The draft is anything but an exact science. As much as I look forward to all of the draft speculation and look at more mock drafts than anyone should (the Eagles are either taking Tim Crowder from Texas or Quentin Moses from Georgia according to the latest), none of it really matters. Sometimes there isn’t a rhyme or reason why one prospect succeeds and another fails.

And despite all the talk about JaMarcus Russell, Brady Quinn, Joe Thomas and Calvin Johnson, there is one player in this draft that in my opinion is an absolute can’t-miss.

Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson is an absolute beast. For three years, Peterson has been the soul source of offense on an OU team that’s been pretty darn good. Quite simply put, the guy’s a freak. I don’t put much, if any, stock in combine workout numbers. Peterson ran a pretty impressive 4.4 and broad jumped 10′7″. But the best measure of just how good Peterson is has been his performance on the field. He’s rebounded from two serious injuries and any team would be nuts not to take him.

*WARNING! MEANINGLESS DRAFT SPECULATION AHEAD!*

I don’t think Peterson will go number 1 overall, especially not in light of the Raiders releasing starting QB Aaron Brooks and I don’t think they intend to start Andrew Walter. They’ll likely take a QB.  The Lions won’t take him at the 2 spot, they have Kevin Jones and I think there’s a fair chance Matt Millen will be run out of D-Town on a rail if he takes another skill position player. The first shot for Peterson to go will be Cleveland with the third pick and unless they trade down to get some picks later on in the draft, they’d be nuts not to take. They would have the nucleus for a very good, young, exciting offense team with Charlie Frye, Braylon Edwards and Adrian Peterson and maybe even Kellen Winslow, Jr.

But when you look at Peterson’s body of work (he was a legitimate Heisman trophy candidate his freshman year) , it’s hard to disagree with Mel Kiper Jr., when he says that not drafting Peterson is something teams could “live to regret.”