2012 NFL Mock Draft: Dolphins Fix the Matt Ryan Snafu
I’m using my power rankings to come up with this 2012 NFL mock draft order. In 2008 the Miami Dolphins had the first round pick in the N.F.L. draft and chose to select T Jake Long out of Michigan over Matt Ryan the Quarterback from Boston College. Ever since that day they have been searching for their franchise quarterback. If their season continues on this same path, the Dolphins will count their “lucky” stars that Andrew Luck will come into their life.
1. The Miami Dolphins-Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
The Dolphins have been terrible And the countdown to Tony Sparano being fired is on. and unless the Dolphins turn it around they are going to be picking first. They don’t have Chad Henne moving forward. Even though Henne’s not great, he’s better than Matt Moore. It’s hard to knock the Dolphins for getting a Franchise Left Tackle with the first overall pick when they selected Jake Long over Matt Ryan, but in the N.F.L. franchise QB > Matt Ryan. Even though Matt Kalil is a very good prospect, the Dolphins can’t pass on Andrew Luck. If the Dolphins get Andrew Luck the A.F. C. East might just become the best division in football.
2. Indianapolis Colts-Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State
This is far from a popular pick which is why it’s so fun for me to mock Blackmon here. Conventional wisdom says that the Colts will draft Matt Kalil and have Kalil and Costanzo
as bookened tackles for the next 12 years, but the Colts love to acquire offensive weapons for Peyton Manning. If the Colts don’t draft Andrew Luck they are probably grabbing someone to work with Peyton Manning. The Colts haven’t had a chance to get a playmaker like this in a long time. Reggie Wayne is a very quality player, but Blackmon can be the next Reggie Wayne. Imagine if the Colts could roll out Wayne, Blackmon, Pierre Garcon, Dallas Clark, and Austin Collie on a play. You think teams would be able to get to Peyton before he released the ball?
3. St. Louis Rams-Matt Kalil, T, USC
The Jason Smith isn’t looking so hot right now, but maybe he could make the Robert Gallery move and become a dominant guard. That’s not what you want from your former number two overall pick, but if the Rams could grab Kalil move Safford to RT and start Smith as a guard they will improve three offensive line positions at once allowing them to better protect Sam Bradford.
4. Jacksonville Jaguars -Alshon Jeffrey, WR, South Carolina
The Jaguars have nothing to speak of at the WR position which will really hurt Blaine Gabbert’s chances of being a franchise quarterback-enter Jeffrey. Jeffrey has unlimited upside because of his exellent height/speed combo. Jeffrey’s also a game and makes a lot of big plays, unfortunately for Jeffrey he’s had to deal with erratic quarterback play and the best running back in the nation (Marcus Lattimore) which has really hurt his numbers.
5. Denver Broncos-Matt Barkley, QB, USC
Is Tim Tebow the answer in Denver? I have a feeling that if they Broncos are picking in the top 5 we will have our answer. I’m not as close to the Broncos as Sayre, but it just feels like John Elway has been trying to replace Tebow from the jump with a more traditional quarterback. I think if he gets a shot at Luck or Barkley he’ll take it. It’s up to Tebow to prove him wrong, and it might be crazy to count him out because it seems like Tebow thrives on proving people wrong.
6. Arizona Cardinals-Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama
In all likelihood some pass rusher will spark leading up to the N.F.L. draft and that’s the direction the Cardinals will go. Their defense is still far from a finsihed product, and while the offense isn’t spectacular they have a lot of young play makers at the skilled positions (just drafted RB Ryan Williams, TE Robert Houseler). Without a 34 OLB worth a top seven pick the Cardinals can continue to add talent to their young secondary. Kirkpatrick has been a bit inconsistent, but is a very good prospect and you can never ever have too many quality cornerbacks.
7. Kansas City Chiefs –Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma
The Chiefs don’t know how to win “suck for luck” is apparently as they have decided that they should win some football games before the season ends. But at least in this mock they can still grab a franchise quarterback. By now the Chiefs should realize that Matt Cassel isn’t the long term solution at the quarterback position…and if they haven’t they have more problems than I thought.
8. Minnesota Vikings-Jonathan Martin, T, Stanford
Donovan Mcnabb doesn’t deserve all of the blame. but the Vikings aren’t that good right now. Eventually, Christian Ponder will take over and when he does it would be nice to have a franchise LT waiting for him. The Vikings also need a WR and while I love Michael Floyd’s ability it’s smarter to take a franchise LT who doesn’t have the “character concerns” label.
9. Carolina Panthers-Michael Floyd, WR, Norte Dame
The Panthers have found their franchise quarterback. I wrote this last week, but I’ll right it here again. The 2011 Carolina Panthers are the 2010 Detroit Lions. They are not good enough to win a lot of games, but they are good enough to scare a lot of teams. Next year the Panthers will be trouble for their N.F.C. South rivals and the rest of the league to boot.
What they need now is another weapon outside of Steve Smith and the under-utilized DeAngelo Williams. I’m higher on Floyd than a lot of people I think. He skill set reminds me of a young Larry Fitzgerald (though Fitzgerald has unworldly “intangibles” which makes them different prospects). Still the Panthers have a lot of talent on the team, but Steve Smith wont’ be there forever and Newton needs a long term running mate.
10. Philadelphia Eagles-Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina
Coples is not the kind of pick the Eagles make, he’s much bigger than they prefer their defensive ends, but maybe that’s not such a bad thing after all. The Eagles and their wide 9 technique and quick, but under-sized defensive ends are having a terrible time stopping the run this year. Coples hasn’t shown the production people were looking for this year, but he’s still the best defensive line prospect in the nation and has the size to anchor vs the run in the N.F.L.
11. Seattle Seahawks-Robert Griffin, QB, Baylor
The Seattle Seahawks are not who we thought they were! They’re actually better. Still they’re not that good. Tavaris Jackson knows the system they are running well, but he’s not playing that great. Enter Robert Griffin III who is an excellent athlete, putting up huge whopping numbers, and showing great decision making to boot.
This is not something you’ll read everywhere, but often the media likes to question the intelligence or leadership of black quarterbacks especially the mobile ones. Whether that’s legitimate or borderline racist is an argument for a different day (but someone point out a talented black quarterback who didn’t have his intelligence questioned before he was drafted). That’s my perception of it: but the point is-this shouldn’t happen this year with Griffin who is reportedly a whiz in the classroom, an excellent leader, and a quick learner.
What’s to knock? His size. And the offense he comes from, but intelligence shouldn’t be on that list.
12. Cleveland Browns-Brandon Thompson, DT, Clemson
The Browns really need linebacker help, but in a shallow defensive line class the Browns pounce on the best interior defensive linemen. Thompson has been pushing around offensive linemen all year and his stock is really on the rise. The Browns could pair Thompson and Phil Taylor together to help guard against the run in the run-heavy A.F.C. North. I think they pass on linebacker here because when their next pick rolls around they will likely be able to snatch up Burfict, Te’o, Kuechley, or Zach Brown to improve their linebacker core.
13. Cincinnati Bengals-Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama
And with this selection the Bengals officially have the best young offense in the league. They have the best young WR in the game A.J. Green. They have one of the best young tight ends in the game: Jermaine Greshman, and now the best running prospect in the game (he’s as good if not better than any running back prospect last year-and I rated Ingram highly). The question will remain-is Andy Dalton a franchise quarterback? But with all of the weapons they will surround him with he’ll have every opportunity to be successful.
14. Dallas Cowboys-Mike Brewster, C, Ohio State
Is this too high? Perhaps, but centers are creeping up higher and higher every year. Last year the Dolphins spent a fifteenth overall pick on Mike Pouncey. I think Brewster is a better prospect than Pouncey, if that means anything. Brewster has had two really good weeks in a row. The Cowboys have struggled at center all year and need to fix that issue.
15. Chicago Bears-Riley Reiff, T, Iowa
I guess the Bears will have to keep drafting offensive linemen year after year in the first round until they actually find some that can block! How does a team spend so much of their energy acquiring offensive linemen so bad every year on the offensive line. I think the better question is how did they win so many games last year? This year the pass defense is sieve and the offense can’t protect Cutler. They might even be picking higher than this, they don’t play in a very forgiving division.
16. New York Jets-Brandon Jenkins, OLB, FSU
Rex Ryan is getting more boring every week. At least he knows he can’t be a braggart when the team plays so poorly. There are a lot of under-publicized problems with the Jets. Their offensive line is not what it was two years ago and they have lost their “ground and pound” mentality. It might be difficult to get back. The WR are all complaining about the offense. And the one everyone knows about: they can’t rush the passer without selling out on the blitz. The team needs to find a pass rusher. They are not going to look at size, run playing ability, anything else but rushing the passer. They brought in Aaron Maybin they are so desperate for a pass rusher.
17. New York Giants-Vontaze Burfict, LB, USC
I’ll continue to throw Burfict at the New York Giants if he’s available because I don’t think they will be able to resist his upside. But I also think this is the only linebacker they will seriously consider. The Giants are not afraid to draft players with high upsides and questions surrounding them (Jason Pierre Paul-production and intelligence/Hakeem Nicks-dedication (he had gained 15 pounds leading up to the draft-Prince Amukamara-Nigerian heritage (seriously that’s surfaced…speed…and whether or not he was better than Alfonzo Dennard).
So far the nicks and Pierre Paul moves look brilliant. Everyone recognizes that Nicks may be a top 5 WR someday, and Jason Pierre Paul already has 7 sacks this season.
Burfict has the length the Giants desire out of their front seven players and he also fills a position of need as Greg jones hasn’t jumped off the film yet this year.
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