HGT's 2012 Mock Draft 2.0

[Hell's Grim Tyrant]

Mock Draft 2012

1. Miami – Andrew Luck QB Stanford – The Dolphins missed their best chance to win one, up 15 against Denver. After that it’s hard to see this team winning a game. But the good news is that they win the Suck for Luck contest and get a true franchise signal caller.

2. Indianapolis – Matt Kalil OT USC – I can’t see the Colts taking Matt Barkley or Landry Jones unless Peyton Manning is really done. That rebuild process is going to be long and hard once No. 18 is out of the line up. It’s much less painful to draft a stud offensive tackle, reload and try to ride Manning’s brilliance for a few more years.

3. St. Louis – Quinton Coples DE North Carolina – This and the next pick are going to take a little explanation. I believe that even though the Rams are going to end the season 2-14-ish they won’t fire head coach Steve Spagnuolo. He brought the team to within one game of the playoffs last year with a rookie QB. So with that in mind Coples makes perfect sense. Yes they need offensive line help, DBs, and receivers. But Spagnuolo will argue this is how the Giants won the Super Bowl; they loaded up on premium pass rushers.

4. Arizona – Trent Richardson RB Alabama – Again the Cardinals are headed for a disaster of a season but I don’t see Arizona getting rid of the guy who took them to the Super Bowl. At least not yet. Like Spagnuolo, Ken Wisenhunt will fall back on what he knows. What he wanted to do was turn the Cardinals into a Steelers West. Beanie Wells has trailed off big time recently. Even if Wells isn’t a bust, having him and Richardson would give Arizona an awesome one two punch in the running game.

5. Minnesota – Jonathan Martin OT Stanford – Christian Ponder had a solid debut. Now they need to keep him upright.

6. Jacksonville – Justin Blackmon WR Oklahoma State – Their surprise win over Baltimore showed that the Jags have more talent than their record indicates. Justin Blackmon would be a great compliment to Maurice Jones-Drew. Defenses would no longer be able to put 8 in the box to stop Pocket Hercules.

7. Denver – Matt Barkley QB USC – Yeah Tim Tebow got the win at Miami. I even think the Broncos are an upset threat against Detroit. But the schedule is just too tough. The losses are going to pile up. And unless Tim Tebow starts to look more like Cam Newton than well, Tim Tebow, that it will make it easier to draft the more conventional signal caller, Matt Barkley.

8. Carolina – Dre Kirkpatrick CB Alabama – Speaking of Cam Newton, the Carolina QB has the Panthers and their fans excited. Now all they need is some defense to go with that offense. Coples is off the board so I think Ron Rivera tries to seal up his leaky secondary instead.

9. Washington – Landry Jones QB Alabama – The Redskins had it going there for a few games. They were winning and everyone else was shooting themselves in the foot. But now it’s Washington that can’t get out of its own way. They can’t be satisfied with having to choose between Rex Grossman and John Beck. Neither of them are the long term answer at QB.

10. Philadelphia – Vontaze Burfict LB Arizona State – The Eagles just have too many holes. They have issues on the offensive line, at safety, and at linebacker. Burfict is a unique talent and I can see Andy Reid (assuming he’s still there) drafting him as a way of solving their run defense. It’ll take more than that, but Burfict is a freak and definitely a good pick.

11. Cleveland – Alshon Jeffery WR South Carolina – Yeesh you’d think the Browns were 0 and 6 instead of .500 the way some people complain. It doesn’t look like they’ll finish worse than 6 and 10 and may do better if they manage an upset or two. Cleveland’s “double shot” took their defense from worst in the NFL to No. 4 currently. There’s no question they’ll be looking to double shot their weakest unit, wide receiver. 3 of their top receivers this year have caught only 48% of the passes thrown their way. They get lucky with this board and grab one of the top WRs available.

12. Tennessee – Luke Kuechly ILB Boston College – The Titans started out strong but have really leveled off recently. Chris Johnson has been a huge disappointment but with that much invested in him they can’t be looking for a replacement just yet. Their defense is well coached but it needs more impact players and Kuechly is the best available at this spot.

13. New York Giants – Manti Te’o ILB Notre Dame – The Giants got off to a rocky start this year. They’ve battled back but they have a tough schedule and it doesn’t look like they’ll be making the playoffs this year. There are plenty of areas that need addressing but the Giants just aren’t that tough on the defensive side. Te’o

14. San Diego – Courtney Upshaw DE/OLB Alabama – The Chargers are winning but they just look off, especially Phillip Rivers. It’s almost like he’s mailing it in this season. The defense is doing okay statistically but it’s a shadow of last year’s unit that was genuinely fearsome. They could go for cornerback or help a weak pass rush by drafting Upshaw.

15. Seattle – Robert Griffin III QB Baylor – Griffin isn’t on many big boards this high but Pete Carroll loves being the wild card. They’re at 2 and 3 at the moment but they play in the loudest stadium in the world. That and playing in the NFC West will give them enough wins to get near .500.

16. Tampa Bay – Morris Claibourne CB LSU – The Buccaneers continue to rebuild their defense. Gerald McCoy needs to stay healthy but they also need help in the secondary. Tampa is 26th in pass defense. Claibourne could help with that.

17. Kansas City – Riley Reiff OT Iowa – The Chiefs have battled back valiantly from an 0 and 3 hole. It looks like it’s going to be a battle for the AFC West crown. Right now both Kansas City and Oakland are showing way more fight than the Chargers. I think Carson Palmer will knock off the rust sooner rather than later and that will give the Raiders the edge. This year has shown just how deep and talented this team really is. Reiff is the safe choice here. They can always use more blockers in their run oriented attack.

18. Cleveland via Atlanta – Michael Floyd WR Notre Dame – Cleveland lucks into the third top rated WR in this class and completes its “double shot” They still need a right tackle and a cornerback but they can address those needs later.

19. Cincinnati – Zach Brown LB North Carolina – The Bengals are playing hard for Marvin Lewis. The one disappointment has been Cedric Benson. They may take Lamar Miller at this spot or they can add playmakers to their top ranked defense.

20. New York Jets – Brandon Jenkins DE/OLB Florida State – I think the Jets have a chance to make it past 9 wins in the regular season this year. Too bad Buffalo will win 11 and Baltimore owns the tiebreaker. Once again the Jets have an inconsistent pass rush. Their blitz packages are the best in the league but they need someone they can rely on when they’re just rushing 4 or 3.

21. Baltimore – Mike Brewster C Ohio State – I know this would give them 3 centers on the roster but Matt Birk isn’t getting any younger and neither is Andre Gurode. It’s pretty clear that if you get pressure on Joe Flacco he can look really, really bad. The Ravens aren’t going to dump Flacco yet so the answer is to get better protection and better inside blocking for Ray Rice.

22. Cincinnati via Oakland – Stephon Gilmore CB South Carolina – Oakland makes it the playoffs, barely beating out the Chiefs for the AFC West crown. And they quickly get dumped by Buffalo. Cincy uses the pick it acquired in the Carson Palmer trade to pick Gilmore, replacing Jonathan Joseph.

23. Dallas – Alfonzo Dennard CB Nebraska – It’s getting to be a familiar song with Dallas; talented roster, disappointing results, quick exit from the playoffs provided they make it that far. This year they make it to the playoffs and they exit quickly. Rob Ryan has them playing great defense but they still have holes in the secondary.

24. San Francisco – Jayron Hosley CB Virginia Tech – Jim Harbaugh may have locked up Coach of the Year honors in October. Is this the same squad that got both Mike Singeltary and Mike Nolan fired? They have some problems on offense but it’s nothing that can be addressed at this position. The best move here is to take Hosley and seal up the secondary.

25. Detroit – Cliff Harris CB Oregon – The Lions have some issues but I think they overcome them and get into the playoffs where they will meet the 49ers in the Handshake-Shove-Rematch Bowl where a motivated Detroit team rises up and takes them to the next round…where they are crushed by Green Bay. There are a couple of things they need to address, running back, offensive line, run defense, and the secondary. Cliff Harris is the best player available at this spot.

26. Chicago – Dave DeCastro G Stanford – The Bears finally rediscovered Bear football. They’ve been feeding it to Matt Forte. Good things have happened as a result. With that in mind there are only 2 players left on the board who epitomize Bear football, DeCastro and Washington Tackle Alameda Ta’amu and DeCastro just dominated Ta’amu in recent game.

27. Buffalo – Chase Minnifield CB Virginia – The Bills have hit a bit of a speed bump recently but as long as Fred Jackson keeps running hard they have a chance to win every game. Their defense isn’t that great but it’s full of young players and will improve with time. They may not have a crying need for CB at the moment but Minnifield is a quality player and you can always use one of those.

28. Houston – Jerel Worthy DT Michigan State – Houston finally makes it to the playoffs only to be upended by a veteran Pittsburg team. Worthy may seem like a misfit for a 3-4 defense but Wade Phillips doesn’t run a typical 3-4. His nose tackles must be able to penetrate and get quick pressure on the QB. That’s Worthy.

29. Pittsburgh – Mike Adams OT Ohio State – I’m not sure how Mike Tomlin does it. Given the state of the offensive line and the age of the defense this Steelers team shouldn’t be this good. But they are top ten in offense and defense. They’re going to have to replenish that defense eventually, pretty hard to do when you’re always drafting this late. Mike Adams gives them another healthy body on the o-line, something they keep running short of.

30. New England via New Orleans – Alameda Ta’ amu DT Washington – New Orleans at times looks unstoppable. Other times they lay an egg like they did against Tampa. They’re easily the second best team in the NFC and will battle the Packers for the conference crown. And New England will use their pick to get some young, talented leaders on its defense.

31. Green Bay – Janoris Jenkins CB North Alabama – Green Bay is undefeated. They have stomped on all their opponents. But there’s something a little off about their defense. I think that will trip them up when they play the Pats in the Super Bowl. Their secondary was lights out a year ago but now they’re giving up yards and points. Hopefully Jenkins will put a stop to that.

32. New England – Travis Lewis LB Oklahoma – Funny. If last year’s Patriots had played last year’s Pack, I think Green Bay would have taken them. This year’s New England squad is a different story. The passing game is a match for Green Bay. But this year their running game has improved. They’ve been giving up yards but they’ve been tough to score against. I think that makes the difference in a very close Super Bowl. Afterwards the Hoodie takes the best defensive player available.

[Deb]

I really need to start studying up on the upcoming draft more

[Reg]

Locked n loaded in the SJ Scott Wedell Memorial Mock Draft Database.

[NYSR2]

Wow--this is early! Remember the famous QB class? This year we may blow that one away. I haven't even delved into this much, but one the surface, look at these 5 guys: Luck; Landry: RG III; Tannenhill; Barkley. That's five mid-round one or higher talents. I am sure there are more once I start delving. And with Dalton and Newton looking very relaxed in year one, teams may be less reluctant about immediately inserting a rookie.