1.
Indianapolis
Colts-QB Andrew Luck – Stanford. Irsay has all but confirmed this is the
pick. Luck walks in as the next
franchise quarterback for the Colts. How well can he play in Manning’s shadow?
2.
TRADE –
Washington
Redskins- QB Robert Griffin III, Baylor. The Heisman winner has some wondering if he is
the best QB in the draft. The Redskins gave up a ton to get him and he will
make or break Shanahan’s tenure with the team.
3.
Minnesota
Vikings- OT Matt Kalil, USC. The Vikings will have to kick the tires on
Christian Ponder this year and will grab the top tackle available to protect
him for years to come.
4.
Cleveland Browns – RB Trent Richardson,
Alabama. The Browns weren’t willing to pay what it
took to get RGIII. They settle for the only remaining elite talent in the draft
to replace Hillis.
5.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers- CB Morris
Claiborne
- LSU. The Bucs got torched much of last year and
with Ronde Barber another year older, the best CB in the draft makes a lot of
sense.
6.
St. Louis
Rams -WR Justin Blackmon – OK . Bradford and Jackson desperately need help and
the top WR will help keep the safeties honest.
I like an OT or CB here as well (if Kalil/Claiborne are on the board)
7. Jacksonville Jaguars- WR
Michael Floyd, Notre Dame. Gabbert
needs help and after a great combine, Floyd is the man to provide it. DE is another possibility here.
8.
Miami Dolphins- QB Ryan Tannehill,
Texas A&M. QB is the most glaring area of need for the Dolphins but its too
late for RGIII. They have to decide if
#8 is too high for the #3 QB in the draft.
9. Carolina Panthers- CB Dre Kirkpatrick, Alabama-
The Panthers need help on defense and CB is the worst part of a bad defense.
This is a bit of a reach for a guy with off field trouble but given that this
is a deep DT draft (their other need), they wait till round 2 to address the
DL.
10.
Buffalo Bills- OT Riley Reiff,
Iowa. The Iowa OT farm is at it again. The Bills addressed their DL in free agency,
now they solidify the OL with the #2 tackle in the draft.
11.
Kansas City
Chiefs- OG David DeCastro – Stanford.
The Chiefs have needs all over, DeCastro is the top interior lineman
available and they are happy to get him at #11.
12.
Seattle Seahawks- OLB Courtney Upshaw,
Alabama – Upshaw would have been the better
pick for the Bills, but unfortunately he doesn’t fit their system. Luckily for the Seahawks the #1 LB in the
draft falls to them.
13.
Arizona Cardinals – DE Quinton
Coples, UNC – Coples should probably go higher as he is the best all around DL
in the draft (
Jacksonville
makes sense for him). He falls to the
Cards who draft the best player available.
14.
Dallas Cowboys – NT Dontari Poe,
Memphis – Poe looked like
a beast at the combine and would fit well in the Cowboys system. He is moving
up boards and right now this is the early end of where I would expect him to
go.
15.
Philiadelphia Eagles-LB
Luke Kueley, Boston College- Kueley and the Eagles seem like a match. He fits
their D and he is the best LB available here.
16.
New York Jets- S Mark
Barron,
Alabama-
The Jets have pieces on both sides of the ball to make a run if their QB
situation could improve. Safety is one
area of need and they can grab the best one in a very shallow safety draft at
16.
17.
Cincinnati
Bengals-CB
Stephon Gilmore,
South Carolina – Leon Hall is
coming off a serious injury and Newman/Clements are over the hill. CB is the
greatest area of need for the Bengals so they are happy to get him at 17.
18.
San Diego
Chargers- OLB/DE Melvin Ingram,
South
Carolina. The
Chargers could go a lot of ways here. They have a real need at OT but they seem
committed to rushing the passer. I think they wont be able to resist Ingram at
18.
19.
Chicago
Bears- OT Johnathan Martin – Stanford.
In Martin Chicago gives Cutler another piece after adding
Marshall in the
offseason.
20.
Tennessee Titans- DT Fletcher Cox –
Mississippi St. Cox had
a great combine and should be the #2 DT off the board.
21.
Cincinnati Bengals- OT/OG Cordy Glenn-
Georgia Tech. The Bengals address their
other significant area of need by adding the best interior lineman on the
board.
22.
Cleveland Browns- WR
Kendall Wright – Baylor. Wright caught a massive 108
passes for 16663 yards and 14 TDs from RG3 but is still only the #3 WR on the
board. The Browns offense needs all kinds of help and a top WR should assist.
23.
Detroit Lions- DE Whitney Mercilius - Illinois.
With Suh beside him Mercilius
should provide good production as a rookie and given what else the Lions have
at DE they will need it.
24.
Pittsburgh Steelers –OT Mike Adams
–
Ohio State.
Steelers have needed help along the OL for several years. With
Adams
still available, this pick makes a lot of sense.
25.
Denver Broncos – DT Michael Brockers LSU. The Broncos defense faded down the
stretch against better QBs last year. DT
is their biggest area of need and they get a potentially great one in Brockers.
26. Houston Texans- WR
Stephen Hill – Georgia Tech. Imagine if
Shaub hadn’t got hurt last year. Imagine if they had a #2 threat to compliment
Johnson? Texans add Hill and potentially
become a force to be reckoned with.
27.
New England Patriots – DE Nick
Perry – USC. The Patriots lost one of
their team leaders in sack in
Anderson,
they grab Perry to continue to plug holes on the defense.
28.
Green Bay Packers – RB Doug Martin
–
Boise St. The
Packers have a dynamic offsense that seems to be winning in spite of their play
at RB. Martin as the top RB left helps make that position relevant. They need help along the OL as well so that
could definitely be a pick here.
29.
Baltimore Ravens – LB Dont’a
Hightower –
Alabama. The Ravens get more help at LB while drafting
Ray Lewis’ potential replacement.
30.
San Fransisco 49ers – WR Alshon Jeffrey –
South Carolina. WR is a definite area of
needs for the 49ers. I think they will grab the top WR available here.
31.
New England Patriots – SS
Harrison Smith – Notre Dame. The
Patriots get the only other premiere safety in the draft with Smith.
32.
New York Giants – OT Bobbie
Massie –
Mississippi. Despite winning the Superbowl, the giants OL
was a in trouble for much of 2011.
Massie may have done enough in the postseason to move up into the 1
st
round.