Draft will rekindle the spirit of every football fan across the country.

Everybody has an opinion on the picks their team should make, and will have a stronger opinion on the picks that their team did not make.

The No. 1 pick in this year’s draft appears to be 6-foot-5-inch, 232-pound quarterback from USC, Carson Palmer. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner is likely headed to the league’s laughingstock – the Cincinnati Bengals.

Cincinnati would be best suited to trade down, get additional picks and find a quarterback in a later round, like Chris Simms at the top of the second round.

However, the Bengals have no takers, as the league’s other teams are content to see the Bengals botch yet another No. 1 pick.

The ‘Bungles’ have a history of bad selections in the draft. They have wasted the top pick on players like Ohio State’s-own Dan “Big Daddy” Wilkinson and Columbus native Ki-Jana Carter.

Cincy has an even worse history drafting quarterbacks.

In 1992, they drafted an unproven signal-caller from Houston, David Klingler, to replace quaterback Boomer Esiason.

Sure he held many NCAA records, but he was a system quarterback, much like Kliff Kingsbury from Texas Tech this year.

All too fresh in more recent memory is the selection of Akili Smith out of Oregon in 1999. He, like Palmer, had only one really good year in college.

Could you imagine if Cincinnati had picked Donovan McNabb or Daunte Culpepper instead of Smith? Both were selected later in the first round in 1999. If so, a much different landscape would exist in the NFL.

There are a few national champions from right here at Ohio State that will have their name called on the first day of the NFL Draft.

The first Buckeye to be taken will likely be Mike Doss. He is rated the second-best safety on most experts draft boards. He would be a good fit for the Pittsburgh Steelers at pick No. 27 in the first round, or even higher at No. 24 to the Indianapolis Colts.

Kenny Peterson, a defensive tackle with versatility to play end, will probably go early in the second round, perhaps to the Houston Texans at pick No. 36, or the Washington Redskins at No. 44.

The only other first-day draftee will be Cie Grant, who will go in the third or fourth round and play either safety or outside linebacker. Interested teams are the Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders.

Only a handful more Buckeyes are likely to get drafted this year.

Safety Donnie Nickey will go in the fifth or sixth round and linebacker Matt Wilhelm looks to go in the sixth. Wide receiver Chris Vance and Andy Groom, the third-rated punter, will probably go in the sixth or seventh round – if drafted at all. If not, they will likely be invited to a rookie camp with a chance to sign with a team as an undrafted rookie.

Marty Homan is a graduating senior in journalism. He can be reached at [email protected] for comment. He is glad Will Smith and Michael Jenkins are staying for their senior year and therefore does not mind the low number of Buckeyes in this year’s NFL Draft.