Team By Team 2012 Mock Draft

Tuesday, 17 January 2012 22:47 | Written by Andrew Schroeder

2012 NFL Mock Draft

Updated 1/16/12

Round 1

IND- Andrew Luck QB Stanford Only question will be does he start Day 1 or sit behind Peyton for a season?
WSH- Robert Griffin III QB Baylor This is the spot RG3 believers will need to get to, and no team is as QB hungry as Washington right now.
MIN- Matt Kalil OT Southern California Blackmon would give Ponder a much needed receiving weapon, but the Vikes opt to ensure Ponder is able to stay upright and healthy.
CLE- Justin Blackmon WR Oklahoma State If Blackmon is on the board at 4 no doubt he will be Cleveland’s pick, they owe it to Colt McCoy to let him have another shot with real playmakers around him.
TB- Morris Claiborne CB Louisiana State Best player available matches need for the Bucs, as you have to wonder how much longer Ronde Barber will play, and what will become of Aqib Talib if his legal problems continue.
STL- Jonathan Martin OT Stanford Drafting Martin will enable the Rams to slide Roger Saffold to RT and put Jason Smith at guard or on the bench.
JAX- Michael Floyd WR Notre Dame Kirkpatrick was who I’ve had slated to Jacksonville at 7 previously, but with the hiring of Mike Mularkey as Head Coach it seems fair to expect them to focus on improving the offense.
MIA- Trent Richardson RB Alabama Seems like to obvious of a fit to pass on, though Reggie Bush did have a solid season for them. If Richardson falls past the Dolphins, he could last all the way to #17 to Cincy.
CAR- Dre Kirkpatrick CB Alabama Very tempting to put Quinton Coples here to help shore up the D-Line, but Kirkpatrick improving the secondary will help just as much. Coples has a higher ceiling, but his bust factor could scare teams away.

10) BUF- Whitney Mercilus OLB Illinois The Bills still lack an impact edge rusher after whiffing on Aaron Maybin and Shawne Merriman. Mercilus has the highest ceiling of any 3-4 OLB in the draft.

11) KC- Luke Kuechly ILB Boston College Kuechly paired with Derrick Johnson will give the KC defense the top ILB duo in the game.

12) SEA- Quinton Coples DE North Carolina Reiff would be a very good fit here, but someone has to take a chance on the immense potential of Coples and Pete Carroll does here. Coples can play both as a DE and a pass rushing DT in the Seahawks D.

13) ARZ- Riley Reiff OT Iowa Providing protection for whoever will be the starting QB for Arizona next season is a must. Great value pick getting Reiff at 13.

14) DAL- Janoris Jenkins CB North Alabama Big risk here taking the troubled Jenkins, but his undeniable talent is needed in the Cowboys secondary, where Terrence Newman, Orlando Scandrick, and Mike Jenkins disappointed in 2011.

15) PHI- Zach Brown OLB North Carolina The top 4-3 OLB in the draft fits well with Philly, who need to add young talent to the LB and secondary groups.

16) NYJ- Courtney Upshaw OLB Alabama The Jets have been lacking a pass rush beast, Upshaw should be able to step in and at the minimum provide a significant upgrade across from Calvin Pace. Devon Still would also be a great pick at this spot.

17) CIN (OAK)- Alfonzo Dennard CB Nebraska An upgrade over Nate Clements to play across from Leon Hall would keep this defense among the best in the league.

18) SD- Dontari Poe NT Memphis Poe, along with last year’s 1^st round pick Corey Liuget, will continue the rebuild of their defensive line.

19) CHI- Mark Barron S Alabama Barron is the smart safety with leadership skills this defense has been missing. Will be the quarterback of the secondary by his second season.

20) TEN- Melvin Ingram DE South Carolina A pure beast of a pass rusher, Ingram will provide what Derrick Morgan couldn’t in the Music City.

21) CIN- Lamar Miller RB Miami (FL) Providing a threatening run game will go a long ways to helping Andy Dalton continue to improve as a quarterback. Significant upgrade over Cedric Benson, who could be brought back to backup Miller.

22) CLE (ATL)- David DeCastro OG Stanford DeCastro at LG next to Joe Thomas would be the best left side of a line we have seen since the Jones-Hutchinson days in Seattle. Combined with C Alex Mack, the Browns would have arguably the best O-Line in the game.

23) DET- Mike Adams OT Ohio State Jeff Backus was already a question mark for next season due to age, but his injury in the playoffs means the Lions will be looking hard for his replacement at LT.

24) PIT- Cordy Glenn OG Georgia The mini run of offensive lineman continues as the Steelers will love having Glenn next to Pouncey in the run game.

25) DEN- Devon Still DT Penn State Still, who many think could go as high as 14 to Dallas, is a great fit to improve the Broncos DT position at #25.

26) HOU- Alshon Jeffrey WR South Carolina Houston can’t continue to use Kevin Walter and Jacoby Jones as its other receiving threats opposite Andre Johnson. Adding Jeffrey will open things up for both Andre and the Texans run game.

27) NE (NO)- Peter Konz C Wisconsin Konz is one of the best Center prospects to come out of college in some time, drawing even comparisions to Alex Mack. Konz would be an upgrade over both current starter Dan Connelly and former starter (on injured reserve) Dan Koppen.

28) GB- Nick Perry OLB Southern California The issue that plagued the Packers all season was the lack of a pass rush. The Packers should have taken Brooks Reed in last year’s draft, but taking Perry here will make up for it.

29) NYG- Don’t’a Hightower ILB Alabama With previous selection Peter Konz off the board, the Giants will look to upgrade their linebacker corps.

30) NE- Kendall Wright WR Baylor If there is one player skyrocketing up draft boards it’s Wright. His downfield speed would be welcomed greatly by Tom Brady.

31) SF- Fletcher Cox DE Mississippi State A true value pick for San Fran at 31, they have needs on the team but can’t pass on getting a quality defensive lineman this late in the first round.

32) BAL- Vinny Curry OLB Marshall The Ravens defense lacks a threatening pass rusher across from Terrell Suggs, as Paul Kruger is more of a role player and Sergio Kindle is a question mark with his head injury. Curry is huge and could be a disruptive force going 1 on 1 across from T-Sizzle.

Round 2

33) STL- Jerel Worthy DT Michigan State Jeff Fisher puts his mark on the Rams with their first 2 picks going to strengthen the lines. Worthy will start immediately.

34) IND- Jayron Hosley CB Virginia Tech Biggest need on the Colts defense is to improve the corners, Hosley will step into camp as a starter.

35) MIN- Stephon Gilmore CB South Carolina With an aging Antoine Winfield, ineffective Cedric Griffin and Chris Cook, and young inexperienced players behind them, the Vikings MUST come out of this draft with a quality corner.

36) TB- Vontaze Burfict ILB Arizona State Another impact defender for Tampa looking to start a new era of tough Bucs defense.

37) CLE- Dwayne Allen TE Clemson Already with Justin Blackmon, the Browns add a security blanket for McCoy. Two great pass catchers added.

38) JAX- Chase Minnefield CB Virginia After passing on Kirkpatrick in Round 1, the Jags luckily have a starter caliber corner sitting there in Round 2.

39) STL (WSH)- Travis Lewis OLB Oklahoma The Rams, with a pick they would receive in the Redskins deal, add tackling machine Travis Lewis to their improving defense.

40) CAR- Brandon Thompson DT Clemson The Panthers get a much needed power tackle to put on the defensive line.

41) BUF- Nick Toon WR Wisconsin The Bills need to add more talent to their receiving corps for Ryan Fitzpatrick, or he won’t have a chance to try and live up to his new contract.

42) MIA- Ryan Tannehill QB Texas A&M The new regime in Miami is going to want their own QB to start up with, regardless of how Matt Moore looked for the Dolphins last season.

43) SEA- Zebrie Sanders OT Florida State A upgrade at RT is needed, as Breno Giacomini saw far too much playing time due to injuries for the ‘Hawks.

44) KC- Chris Polk RB Washington Thomas Jones is no longer a viable back in the NFL, so the Chiefs would do well to pair a strong RB like Polk with the speedster Jamaal Charles.

45) DAL- Jared Crick DE Nebraska The Cowboys have been looking for a DE that can fill the void Chris Canty made when he went to New York and to supplant Marcus Spears. Crick fits the bill.

46) PHI- Levy Adcock OT Oklahoma State Philly needs to get a quality RT so they can slide Todd Herremans back to guard, improving their pass protection for the often battered Michael Vick.

47) NYJ- Kelechi Osemele OG Iowa State In order to be the power running team of years past, the Jets need to re-invest draft picks into young lineman as they did with Ferguson and Mangold.

48) NE (OAK)- Andre Branch DE/OLB Clemson The Patriots need a pass rusher bad, as in 2011 Andre Carter was their best player at that trait. Branch will be able to line up at DE in 4-3 and OLB in 3-4 and bring pressure from all over the field.

49) SD- Bruce Irvin OLB West Virginia The Chargers have lacked a pass rush across from Shaun Phillips for years. Irvin could be the solution that Larry English wasn’t.

50) CHI- Stephen Hill WR Georgia Tech The Bears need to add more offensive weapons for Jay Cutler, and Hill will provide a tall target for him that he lost when Greg Olsen was traded to Carolina.

51) PHI (ARZ)- Markelle Martin S Oklahoma State Martin along with Brown in the 1^st round are great young additions to a defense with good pieces already.

52) TEN- Juron Criner WR Arizona Criner had impressive numbers last season at Arizona despite being injured and being on a losing team. Criner could very well be a better professional player than he was in college.

53) CIN- Ronnell Lewis OLB Oklahoma The Bengals have the ability to take the best player available here, and Lewis is a tremendous talent. He will help the defense immensely by being a capable coverage man yet also has a knack for getting to the passer.

54) DET- Coryell Judie CB Texas A&M Cornerback may be the Lions’ weakest position, so adding new blood at that position is a must.

55) ATL- Ben Jones C Georgia Current Falcons Center Todd McClure is 35 and due to become a free agent, Atlanta could stay in state and pick up his successor.

56) PIT- Alameda Ta’amu NT Washington Casey Hampton is nearing the end of the line, Pittsburgh needs to infuse more youth into their D-Line in this draft.

57) DEN- Coby Fleener TE Stanford A new RB would be a good fit here as well, but a big, pass catching tight end would be a great tool to give to Tim Tebow as he looks to improve at QB.

58) HOU- Antonio Allen S South Carolina Allen is a great value at the end of Round 2 and his playmaking skills will be welcomed to the turnstile safety spot in Houston.

59) NO- Lavonte David OLB Nebraska Upgrade over Jo-Lonn Dunbar for the Saints, they’ll need to bring in as much talent as possible to avoid feeling the loss of Gregg Williams.

60) GB- Billy Winn DE Boise State The Packers DE’s definitely felt the loss of Cullen Jenkins and struggled in 2011. Jarius Wynn was a nice surprise, but more was expected of C.J. Wilson and Mike Neal.

61) NYG- Brandon Boykin CB Georgia Boykin will provide great return game skills and secondary depth.

62) NE- Doug Martin RB Boise State There is no standout running back in New England right now between Green-Ellis, Woodhead, Faulk, and Ridley. Doug Martin could step into Kevin Faulk’s role immediately and by the end of his rookie season could be the full time starter.

63) SF- Jeff Fuller WR Texas A&M The 49ers could use another quality WR on the team. Adding Fuller to a healthy Josh Morgan, Michael Crabtree, and Kyle Williams (not to mention Vernon Davis) would give Alex Smith a solid group of pass catchers.

64) BAL- Brandon Weeden QB Oklahoma State No threat to the starters job held by Joe Flacco, Weeden would be brought in to give the Ravens a solid backup in case anything should happen to Flacco down the road.

Round 3

65) IND- Tank Carder OLB Texas Christian

66) STL- Dwight Jones WR North Carolina

67) MIN- Brandon Washington OG Miami (FL)

68) CLE- Bobby Wagner ILB Utah State

69) TB- LaMichael James RB Oregon

70) WSH- Tommy Streeter WR Miami (FL)

71) JAX- Jake Bequette DE Arkansas

72) BUF- Michael Egnew TE Missouri

73) MIA- Nate Potter OG/OT Boise State

74) CHI (CAR)- Andrew Datko OT Florida State

75) KC- Kevin Zeitler OG Wisconsin