Unless you're a connoisseur of line play, this year's NFL Draft isn't exactly going to be must-see TV.
The intrigue of Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III has been replaced by the less-than-scintillating questions of which offensive tackle the Chiefs will take No. 1 overall and how many guards will go in the top 10 when the process kicks off with the first round tonight at Radio City Music Hall.
The second and third rounds are tomorrow night, followed by the final four rounds Saturday.
What turned out to be one of the best quarterback drafts in a long time last year has been replaced by a passer class almost universally described as dreadful and a draft as a whole that's bereft of marquee names and playmakers.
At least the identity of the No. 1 overall pick by Kansas City — or if it will be the Chiefs making the choice — remains a mystery, though Texas A&M left tackle Luke Joeckel vs. Central Michigan left tackle Eric Fisher is hardly the stuff of future ESPN "30 for 30" documentaries.
The Chiefs are expected to go for Fisher, though new coach Andy Reid — knowing this draft is unlikely to turn around his misbegotten franchise — has made his feelings known about the quality of the overall class by all but renting a Times Square billboard to advertise his desire to trade down.
"It's like throwing a bunch of darts against the wall," an AFC personnel director told The Post yesterday. "I bet no two [draft] boards are anywhere alike, and nobody knows where anybody's going to go. I haven't seen a draft like this in a long time, and not in a good way."
The bigger storyline and source of intrigue is a perverse one: Will even one quarterback be taken in the first round?
Unlike last year, when Luck and Griffin were the first two players off the board (and the Redskins mortgaged their franchise to get the latter), scouts, analysts and team executives have practically made a pastime this offseason of criticizing this year's passer crop.
West Virginia's Geno Smith is considered by most to be the best of the quarterbacks, but neither he nor Florida State's E.J. Manuel are anywhere close to wearing the can't-miss label.
Reports yesterday the Bills might reach for Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib with the eighth overall pick were a source of angst in Buffalo instead of excitement.
"Worst group of quarterbacks I've seen in a while," an NFC general manager told The Post recently. "It's all projects and good athletes who could very easily [turn out to] be busts."
Aside from the quarterbacks, the only offensive playmaker creating any excitement is West Virginia slot receiver and return ace Tavon Austin, who could be headed to the Jets with the second of their two first-round picks (13th overall). But Austin's 5-foot-8 height makes him a huge question mark.
It also wouldn't surprise any scout if the first round passes tonight without a single running back being selected. Alabama's Eddie Lacy is considered the top back, but his stock has fallen dramatically after he didn't work out at the combine because of a hamstring injury and subsequently ran a 4.9 40-yard dash at his pro day last month.
What this draft has instead is plenty of quality offensive linemen, a top-heavy class of pass rushers, some promising cornerbacks and what one scout described as "a lot of depth in the later rounds."
The offensive-line class is so strong that not one but potentially two guards — Chance Warmack of Alabama and North Carolina's Jonathan Cooper — could be taken in the top 10. That's unheard of for that position, considering no guard has been among the first 10 picks since Chris Naeole by the Saints in 1997.
As a result, look for a lot of trades — perhaps starting with the Chiefs at No. 1. Several teams at the bottom of the first round are thought to be very interested in moving up to the 13-14-15 range, especially if a cornerback such as Alabama's Dee Milliner starts falling.
bhubbuch@nypost.com
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