Every draft has its own personality, its own stamp.

You can look back through history and see. In 2006, it was the Mario Williams-Reggie Bush draft. The year before, a trio of running backs took center stage - Ronnie Brown, Cedric Benson and Cadillac Williams - and since have failed to meet their top-five expectations.

And in 2004, the story was the quarterbacks. Eli Manning went first, followed by Philip Rivers at No. 4, and the then-hard-luck loser, Ben Roethlisberger, who fell to 11th. Of course, we know how that scoreboard stands right now.

Doesn't this year's draft remind you a little of '04? Think about it.

If I were to predict how this class will be remembered in three or four years, I would bet it comes down to the three quarterbacks again that will give this draft class its identity - Matthew Stafford, Mark Sanchez and Josh Freeman.

In a way, Stafford is this year's Eli. There are people who doubt his credentials to be No. 1. And though Stafford isn't trying to force his way out of going to a bad team, the way Manning did, there are a lot of people in who don't want him there. Chants of "Draft Curry" for Forest's standout linebacker, Aaron) far outweigh the cries to land a potential franchise quarterback right now. That said, both were battled-tested starters in the rough-and-tumble Southeastern Conference, and each showed glimpses of brilliance, as well as moments fraught with unmet potential.

That makes Sanchez this year's Rivers. You might remember, when Rivers' senior season ended, he was viewed as a prospect on the rise but only a borderline first-rounder to some. He ended up in the top five, gaining the most momentum through the pre-draft process. I suspect Sanchez will go in that same neighborhood, fourth or fifth, on Saturday. He's the intriguing guy, far more so than Stafford. The only major differences between Sanchez and Rivers are that Rivers was a four-year starter (Sanchez has only one full season's worth of starting) but had funky mechanics that some scouts didn't love. If there's a selling point on Sanchez, it's that he has mostly excellent form.

Now, I am in no way ready to compare Freeman to Roethlisberger, the way some people are. If anything, Roethlisberger lost a little steam as people took a closer look, which led to his falling outside the top 10. But you have to admit that there are some similarities: the prototype size, the ability to make something out of nothing and the fact that both worked with less-than-stellar supporting casts. Beyond that, I thought Roethlisberger was a far more advanced prospect than Freeman is now, but you can see the parallels somewhat as to how they fit into their respective drafts.

So does that mean Freeman will win two Super Bowls to a combined one for and Sanchez? Well, no, I am not saying that. But I do think might follow a path similar to Manning's, where he comes in under scrutiny at some point as a rookie and struggles. In fact, I could see him - like Manning - failing for a few years before the light comes on.

As much as I like new Lions head coach Jim Schwartz and the very early direction of the franchise, I don't see them winning, not much anyway, in the next few seasons. Years of poor drafts have left the team extremely thin at several positions, and it might take at least three years of sage maneuvering to get this team in a position to be a consistent winner.

In Manning's seven starts as a rookie, the Giants went 1-6. His second season, they went 11-5, but he struggled with 17 interceptions and a .528 completion percentage. In Year Three, Manning completed 57.7 percent of his passes but threw 18 picks and struggled to an 8-9 mark if you count the wild-card playoff loss. It wasn't until late into his fourth season that Manning started playing like a No. 1 pick and helped his Giants to win a Super Bowl.

Are you willing to wait four years? (That was rhetorical: Of course, you are. You've waited this long.) All I am saying is that it's going to take some time, assuming Stafford is the pick. He'll have his moments of brilliance, followed by some bag-over-the-head games. I think in time, you'll be talking about a very good quarterback. He has a little Jay Cutler in him, maybe a little Aaron Rodgers, too.

I doubt that Sanchez will have the luxury, a la Rivers behind Drew Brees, of sitting and waiting two full seasons before he gets his call. I think the team that drafts Sanchez on Saturday will be looking for him to start at some point as a rookie, perhaps before Stafford is ready to go. But both Rivers and Sanchez have accuracy, moxie and that winner's quality to them, to the point where you think Sanchez will be a mostly good QB in this league, even if he's never one of the handful of elite.

This weekend's draft will end up having its own identity, and maybe the quarterbacks will be overshadowed at some point by another position, story line or perhaps by one player at a different position. After all, the '05 class should be remembered as much for DeMarcus Ware and Shawne Merriman falling to Nos. 11 and 12, respectively, as it should for the mostly miserable top 10.

But I don't see it that way this year. The class as a whole might not be very special when we look back, and whether they end up as big-time successes or major-league flops, the trio of Stafford, Sanchez and Freeman - all very different but remarkably similar in some ways to the '04 crew - will be the story.

Now, how would you like to be the one who is in charge of deciding which one to draft and subsequently hand over the keys of the franchise? That's a whole other story in and of itself.