There is a false sense from those who don't follow the NFL Draft year round, that the 2013 version of this annual event lacks the top-tier talent that we have seen across the board in the past. 

This couldn't be further from the truth. 

While there are no "elite" quarterback or running back prospect, there is a whole heck of a lot of elite talent at nearly every other position. Some of these positions, including: guard, inside linebacker and safety aren't valued a great deal by NFL teams, but they're still damn important in the grand scheme of things. 

As teams who struggled a great deal in 2012 look to fill a tremendous amount of holes, we can expect there to be some major reaches early on next month. Certain teams will have to go out there and draft a quarterback or wide receiver in order to grow into winning units, but this is going to leave a lot of good teams with equally as good options later in the first round and into the second day of the draft. 

On that note, you can expect a ton of surprises in the initial half of the first round. 

Let's take a look at a few clubs that could turn the first round upside down. 

Oakland Raiders

Reggie McKenzie and company have a whole host of issues to deal with on both sides of the ball. They have been mocked to take anywhere from a quarterback to a cornerback in the NFL Draft. They have been linked a great deal to West Virginia product Geno Smith as of late, but that doesn't seem to fit the bill of what McKenzie is building in Northern California. After all, Oakland still has Carson Palmer and Terrelle Pryor on the roster. 

A more likely scenario would be for Oakland to trade out of the No. 3 slot in an attempt to recoup the second-round pick it lost in the now-infamous Palmer trade. Teams selecting behind the Raiders in the first round could actually move up a couple slots to find help along either the offensive or defensive line. 

This would do a couple things. First, it would mean that Geno Smith falls out of the top five, which would create a trickle-down effect as it relates to other quarterbacks. Needless to say, I doubt that Matt Barkley or another high riser at quarterback would find himself as a top-10 pick if Smith doesn't go in the top six or so. 

Detroit Lions

The Lions' needs are pretty well defined by now. They must target offensive tackles and defensive backs in the upcoming draft. Gosder Cherilus bolted for the Indianapols Colts, while Jeff Backus called it quits in a surprising move. This has left Detroit without a single starting offensive tackle on its roster. While Detroit did retain Chris Houston on a team friendly five-year, $25 million contract, it does need to find another starting corner. In fact, it would be well served to actually get a shut-down cover guy in the initial round. This is where Dee Milliner comes into play. 

With that said, there has been some talk about Detroit lookin wide receiver early in the draft. The only possible top-10 player at that position would be Cordarrelle Patterson, who is still pretty darn raw. In addition, the Lions have spent two second-round picks on wide receivers in the last couple seasons with Titus Young in 2011 and Ryan Broyles in 2012. That might not be on the level of the umentionable former general manager in Detroit, but it is still worth noting. 

If Detroit were to go wide receiver in the top 10, it would throw the entire draft for a loop. While I don't expect this to happen and would be disappointed in Martin Mayhew, we have seen stranger things happen in Detroit. 

Cleveland Browns

There is absolutely no reason that Cleveland shouldn't give Brandon Weeden another season to prove that he can be a viable starting quarterback in the NFL. Age aside, he wasn't too bad as a rookie in 2012. To give up on a first-round pick that early really would be a waste of time/energy/money. 

With that in mind, there ae reports surfacing that the Browns will be giving Geno Smith a private workout and may look to go in that direction should he be available at six. This may force another team such as the Buffalo Bills or Arizona Cardinals to reach for a second-tier quarterback prospect early. Once the dominos start to fall, we have absolutely no idea what is going to happen at quarterback. This is evidenced by the selections of Christian Ponder, Tim Tebow and Josh Freeman in the first round over the last few seasons. Could we see E.J. Manuel sneak into the latter half of the initial round? What about Buffalo reaching for Ryan Nasib? Again, nothing is out of the ordinary when it comes to teams needing quarterbacks come April. 

By my estimation there are about two dozen defensive players with first-round grades. If teams are forced to reach for a quarterback, running back or wide receiver relatively early in the draft; we could start to see some of the best players in the entire draft fall to some of the best teams in the National Football League. 

I am pretty sure that teams in need of help on that side of the ball; especially along the defensive line and in the secondary, wouldn't be crying fowl if this were to happen. 

Again, this is just one interesting dynamic to look forward to when thinking about the draft late next month. 

In addition, the Minnesota Vikings and St. Louis Rams both have two first-round picks. They could easily shake up the foundation of the draft by trading up for a target player relatively early on the first day. This is another thing to keep an eye on.