3Jack 2012 NFL Mock Draft

[Richie3Jack]

This year I haven't been paying as close of attention as I normally do, but here's what I have:

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- Fletcher Cox DT (Miss. State)

7. Jacksonville Jaguars- Justin Blackmon WR (Oklahoma State)

8. Miami Dolphins- Ryan Tannehill QB (Texas A&M)

9. Carolina Panthers- Melvin Ingram DE (South Carolina)

10. Buffalo Bills- Riley Reiff OT (Iowa)

11. Kansas City Chiefs- Luke Kuechly LB (Boston College)

12. Seattle Seahawks- Michael Floyd WR (Notre Dame)

13. Arizona Cardinals- Cordy Glenn OT (Georgia)

14. Dallas Cowboys- Mark Barron S (Alabama)

15. Philadelphia Eagles- Quinton Coples DE (UNC)

16. NY Jets- Courtney Upshaw OLB (Alabama)

17. Cincinnati Bengals- David DeCastro OG (Stanford)

18. San Diego Chargers- Stephon Gilmore CB (South Carolina)

19. Chicago Bears- Coby Fleener TE (Stanford)

20. Tennessee Titans- Jerel Worth DT (Michigan State)

21. Cincinnati Bengals- Janoris Jenkins CB (North Alabama)

22. Cleveland Browns- Kendall Wright WR (Baylor)

23. Detroit Lions- Jonathan Martin OT (Stanford)

24. Pittsburgh Steelers- Dre Kirkpatrick CB (Alabama)

25. Denver Broncos- Peter Konz C (Wisconsin)

26. Houston Texans- Chandler Jones DE (Syracuse)

27. New England Patriots- Stephen Hill WR (Georgia Tech)

28. Green Bay Packers- Shea McLellin OLB (Boise State)

29. Baltimore Ravens- Kevin Zeitler OG (Wisconsin)

30. San Francisco 49ers- Doug Martin RB (Boise State)

31. New England Patriots- Harrison Smith S (Notre Dame)

32. NY Giants- Mike Adams OT (Ohio State)








3JACK

[Richie3Jack]

My 1st day thoughts...

- Before the instituted a rookie cap, economists noted that teams were better off stockpiling 2nd round picks because they had the best expected value. Meaning, that the odds of having a Pro Bolwer or potential HoF'er in the 2nd round was not much less than in the first round. The difference was the risk (salary cap money). So if the 1st round player was a bust, they would count big-time against the cap. 2nd round picks were minimal against the cap.

The Eagles caught onto this early. So did the Patriots. Eventually, the rest of the league did as well. So everybody tried their best to trade down. It's the reason why the Fins took Jake Long over Matt Ryan a few years ago...Long was more likely to succeed and was easier to dump than the QB Ryan.

Now we see the opposite, everybody is trying to trade up because the cap greatly reduced the impact the rookies have against the team's cap. However, I don't think it is the best move. Yes, the risk is less...but the odds of a 1st round pick being a bust or disappointment are still the same. So instead I think teams are better off trading down to acquire more 1st and 2nd rounders. What's odd is that while the Redskins and Cowboys all moved up in trades and that was probably expected, so did the Eagles and the Pats.

- As a Cowboys fan, if I had to choose, I would rather have the Skins get RGIII than Luck. Luck is ready to go right now. He played in a pro-style offense under a pro coach (Harbaugh) with a father who played in the pros. I think RGIII has every reason to suceed, but he didn't play in a pro-style offense and I can't remember the last Big-12 QB that was really worth a damn.

- Looking back, the Skins got fleeced. They gave up a ton to move up to #2. The Cowboys moved up 8 spots and only gave up a 2nd round pick in the end.

- I'm really iffy on the Claiborne pick for Dallas. It depends if they can get a trade and get a 2nd round pick back. I think it's a position of need and he's a great player, but they have issues at safety, guard and center as well.

- Funny, a friend of mine watched a bunch of David DeCastro tapes and told me how he came away non-plussed about him. Then DeCastro fell quite a bit by standards for a guard.

- I love the fact that Goodell got booed.

- That being said, I don't know why the players hug Goodell like he's a long lost friend. Particularly considering how he cut the legs of the players union just last year.

- ESPN's coverage still blows. They get too bogged down in highlights when something big goes down (i.e. the Cowboys trading up). And they can't help themselves in giving away the picks before they happen. There's 2 things that really sell the draft.

A) Hope springs eternal for every team.

B) The rowdy fans in NYC who go bonkers over every bad pick, trade, etc.

So when the hated Cowboys trade up 8 spots and the fans go nuts over it, show the fans. This isn't rocket science.

- A pet peeve of mine is 'well if player X turns out well for them, they'll have the last laugh.'

No...if a team like the Seahawks takes Bruce Irvin who everybody and their mother didn't have in their top-50 and they still took them at 15, that is a BAD pick. Even if he works out, the Seahawks could have always traded down and received more picks, then picked him. It's like going to a car dealership and paying $70,000 for a Toyota Corolla when you could have had 2 Corollas for $50,000. And then saying 'well, if I like the $70K Corrolla, then I get the last laugh.' Yeah, if you belong in an insane asylum.

- While I joked about the Claiborne Wonderlic score (4), I knew that he blew it off. Half of the players do outside of the Quarterbacks. Still, if I were taking the test I would probably just take it seriously enough to get a respectable score. I did take the real test once (not the stupid 15 question one) and score a 41. So I'm 3 times smarter than Dan Marino.

That being said, this is something that BSPN and the local Dallas media will talk about for the next 4 months and unless he's a bona fide superstar, probably the rest of his career. If he was picked by the Steelers, nobody would give a damn.

- Surprised how much Ingram fell. I thought in a league that is so pass happy, he would be a hot commodity.






3JACK

[pj]

Sleeper= Aaron Corp -QB

[cwdlaw223]

Superbowl for the Eagles this year! Cowboys pick is a great player, but anybody who blows off the wonderlic test with money on the line is just an idiot. He'll take off first down plays because they don't count either!!!!!

Hate-in all the way this year Richie! What else does a true Eagles fan have? A Superbowl ring? Please. We both know that will never happen.

[cwdlaw223]

I suspect the owners are taking the players to the cleaners with the new CBA. Just my hunch. The owners always win, that's why they're owners and not employees!

[Richie3Jack]

I think the Eagles picked up a sleeper in the LB from Cal. Pains me to say it.






3JACK

[cwdlaw223]

He looked incredibly fast. Regardless, our top picks get injured. Guaranteed!

Saints and Raiders are screwed. You need to get 1st and 2nd round picks. Injuries are guaranteed.

[cwdlaw223]

There's so much parity in the NFL that GMs and head coaches must not sleep. Getting an edge is so difficult.