2012 NFL Mock Draft: Are the Colts in Luck? Seahawks Roll Dice With Griffin III
In this mock draft I try to line up a lot of value picks, but at the same time introduce some players into the first round I haven’t put in the first round yet. Enjoy.
All of our scouting reports are here (over 50). The Names in blue are linked to our scouting reports of that player.
1. Indianapolis Colts-Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford Cardinal
Would they dare trade Peyton Manning and give the reigns to Andrew Luck? Or do they make some team sell the farm for the right to draft Andrew Luck? In either scenario Andrew Luck ends up being the first overall pick again. Andrew Luck is the best quarterback prospect the league has seen in a long time. If Carson Palmer can garner two potentially two first round picks what in the world will a team be able to sell the rights to draft Andrew Luck for?
2. Miami Dolphins-Matt Barkley, QB, USC
Not Andrew Luck, but a nice consolation prize. Some people see him as a second round prospect, but I don’t buy that for a second. Barkley has excellent ball placement, a good arm, and is really growing in his leadership. Barkely has the tools to be a franchise quarterback, just what the veterinarian ordered to fix the ailing Dolphins.
What this might effect though is who the Dolphins can hire. Would a Bill Cowher base his decision on whether or not the Dolphins can land Andrew Luck?
3. St. Louis Rams –Matt Kalil, T, USC
Apparently some
Rams fans might be calling for the end of the Sam Bradford era, but that’s sports overreaction at it’s worst. Bradford doesn’t have anybody to throw the ball too and an offensive line up front that’s not protecting him well at all. Matt Kalil is a better prospect than last year’s Tyron Smith and will move Roger Saffold to right tackle. Then they might be able to convert Jason Smith into a guard like the Raiders did with Robert Gallery (and Robert Gallery become a really good guard), improving three spots on the line with one move and giving Bradford the chance to succeed as a franchise quarterback)
4. Arizona Cardinals- Riley Reiff, T, Iowa
I’ve been mocking Martin ahead of Reiff for awhile, but Reiff could be the second tackle draft. This spot is too high for a rush outside linebacker, a position the Cardinals really need to address. This is not a great value pick, but it’s a need pick. They have a potential franchise quarterback, they could also use another wide receiver here, but they forgo that to improve their offensive line. They have a lot of building blocks, but pass rush and pass protection are two soft spots that needs to be bettered.
5. Seattle Seahawks-Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor
Griffin is extremely talented and has really up his game from last year. I think Griffin is a better prospect than Jake Locker was two years ago (when he was considered as the number one pick). Griffin is also a better ball thrower than Michael Vick, though the smaller stature, and speed quarterback thing is common. Dan Kadar of mocking the draft wondered if Griffin could be the quarterback recently to enter the draft with the best potential to be like Steve Young. That’s high praise, and a question the Seahawks are willing to find out the answer to when they select him fifth overall.
6. Jacksonville Jaguars-Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State
I’m not sure this is a typical Jaguars pick, but who knows what kind of changes could be growing in the front office or coaching staff. Things also become different when a quarterback gets drafted early. Teams become desperate in a way to make sure he has all of the surrounding weapons. General Mangers know fully that many quartebacks are only as good as it’s surrounding parts, which is why they snatch up a yards after the catch monster.
7. Denver Broncos-Brandon Thompson, DT, Clemson
First real reach pick. Thompson really, really benefits here from a down defensive tackle class. The Broncos look to bolster their interior defensive presence which has been lacking this year maybe in part due to injuries, but also a lack of talent. There are better value picks here (Landry Jones, Dre Kirkpatrick) is also possible, but let’s say that Tebow does show enough to sway the team to give him another year, then this pick becomes possible. Fans get annoyed when teams reach because their team would “never” reach for a prospect, but it happens all the time.
8. Cleveland Browns –Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina
His potential here is too much for the Browns to pass up. Now with the drafting of Coples they’ve really improved their 43 defensive talent. Next year they could line up Quinton Coples, Phil Taylor, Athyba Rubin, Jabaal Sheard which looks much better than what they were looking at prior to the 2011 NFL season at this spot. Fans want the team to draft a linebacker, but 43 linebackers are devalued, the defensive front is much more important in the 43 system.
9. Minnesota Vikings-Jonathan Martin, T, Stanford
Christian Ponder had a nice start to his season in Green Bay though I think his effectiveness was really overblown. IF anyone hasn’t noticed the Green Bay Packers pass defense is really bad this year…everyone is throwing the ball all over them. Where the Vikings are really struggling is at offensive line and wide receiver. Alshon Jeffery might be more tempting here to give Ponder what the team had with Sydney Rice and Adrian Peterson, but tackle makes more sense. They can grab Martin here and then hope that Dwight Jones, Mohamed Sanu, Ryan Broyles might be available there in the second round.
10. Carolina Panthers- Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina
We’ll have a scouting report for Alshon Jeffery available tomorrow. This is a siuation of the Panthers taking advantage of the Broncos reaching as it pushes down an excellent wide receiver prospect who can really form a dynamic combination with Steve Smith on the outside. With this move the Panthers now have DeAngelo Williams (and Jonathan Stewart) at RB, Greg Olson and Shockey at tight end, and Steve Smith and Alshon Jeffery on the outside. Jeffery is an excellent complement to Smith as a big bodied excellent position WR type who can really control the game underneath for Newton, but also has the size and hops to make plays over the top. Jeffery might dip slightly lower than people expect because there could be questions about his straight line speed and his production is down this year.
11.. Tennessee Titans-Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama
Kirkpatrick is very talented, but he has been inconsistent and has gotten beat too many times for a top caliber cornerback like himself. Still, I think he’s the best cornerback in a pretty deep, perhaps slightly overrated corenrback class. The Titans might have 20 needs or none, it depends how each game goes as they are one of the most jekyll and hid teams in the league. This is a straight value pick for the Titans who just miss out on Jeffery, but they don’t want to add the talented Michael Floyd
into the mix with Kenny Britt because they may not be able to rely on either one at anytime staying out of trouble.
12. Kansas City Chiefs-Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama),
The Chiefs have other needs and likely won’t make this selection (Landry Jones comes to mind), but I think they could really use a complement to Jamaal Charles. Plus when the Vikings selected Adrian Peterson they had other needs (and the Cardinals passed him up for Levi Brown) and how does that look now? Richardson is an excellent running back prospect. With Charles, Richardson, Tony Moeaki, Dwayne Bowe and Jon Baldwin as peripheral weapons for Cassell he might still prove worthy of his big contract. And with the Chiefs able to constantly pound the ball they could recapture some of the magic of the 2010 season.
13. Philadelphia Eagles-Jerel Worthy, DT, Michigan State
Eagles fans will say “hey man, Linebacker here!” And I hear you, but if you’ve follow the Giants or Eagles draft you know that it just doesn’t happen that way. The Giants and Eagles often look to other positions, the Eagles specifically spend many first round picks on linemen. Worthy is inconsistent, but talented. If the Eagles are able to add Jerel Worthy it can help keep some of the noise off of their undersized linebacker corps which will perhaps improve the unit.
14. Washington Redskins-Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma Sooners
Dan Kadar wondered if Landry Jones might be better off returning to school for another year to improve his pocket presence and I agree and it’s the major reason I’m slightly down on Jones. He still has tools, but I don’t trust him standing in the pocket looking down the barrel and delivering a nice pass, which is a huge component of being a successful N.F.L. quarterback. Still, the Redskins get value here and can add a potential franchise quarterback to th to go along with their quality defense.
15. Cincinnati Bengals (via Oakland Raiders)-Zach Brown, LB, UNC
The Bengals have some play here with two first round picks (thanks to the Oakland Raiders). Zach Brown is very talented and could be another piece to add to the Bengals underrated defense. The Bengals signed Manny Lawson to play outside linebacker but he hasn’t been great. Dontay Moch is still a big project and Thomas Howard is a stop gap. Morris Claiborne is hard to pass up here though, but Brown’s unique talent could appeal to the Bengals so they grab one of the players with the most upside.
16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU
The Buccaneers have issues at cornerback and Claiborne is arguably the best player available. The Buccaneers could also consider another offensive weapon here, but I think Claiborne is a smart pick.