Well Draft Day 2012 is finally here! And not a moment too soon, if you ask me.
Enough with the over-analysis of players whose stocks are rising or falling. After all, that's a bunch of bull. It's not so much that these players are dramatically rising or falling from when the offseason began. Rather, it's that now more is known about what teams have been thinking for months and months. More time has gone by and more info has leaked out - some of which is totally untrue, of course.
But I love this time of year. I love reading mock drafts. I love doing mock drafts. And I'm sure I'm not the only one. So I have created a Predict The Pick league on NFL.com. Feel free to join and create your mock draft to see how we all stack up:
Link to join: http://predictpick.nfl.com/groups/view/812
League Name: Matty's League
Password: Dolphins8
Now onto my final 2012 mock draft:
1. Indianapolis Colts - Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
2. Washington Redskins - Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor
3. Minnesota Vikings - Matt Kalil, OT, USC
4. Cleveland Browns - Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU
6. St. Louis Rams - Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma St.
7. Jacksonville Jaguars - Melvin Ingram, DE/OLB, South Carolina
My Take: While many now have Claiborne going to Minnesota and Fletcher Cox going to St. Louis, I am sticking with the same top 7 as I've had for most of the draft season. The only pick I even really considered modifying was JAcksonville's selection at 7. I think they could go with CB Stephon Gilmore or DT Fletcher Cox here. Even WR Michael Floyd would make some sense. But since WR is deep, I think they address that need in round 2.
8. Miami Dolphins - Ryan Tannehill, QB, Texas A&M
My Take: After previously having Quinton Coples here at 8, I've gone back to my original thought - which is the Dolphins stop worrying about getting good "draft value" and take the potential long-term QB solution. It doesn't matter if you take him at 8 or at 20. If you think he is going to be a GOOD quarterback, you draft him when you have the chance. Period. And if you don't like him at 8, then you probably shouldn't like him at 20, either. Value is irrelevant when it comes to the QB position.
Is he elite? Not yet. Will he be elite? I don't know. But can he be a top 10 NFL QB in 2 or 3 years? I believe so. This is the pick I WANT the Dolphins to make. And this is the pick I do BELIEVE the Dolphins will make.
9. Carolina Panthers - Fletcher Cox, DT, Mississippi St.
10. Buffalo Bills - Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina
11. Kansas City Chiefs - Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College
12. Seattle Seahawks - Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina
13. Arizona Cardinals - David DeCastro, G, Stanford
14. Dallas Cowboys - Mark Barron, S, Alabama
15. Philadelphia Eagles - Michael Brockers, DT, LSU
My Take: I think that the rest of the top 15 could see a number of possible trades - starting with Carolina at nine. Teams interested in Cox, Gilmore, or Barron will jockey for position here. The Cowboys, Eagles, Bengals, and Chargers are all candidates to move up for one of those three "hot" players.
16. New York Jets - Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame
17. Cincinnati Bengals - Courtney Upshaw, DE/OLB, Alabama
18. San Diego Chargers - Chandler Jones, DE/OLB, Syracuse
19. Chicago Bears - Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa
20. Tennessee Titans - Whitney Mercilus, DE, Illinois
My Take: The Jets are a wildcard in all this. While I don't buy the possibility they could trade up to #3 to get Richardson, I wouldn't rule out a move up to 7 for Ingram. I wouldn't be shocked if they took any of the pass rushers still on the board at 16 (Jones, Perry, Mercilus). As for Chandler Jones, he's a guy who we recently have learned is high on many teams' draft boards. Reiff, on the other hand, went from a possible top 10 pick back in January to a mid to late 1st rounder. Alligator arms will do that to a lineman, though.
21. Cincinnati Bengals - Cordy Glenn, G, Georgia
22. Cleveland Browns - Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor
23. Detroit Lions - Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama
24. Pittsburgh Steelers - Dont'a Hightower, LB, Alabama
25. Denver Broncos - Dontari Poe, DT, Memphis
My Take: I have Poe lower than most. That's because I think his film hurts him. He should have dominated in college. He didn't. Hightower is a guy who I think some teams may look to trade up for. But if he's still on the board at 24, how can the Steelers pass him up? He's a typical Pittsburgh linebacker.
26. Houston Texans - Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford
27. New England Patriots - Nick Perry, DE/OLB, USC
28. Green Bay Packers - Shea McClellin, DE/OLB, Boise St.
29. Baltimore Ravens - Peter Konz, C, Wisconsin
30. San Francisco 49ers - Stephen Hill, WR, Georgia Tech
31. New England Patriots - Kendall Reyes, DT, UCONN
32. New York Giants - Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford