2012 NFL Mock Draft: Dolphins Suck for Luck

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17. Cincinnati Bengals-Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU

The league’s most underrated team. I’m not fully trusting Andy Dalton yet, but this team has a very good tough defense and loads of playmakers on offense. Cedric Benson isn’t great, but A.J. Green is. Jermaine Greshman is good too. Jerome Simpson isn’t bad either. The offensive line is pretty good too. This team is going to be there at the end of the year.

18. Chicago Bears-Zach Brown, LB, North Carolina

The Bears defense isn’t as good as it has been in the past. The Bears defensive system relies heavily on the speed of their linebackers to make plays all over the field. Brown is a great fit for the Bears and with Brown, Urlacher, and Briggs the Bears will have the requisite speed to run their defense at optimum efficiency. I also think they should look cornerback early.

19. Buffalo Bills- Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina

The Bills seem entranced with players who offer return ability as well as big play ability as they have a lot of those kind of players on their team (Spiller, McKelvin, Brad Smith). Gilmore is a good return man and also the best cornerback available here. Leodis McKelvin hasn’t lived up to the hype yet and Drayton Florence got abused by Hakeem Nicks on Sunday. Gilmore gives the Bills loads of depth at cornerback with Mcgee, McKelvin, Florence, Aaron Williams, and Drayton Florence. I’d like to go pass rusher here, but again the pass rushers in this class have been disappointing.

20. Oakland Raiders-Jerel Worthy, DT, Michigan State

32, 32, 30. The ages of the Raiders to three defensive tackles. What I think the Raiders will ultimately do with this pick is trade it for more draft picks, but if not they should look to grab an impact player they don’t have many picks next year at all.

Update: The Bengals have acquired this first round pick from the Oakland Raiders.

Based on who’s left and the fact that the Bengals already drafted Morris Claiborne here, I’d consider C Mike Brewster, S T.J. McDonald a bit of a reach or one of my favorite prospects Lamar Miller the running back out of Miami, who is a true first round running back talent. I’ll have to consider more options for the Bengals in next week’s update.

21. Cleveland Browns (via Atlanta Falcons)-Dwayne Allen, TE, Clemson

Dwayne Allen is really starting to play well and is probably the best tight end in this class. Tight ends haven’t been a hot commodity in the draft lately, but Allen has the good size and speed combination that could make him enticing to a team in the first round. With all of the top wide receivers off the board here, and the Browns still needing some offensive weapons Allen is the pick here. Allen can also block too which is important. Jayron Holsey is an option here at cornerback as well.

22. New York Giants-Manti Te’o, LB, Norte Dame

I’ll take the bait here. The Giants don’t like to spend early round draft picks on offensive linemen or linebackers, but Te’o is probably the best player available here. The Giants according to Mike Garafolo aren’t disappointed with the play of David Diehl. Will Beatty has played pretty well, Chris Snee is All-pro caliber. RT is also an option here, but I think the value with Te’o is much better.

also to consider: FSU Brandon Jenkins. Yes he’s a DE/OLB hybrid that doesn’t fit the Giants system, but that hasn’t stopped them before.

23. Tennesee Titans Previously-Mohamed Sanu, WR, Rutgers

Sanu has good size, his quick and agile and has been productive this year. Sanu’s height/speed/agility is desirable by N.F.L. teams and he has a good chance of being a first round pick with a good combine. The Titans could use another weapon for when Jake Locker eventually takes over.

24. New England Patriots (via New Orleans Saints)-Brandon Jenkins, DE/OLB FSu

The Patriots need to get a pass rusher if they ever want their defense to gel. BB seems to prefer older veteran OLB, but he should really make an exception here soon. Tom Brady doesn’t have forever to play quarterback for the Patriots and the Pats need to load up and go for it all in the next few years.

25. Detroit Lions-Jayron Hosley, CB, VA Tech

All right I finally got Hosley into the first round. Hosley doesn’t have ideal height, but he’s a ball hawk. A team like the Lions could draft him in the first round and hope he develops into Asante Samuel. A player that can be taken advantage of because he doesn’t have elite measurables, but also a player who can make a lot of dynamic plays. The Lions have the pass rushers to force quarterbacks into making quick decisions and Hosley could thrive in a system like that.

26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Alfonzo Dennard, CB, Nebraska

The Buccaneers might be very interested in adding a corenrback in the 2012 N.F.L. draft. One thing I’ve continued to read from people in the know is that Dennard is considered a better prospect than Prince amukamara, the 19th overall pick of the new York Giants last year. IF that’s true that’s good value here for the Buccaneers.

27. Pittsburgh Steelers-David Decastro, G, Stanford

I love Mike Tomlin as a head coach.He’ll right the ship if it can be righted. Something that will help the Steelers moving forward is getting offensive line help. The Steelers are set at Center so they bypass Michael Brewster for the best guard prospect in DeCastro.

28. 49ers-Dwight Jones, WR, North Carolina

Jones is a massive wide receiver out of North Carolina. The 49ers are so desperate for WR help that they gave the inconsistent Braylon Edwards a deal. Micheal Crabtree isn’t really clicking with Alex Smith. The 49ers could use more help on the outside. Vernon Davis is a good player, Kendall Hunter looks promising. I’m not sure how Kaepernick is progressing or I’d mock Robert Griffin the III here for the 49ers so they can finally have their franchise quarterback.

29. San Diego Chargers (Same)-T.J. Mcdonald, S, USC

McDonald has high potential at the safety position and is a good sturdy player. Mcdonald will pair with Eric Weedle to give stability to the back of the Chargers secondary. McDonald is a smart player who won’t make a ton of mistakes with the Chargers and will from time to time chip in a a few big plays.

3o. Baltimore Ravens-Bruce Irvin, OLB, West Virginia

Sergo Kindle has a history of being injured and the Ravens could use another pass rusher to play behind Suggs, or replace Suggs if he ever was to miss extended time with an injury. Irvin has played ok as a DE for the Mountaineers, but his true strength is in his pass rushing ability. As a guy who lines up on the outside and is told to go get the quarterback Irvin could have a successful career.

31. New England Patriots-Alameda Ta’amu

Vince Wilfork has been playing outside more lately and the Patriots have used a lot of 43 looks as well, but Ta’amu could help them get back to the days where they were just too much to handle up front. The Patriots don’t generate enough pressure on the quarterback and don’t stop the run that well either. In short, they lack defensive play makers. Ta’Amu isn’t a huge playmaker, but he is HUGE and can take up a lot of space to allow their few playmakers (Jerod Mayo for one) the required space to impact games.

32. Green Bay Packers-Chase Minniefield-CB, UVA

Minniefield is one of my top players available which makes him possible for the Packers. Besides that the Packers defense Dhas been torched all year long. They could use more depth at the cornerback position. They also could use a big body up front as the loss of Cullen Jenkins seems to be effecting them more than they thought it would. The talented Donte Paige Moss is also a possibility.

Thoughts?

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