We hear it every year. The big debate in the NFL draft: Draft for need, or draft the best player left on the board? You listen to most draftnicks and they tell you drafting for need generally results in failure.  Well, what exactly would this year's draft look like if every team drafted the best player available, and ignored positions of need? Amidst all the projections, mock drafts, and analysis, I figured it'd be fun to do a non-traditional mock draft to mix things up a bit.

First things first, though. How exactly did I determine the best player available? Well, in the only real way I could think of. I took the top players from ESPN and CBSSports' lists, and averaged out the position for those players -the higher the number, the lower the draft spot. For example, Knowshon Moreno's average draft position is 14, and Andre Smith is a 12. But since no one has an average position between the two, Moreno's draft spot in the mock is actually 12th (Smith is 11th). If any players tied averages (and some did) I simply flipped a coin to determine the better position. Now I admit, this isn't the most scientific way to determine this, but that's not really the point of this.

Some of the results were not much changed, but there were some surprises. Take a look to see how it turned out:

1.  Detroit Lions - Aaron Curry, LB.

2.  St. Louis Rams - Michael Crabtree, WR

3.  Kansas City Chiefs - Jason Smith, OT

4.  Seattle Seahawks - Eugene Monroe, OT

5.  Cleveland Browns - Brian Orakpo, DE

6.  Cincinnati Bengals - Matt Stafford, QB

7.  Oakland Raiders - B.J. Raji, DT

8.  Jacksonville Jaguars - Mark Sanchez, QB

9.  Green Bay Packers - Jeremy Maclin, WR

10.  San Francisco 49ers - Malcolm Jenkins, CB

11.  Buffalo Bills - Andre Smith, OT

12. Denver Broncos - Knowshon Moreno

13. Washington Redskins - Everette Brown, DE

14. New Orleans Saints - Tyson Jackson, DE

15. Houston Texans - Percy Harvin, WR

16. San Diego Chargers - Brian Cushing, LB

17. New York Jets - Chris Wells, RB

18. Denver Broncos - Michael Oher, OT

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Clay Matthews, LB

20. Detroit Lions - Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR

21. Philadelphia Eagles - Brandon Pettigrew, TE

22. Minnesota Vikings - Peria Jerry, DT

23. New England Patriots - Rey Maualuga, LB

24. Atlanta Falcons - Aaron Maybin, DE

25. Miami Dolphins - Vontae Davis, CB

26. Baltimore Ravens - Hakeem Nicks, WR

27. Indianapolis Colts - Donald Brown, RB

28. Philadelphia Eagles - James Laurinaitis, LB

29. New York Giants - Darius Butler, CB

30. Tennessee Titans - Robert Ayers, DE

31. Arizona Cardinals - Eben Britton, OT

32. Pittsburgh Steelers - Alphonso Smith, CB