Winners and Losers from 1st Round of 2012 NFL Draft
The first round of the 2012 NFL Draft is in the books, and boy was last night exciting. With the rookie wage scale now in place, teams are less reluctant to trade into or within the top ten. By the time we got to pick No. 8, there were three trades that will impact those franchises for years to come.
All in all there were eight trades in the first round, and a record 19 underclassmen selected. The previous mark was 17.
Here are my five winners and losers from the first round, in no particular order.
Winners
Altough they didn’t pick anyone, I loved what the Broncos did. They traded back twice and picked up two fourth round picks in the process. With a few reaches in the first round, the Broncos saw the talent that was and is still available. They first moved back to the 31 spot and picked up the 126th pick from the New England Patriots, then they turned the 31st pick into the 36th pick and picked up the 101st pick. They can still get any number of talented players at No. 36 overall, such as Jerel Worthy, Devon Still, Stephen Hill, Alshon Jeffery, or Reuben Randle. With only three selections ahead of them, they’ll have their pick of a talented pool of players.
For the first time, the Patriots were very aggressive in the first round, choosing to move up, twice. They picked up Syracuse DE Chandler Jones, who many thought had top 10 potential, and Alabama LB Dont’a Hightower, who is a physical freak of nature and should dominate behind the Patriots’ two stud defensive tackles. Bill Belichick clearly wanted to fix his terrible defense from a year ago, and realized that he can get top secondary help in the next round.
Jerry Jones typically trades down from his spot in the first round, but last night he made an extremely aggressive move by trading the 14th and 45th overall pick to move into the 6th pick and take LSU CB Morris Claiborne. After a very active free agency period, it appears Jones finally figured out the problem with his defense. Claiborne and Brandon Carr are going to be great book end corners. If they can get a contributing safety later, they will have a top 5 defense.
I loved what the Vikings did last night. Not only did they trick the Cleveland Browns into moving up to their spot, but they picked up three late round picks in the process while still getting Matt Kalil at No. 4. They then traded the 35th and 98th pick to move up to No. 29 and take Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith. Smith wowed people at the combine and had Mike Mayock, former defensive back, absolutely raving about him. The Vikings improved two glaring needs with top tier talent.
How in the world did David DeCastro fall so far? The former Stanford Cardinal was a top 15 prospect that too many teams passed on in my opinion. He is a perfect fit for the Steelers offensive line; a dominant inside run blocker with better than expected athleticism. Mike Tomlin had to be jumping up and down in the war room after this one.
(So many more winners, these just stood out to me. Also loved the Detroit Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Diego Chargers, and St. Louis Rams‘ picks)
Losers
Sorry Dolphins fans, even though I am a huge Texas A&M fan, I was not a fan of reaching for Ryan Tannehill there. You could have at least traded back a few picks knowing the Carolina Panthers, Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs were not taking a quarterback. Tannehill is another second round prospect that saw a huge draft rise due to the desperations of teams that need a quarterback. This move could be the end of Jeff Ireland. While Tannehill does have the physical tools, I’m not sure he has the “it” factor to be a franchise quarterback. Having watched every game of his, I can tell you that he often disappeared in big games, especially as a Senior. He is not very clutch.
The Seattle Seahawks drafted Bruce Irvin, a guy that most considered a second round prospect at best. His off the field issues raised several concerns during the draft process. However, there is no denying he has the skill set to be a great pass rusher in the NFL, but is undersized and struggles stopping the run. The Seahawks could have moved back even further and picked up more picks, especially with the likes of Melvin Ingram, Quinton Coples, Whitney Mercilus, and Chandler Jones still on the board at the time.
I read on Twitter last night that the 49ers were so comfortable with A.J Jenkins being there at No. 30, their GM put his name in an envelope Wednesday night and said “this is our guy.” Well there is a reason for that. Jenkins was a late second round prospect at best. A very talented player do not get me wrong, but I believe passing on Coby Fleener was a mistake. You have the opportunity to have Randy Moss, Mario Manningham, and Michael Crabtree on the outside paired with Vernon Davis and Fleener in the middle. That is a potent mix. Wrong move by the 49ers.
The Jets selected Quinton Coples from North Carolina. In a vacuum this looks like a great pick, but considering who they passed up I can’t justify it. Melvin Ingram, who most believed is the best defensive end prospect in the draft, was still sitting there at No. 16. They also could have gone with Courtney Upshaw. With all of the effort questions and the supposed lack of passion for the game, one has to wonder if Coples is the next Vernon Gholston. I made a comment last night that Coples could be Julius Peppers or Gholston, it all depends on his attitude.
Obviously the Chiefs were one of the teams who got enamored with Dontari Poe’s incredible workout at the Combine. It forced them to over look Fletcher Cox, the best defensive tackle in the draft. Not saying Poe cannot be the next Vince Wilfork for the Chiefs, but to me his game tape didn’t warrant a top 15 selection.
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