NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said in a conference call Wednesday, if he was running the Lions he'd take Virginia offensive tackle Eugene Monroe No. 1 overall.

“The way I look at the quarterback position is it's the most important position in the NFL,” Mayock said. “But you better make sure you're going to bang the table and believe in the guy if you're going to take him in the top 10 like I did with Matt Ryan a year ago. He was my No. 1 guy the whole year for a reason. I don't feel the same way about (Matt) Stafford, so if I'm the Lions I take Eugene Monroe and I worry about the quarterback position either at No. 20, trading up from 20, next year, whatever. But me personally, I couldn't afford to take a shot at No. 1 where if I'm wrong I think I set the franchise back another five years.”

Mayock said he prefers Monroe to Baylor's Jason Smith because Monroe is a better pass blocker.

“Best feet of any tackle in the draft,” he said. “His feet remind me of Joe Thomas, and in the NFL the one thing I've learned is that your run blocking's not as big a deal, you better protect your quarterback, and I think Monroe's the best pass-protection left tackle in this draft.”

The Lions have welcomed both Monroe and Smith, plus Stafford and Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry, in for visits in recent weeks. Smith is considered a hair better prospect than Monroe by most analysts, and there's some debate whether his more physical style better suits the Lions' new “get-big” philosophy. Regardless, both are expected to be top-five picks.

As for quarterbacks, Mayock has USC's Mark Sanchez rated No. 1 at the position, but he said Stafford, Sanchez and Kansas State's Josh Freeman are all worthy of first-round picks.

“I've been very positive of all three of them and I like all three of them, but I wouldn't bang the table for any of them like I did for Matt Ryan last year,” Mayock said. “Matt Ryan was my No. 1 guy on the board all year long. But amongst those three, Freeman reminds me of Joe Flacco both on and off the field, and I think if I had to pull the trigger in a top-10 pick with a quarterback I would take Sanchez because I would feel like his floor is higher than the other guys.”

ESPN draft analysts Mel Kiper and Todd McShay had an interesting debate in a podcast on ESPN.com this morning about whether the Lions should take Georgia quarterback Matt Stafford No. 1 overall.

“There's nobody else to take,” Kiper said “You have no face of the organization, you have the No. 1 pick, you need a quarterback, you got to roll the dice.”

McShay said he'd take Baylor left tackle Jason Smith at No. 1, and said general manager Martin Mayhew is in a “no-win situation” in his first draft.

“History tells you if you are forced to take a quarterback in the draft, you don't love them, and you don't have enough around that quarterback position, you're going to fail and you set your organization up to fail,” McShay said. “Listen, I don't want to be running the Detroit organization right now. I don't want to be in charge of that war room because you have a no-win situation. I'm getting booed out of Detroit if I take Jason Smith with that first overall pick. I recognize that, and that's why it's a nightmare situation.”

I'd say fans are pretty evenly split between Stafford, a tackle (Smith or Virginia's Eugene Monroe) and linebacker Aaron Curry, with Curry a slight favorite right now. Regardless, McShay said Stafford is “not ready mentally” to start as a rookie and he'd try and build like the Cleveland Browns did two years ago, when they took Joe Thomas with the third pick then traded up to draft quarterback Brady Quinn at No. 22. The Lions also pick 20th in the first round.

“Last year I felt great about Matt Ryan prior to the draft. I said it 100 times ... I felt great about building my franchise around Matt Ryan,” McShay said. “I think Matt Stafford is in every single physical category better than Matt Ryan, but I don't feel great about building my organization around him and there are at least 10 teams here that I've talked to a representative from that have the same exact mindset that say, you know what, thank God I am not running war room in Detroit because I don't want to have to make that decision.”