Updated 2012 NFL Mock Draft | Will Lomas
Updated Feb 6th, 2012 | @jlomas72
1. Indianapolis Colts- Andrew Luck QB Stanford
I like Andrew Luck, and he perfectly fits the mold of what you look for in a franchise QB. My only issue is, when you have a chance to get 3-4 first round picks for someone, you have to at least consider it, especially when you have Peyton Manning on the roster. In my opinion this pick should be traded to the Browns. The Colts get 2 2012 first round picks, a first rounder from 2013, and a mid round pick or Colt McCoy. They could use these picks to address the offensive line need, and also get a strong developmental QB to put behind PM for a year or two (unless the Browns value McCoy too much). However, I can see the interest in a guy like this, and I hope we don’t see a repeat of what happened to Stafford.
2. St. Louis Rams- Matt Kalil OT USC
Kalil is a great, and future franchise LT. He can come in and will allow Fisher to shuffle things around on that offensive line to help keep Bradford healthy and keep Jackson productive.
3. Minnesota Vikings- Morris Claiborne CB LSU
The most scheme diverse and NFL ready defensive back in this year’s draft. Minnesota had a rough year trying to stop the pass, and even with their bad DBs Jared Allen had 22 sacks. Imagine what a force he could be if they could take a team’s number one receiver away. The 49ers showed us this year that a great defense and a strong running game can get you far in the NFL despite popular belief that you have to have a great QB. That is nothing against Ponder, he has been good and shows promise, but no one can say that he is a great QB yet.
4. Cleveland Browns- Robert Griffin III- QB Baylor
He won’t be here at number 4. From everything I am hearing and reading its going to be a bidding war for the first 2 maybe 3 picks in this draft for Luck, RG3, and (to a lesser extent) Blackmon and Kalil. However in my no trade mock draft the Browns get one of the most exciting college football players in the country. McCoy is a good QB, but you never pass on someone you think can be a franchise QB. Carolina has provided the blueprint on how to use an athletic QB, and while this will be another rebuilding year for the Browns, it is a step in the right direction.
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Trent Richardson RB Alabama
Blount seemed lethargic last year, and aside from one Green Bay run, he was average at best. Richardson will bring a new level of explosiveness to that offense, and will help Freeman either through 8 man boxes or as a receiver out of the backfield. This is definitely a BPA pick.
6. Washington Redskins- Justin Blackmon WR OKST
The Redskins need a franchise QB, but RG3 and Luck are both gone here. Another big need is a WR to pair with Moss. Blackmon is big, strong, fast, has great hands, and can get open, he is basically the complete package at WR. He has a little bit of a diva attitude but hopefully veterans like Moss and Fletcher can get him to straighten up.
7. Jacksonville Jaguars- Alshon Jeffry WR South Carolina
AJ is not getting the love he deserves from most mock drafts this year but give the other guys a month or two and this will be a popular pick. Jeffry is a stud who has been plagued with bad QB play the last two years and still manages to put up good if not great numbers. The game plan for the Jaguars in 2012 is find a way to make Gabbert great. Alshon is a strong step towards fixing the problem
8/9. Carolina Panthers- Michael Brockers DT LSU
Brockers declared early and immediately moved into first place in the DT category. Brockers is a prototypical DT that can run stuff and get to the passer. Brockers is redshirt sophomore so his stock is very high because of the growth he could still show. Look for Brockers to start from day one and for the Panthers D to really surprise some people.
8/9. Miami Dolphins- Riley Reiff OT Iowa
The Dolphins need a bookend (and maybe future replacement) for Jake Long. Long has been great in the past but after struggling with injuries it is rumored that he is on the trade block. Reiff can start at right or left from day 1. He has quick feet and has a strong ability to prevent inside and outside rip moves from DEs, and while he is not a mauler he can open up lanes in the run game.
10. Buffalo Bills- Quinton Coples DE UNC
Coples has all the tools to be a perennial pro bowler as a 4-3 DE. However, his low motor and lack of production had scouts second-guessing if he would even be a first round pick. Senior Bowl practices seem to have eased those concerns. He showed the ability to beat talented OTs and OGs with both speed, moves, and power, but there will always be the concern that he will become lazy once he gets his guaranteed money. He is a very high risk, very high reward prospect but is worth the pick here if the Bills are sold on him.
11/12. Kansas City Chiefs- Jonathan Martin OT Stanford
The Chiefs get a two for one special here. Jonathan Martin may be more of a natural RT because of his strength as a run blocker, but he can be a good LT as he has shown in college. As for the two for one comment earlier, this pick up will allow Brandon Albert to move inside and make the left side of the line much stronger.
Continue Mock Draft (Picks 12 – 22) >>
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Discussion
How have the Jags defensive backs been awful in coverage when they are ranked 4th in the NFL in pass defense?
Just because you are ranked highly doesn’t necessarily mean that you are good. Most offenses get ahead of the Jaguars early, so they run it in the second half to kill time. The Packers aren’t as bad as their defensive numbers suggest, they are just ahead by so much they don’t mind getting nickle and dimed as long opponents are wasting precious time.
lol kidding me? its more impressive now that the jags defence is ranked 4th then it would be…lets say um idk that the offence wasnt ranked 32nd and could stay on the field and not give the other team so many chances.
Also considering we currently are missing Rashean mathis and Derek cox our starters and were also without there backups rofl…and Dwight lowery and dawan landry are VERY solid safetys Glad to have them for years to come. Although id love to take a corner at our pick reason being Rashean tore is ACL and is getting old we need him replaced.
Redskins lost to the dophins, therefor they would draft ahead of them if they had the same record….
thats not true. it is based on strength of schedule. last year bucs lost to giants and giants picked first because bucs schedule was harder. SOS is first tiebreaker for draft position not head to head.
Redskins have the fourth worst record (their opponents combined won-lost percentage makes them the worst of the group of 4-9 teams) yet this draft has them picking 8th. DUH, WINNING!
Draft order comes roughly from espn.go.com/nfl/standings/_/group/1/order/false
That doesn’t seem to have the strength of schedule tiebreaker factored in.
Your points about Luck are dead on!!!
Sign Cedric Benson
You are one of the few that seem to be using business logic and not just media hype in your analysis.
To add to what you’ve written the chance of Luck being successful with the existing Colts team are very low. And the likelihood that the franchise has to make major changes such as multiple head coaches over the next 5 years is amplified by the fact that the fans won’t stand for losing and will be throwing it up in their face every chance they get when they see Peyton being successful somewhere else if traded or he’s knocked out because they didn’t protect him.
IMHO, 1) trade the pick for decent value 2) draft top LT Kalil, Martin or DeCastro [two of them if the trade is good] 3) draft Jarel Worthy or Jared Crick 4) draft LaMichael James 5) Draft Curt Cousins 6) Draft Devire Posey/BJ Cuningham 7) re-sign Mathis and Freeny
They win 8-10 games next year because they’re in a weak division and have Peyton Manning, new weapons and protection. Cousins develops under consistant coaching and Peyton’s mentoring. Next year there will some strong RBs that can come in change the way the offense operates and eventually change the identity until a franchise QB can be found.
Thanks for commenting, I think a team that has more weapons and less needs like the Browns or Dolphins would be best case scenario for both teams and if the Browns really wanted him they could sweeten the deal by trading Colt McCoy along with those pick to be a solid backup. Who knows, the Colts may not even have the number one pick when its all said and done. Once again thanks for the response.
This isn’t the right draft order (Browns are #4 for instance)
Yes I know. I apologize for the out of order draft. This was my best guess before Sunday’s results. A new draft with the correct order will be up soon.
The Browns should absolutely not draft Trent Richardson at #4. RB’s don’t really help teams win games on their own. My evidence? Adrian Peterson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Stephen Jackson – stellar running backs whose teams can’t win. Additional Evidence? Green Bay, New England, New Orleans – three of the best teams in the NFL all of whom have no Pro Bowl caliber RB. Drafting at #4 means you need to take someone who helps make other players better as well. In my opinion, that means QB, OL, or DL.
you are correct in saying they dont have a good back, but they do have something in common. they have the 3 best qb’s in the league. and the other 3 teams have poor qb play sans bradford who was injured. i do think they take rg3 and replace colt however. but no chance kalil falls to 8. any other yr he is easily number 1 pick. he goes 2 barring no trades. rams left tackle was a bust
What about Foster, Forte, and Ray Rice? And the games the Jags/Rams/Vikes do win are because of the attention those backs demand and his production. Of course the Pats, Packers, and Saints can play without a top RB, but they have elite QBs. Unless they trade up to get Luck this is the best way to make their offense more explosive.
I still think that offensive lines make or break running backs. That’s how an undrafted free agent like Arian Foster looks so good and his rookie backup can do the same. I believe that it’s much, much harder to find an elite DE or OT outside of the first round than it is to find an elite RB. If you look at the top 5 rushers from this year, none were first round picks. If you look at the top 10 in sacks from this year, 8 were first rounders. I believe that Richardson is a stud and could be a great pro, but I don’t think the Browns will take him unless they trade down 3-6 spots. I can understand how you might think Richardson is the best pick for the Browns, but he’s definitely not the most likely pick.
Those are all very valid and well thought out points. I just read this post, and with no trades up or down I think they could take RG3, who is a franchise QB in my opinion. However Richardson has a very high ceiling and the Browns already have a franchise LT. Also I think, possible outside of Perry and Upshaw (both of who aren’t 100% safe picks) there isn’t a true elite DE in this draft.
I’m sure Claiborne will be a nice player, but with the way O-lines are allowed to hold in pass protection, and the fact that QBs can’t be touched without a fine, I think would wait to address the need at CB.
How can you write “How Ryan Kahil falls this far is beyond me.” How could it be beyond you? You dream that stupid scenario up yourself.
Kalil is great, and he is great at an important position. Any other year he would be first or second overall. However this year has so much top end talent that it shocks me for a player of his caliber to fall to 8.
plz tell me why every 1 thinks cleveland will give up mccoy after only less then 2 yrs but the rams and vikes wont give up on there non winning young qb’s who’s teams draft before us cuz they lost more games and they draft RG3?
Eagles would not take Burfict in the 1st. Especially not if Kuechly is there. They would take Hightower before Burfict and if they cannot sign DeSean go WR. It would not be at all unlike Reid to move up to 12 to get his guy or down to 20 if there’s not value at 15 Kuechly is exactly what they need. If Audie Cole is there in the 3rd they’ll take him to compete with Kuechly and Chaney for the Sam and Mike spots. Rolle was fine at Wil.
Kuechly is overrated. He is just a stats monster. Burfict is strong in every aspect of his game except the character issues. They could go Cole in round three, but Kuechly at 15 would be a huge reach. There is a strong chance Kuechly could fall to them in round two. If they don’t resign Jackson I can definitely see them moving up with a team like the Panthers or Chiefs to get a receiver that falls.
I like Richardson pick here for the Bucs, but I have a hard time seeing them pass on Blackmon if he is available. Now I dont see Blackmon being there, so Richardson or Claibourne will be their pick. Rumors I have read are that Bucs are going to focus on offense early in the draft and look to free agency to solve their d issues.
I would be excited if I were a Bucs fan because they have so much money in free agency they have a chance to really add some star power to that team, especially with how strong this year’s FA is
Any chance u can point me the direction of a news article about Jake Long being on the block? What are they looking to get for him? Thanks.
ESPN has had some things on there rumor section, and the AFC East author has said that since a contract year is coming and he has been injured, the Dolphins have to at least consider trading him. I’m not sure if they will or not, but if they can get R.R. they might entertain some offers.