New York ? It’s a “Save The Whales” draft.

While Carson Palmer, the Heisman-winning quarterback, will be chosen first by Cincinnati Saturday in the NFL’s annual lottery, this is a draft for big guys.

“Without question, this is clearly one of the best years for defensive linemen in recent memory,” Cleveland coach Butch Davis said. “You could arguably say that as many as 10 and maybe even as many as 12 defensive linemen might go in the first round. That’s one third of the entire group.”

That’s not to say all whales are equal in this draft, which will go seven rounds and 262 picks.

The top three, all expected to go in the first 10 selections, are very different players: 260-pound pass-rushing end Terrell Suggs of Arizona State; 325-pound tackle Jimmy Kennedy of Penn State, who not so long ago was close to 400 pounds; and Dewayne Robertson of Kentucky, a tackle in the now “average” 300-pound range. The other potential first-round defensive linemen come in all sizes and shapes.

But as is often the case, quarterback comes first — for the fifth time in six years, starting with Peyton Manning in 1998. Tim Couch was chosen in 1999, Michael Vick in 2001 and David Carr a year ago.

Not surprisingly, the only non-QB taken No. 1 overall in that span was a defensive lineman, Courtney Brown by Cleveland in 2000.

Palmer, who followed a mediocre first three seasons at Southern California with a brilliant senior year, agreed to a contract with the hitherto frugal Bengals, although new Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis probably prefers a defensive player.

Actually, quarterbacks seem to have been devalued beyond the top pick because so many high choices at that position have flopped: Ryan Leaf, Rick Mirer, Cade McNown and the Bengals’ own Akili Smith to name four.

Louisville defensive lineman Dewayne White, right, outruns Colorado State running back Tristan Walker to score a touchdown in this Sept. 14 file photo. White is a top prospect in the NFL draft, which begins Saturday.

So where in the past there might have been six QBs taken in the first round, only three seem definite: Palmer, Marshall’s Byron Leftwich and California’s Kyle Boller.

Rex Grossman of Florida could sneak into the late first round (Pittsburgh and Green Bay like him). And some scouts think Chris Simms of Texas could, too. But Simms, son of 1987 Super Bowl MVP Phil Simms, and Louisville’s Dave Ragone seem more likely to go later, say, to Chicago with the fourth pick of the second round.

Still, nobody really knows what will happen when the first round begins at 11 a.m. at Madison Square Garden.

“Between now and draft day, anything you hear from a coach or a general manager is a lie,” Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis said last week. “It’s a high-stakes game, and you’ve got a group of cards in your hands. It just makes sense not to show them.”

As usual, after the top 10 or 12, the rest of the cards are relatively equal — there’s not much difference between picks 15 and 50, depending on needs and preferences.

So teams are likely to move up and down to grab a specific player, although probably not until the clock is ticking down to the deadline — 15 minutes per team in the first round.

“You have to just be prepared to make changes and be flexible,” says Ernie Accorsi, general manager of the New York Giants, who have broken a long-standing policy and traded up in the first round the past two seasons to take cornerback Will Allen and tight end Jeremy Shockey.

“I know last year we had someone in mind pretty early and I think the world knew why we were doing it. We worked hard at that and obviously we didn’t get anything done until the last second.”

What they got done was moving up just one pick to take Shockey, who was a major reason the Giants finished strong and made the playoffs. He was voted the All-Pro tight end and was the only rookie in the Pro Bowl.

One of the more intriguing story lines in this draft involves Shockey’s former teammate at Miami, running back Willis McGahee.

After he tore up his left knee in the national championship game, it appeared McGahee would stay out of this year’s draft. Then he declared himself eligible and was considered a third- or fourth-round “futures” pick.

But his recovery has been remarkable, and his brash agent, Drew Rosenhaus, now is predicting McGahee will be the first running back taken and make the Pro Bowl as a rookie.

That’s doubtful, but in a class weak in running backs, he may make it into the first round, perhaps with the Oakland Raiders, who have the last two picks and have a history of taking risks. That could make him the first runner to go, although Penn State’s Larry Johnson is considered a late first-rounder.

Running backs prove how whimsical scouting can be. Last year’s offensive rookie of the year was Clinton Portis, a second-round pick who ran for 1,508 yards for Denver.

Johnson, for example, ran for more than 2,000 yards last season in a major conference and has recent good workouts. But he’s downgraded in part because of the recent failures of Penn State running backs Blair Thomas, Ki-jana Carter and Curtis Enis. (Doesn’t anyone remember Franco Harris and Lydell Mitchell?)

Another sleeper is Drew Henson, currently the third baseman for the Columbus Clippers of the International League, but a top-level prospect who split time at quarterback with Tom Brady at Michigan. His baseball career has been disappointing — he’s hitting under .200 this season — and there are teams (the Raiders again?) who might take a gamble at him at some point Sunday, the second day of the draft.

But the premium players remain the big guys. Take it from one of last year’s star rookies — these whales are worth saving.

“I know them both, and I went against them at practice every day,” Shockey said last week of defensive linemen William Joseph and Jerome McDougle, his former college teammates. “They’re better than the guys I go against on Sundays.”