When a team forks over that kind of dough, management wants to know the maturity level of the player and how instant wealth would change him.

If the Detroit Lions select Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry with the No. 1 pick, it would change his life in the best way possible.

During his junior season in college, Curry went home and was met with tough news.

"My mom told me we were being evicted and we didn't have anywhere to stay," he said. "We didn't have the funds to get into another house, and those are the moments that you think about in the fourth quarter when there's a play that needs to be made and you know you have the opportunity to provide for your family for the rest of their lives."

The love of Football motivates Curry, but so does financial security.

"To know that at any given moment, anything can be just stripped from you like that, that was one of the biggest turning moments of my life. I realized that I had to do something, and Football was it," said Curry, who watched his family scatter to find shelter. "I stayed with one of my best friends, my brothers stayed with their friends and my mom stayed with my great-grandma until we got things together."

Curry said his mom will be his first priority after being drafted: "Whatever mom needs -- house, car, anything."

If Curry does not get drafted by the Lions, he will not stay on the board for long. Draft analysts Mike Mayock (NFL Network) and Mel Kiper (ESPN) say he is the "safest pick." Curry solidified his status as the draft's top defensive player by running the 40-yard dash in 4.54 seconds at the scouting combine.

Lions coach Jim Schwartz likes Curry.

"He's big, strong and athletic. We could probably find a lot of places for him," Schwartz said.