Just one more day until round 1 of the 2012 NFL draft gets underway and outside of the top two picks, anything can happen. Now that the rookie wage scale has lowered the risk of first round picks, we may see more trade action this year than we have in a long time. With that said this year’s draft should be a lot of fun, here’s my best guess…
1. Indianapolis Colts – Top 3 Needs: QB, DT, CB
Selection: Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
2. Washington Redskins – Top 3 Needs: QB, WR, OL
Selection: Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor
3. Minnesota Vikings – Top 3 Needs: OL, CB, WR
Selection: Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU
4. Cleveland Browns – Top 3 Needs: QB, WR, OL
Selection: Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Top 3 Needs: QB, LB, OL
Selection: Matt Kalil, OT, USC
6. St. Louis Rams – Top 3 Needs: OL, WR, LB
Selection: Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma St.
7. Jacksonville Jaguars – Top 3 Needs: QB, WR, CB
Selection: Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina
8. Miami Dolphins – Top 3 Needs: QB, OL, LB
Selection: Ryan Tannehill, QB, Texas A & M
9. Carolina Panthers – Top 3 Needs: DT, CB, LB
Selection: Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College
10. Buffalo Bills – Top 3 Needs: LB, WR, OL
Selection: Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame
11. Kansas City Chiefs – Top 3 Needs: OL, DT, QB
Selections: David DeCastro, OG, Stanford
12. Seattle Seahawks – Top 3 Needs: QB, DE, OL
Selections: Melvin Ingram, DE, South Carolina
13. Arizona Cardinals – Top 3 Needs: OL, WR, LB
Selection: Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa
14. Dallas Cowboys – Top 3 Needs: OL, S, CB
Selection: Mark Barron, S, Alabama
15. Philadelphia Eagles – Top 3 Needs: LB, WR, CB
Selection: Fletcher Cox, DT, Mississippi State
16. New York Jets – Top 3 Needs: WR, OL, DE
Selection: Courtney Upshaw, LB, Alabama
17. Cincinnati Bengals (From Raiders) – Top 3 Needs: CB, RB, S
Selections: Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama
18. San Diego Chargers – Top 3 Needs: LB, CB, OL
Selection: Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina
19. Chicago Bears – Top 3 Needs: WR, OL, CB
Selection: Michael Brockers, DT, LSU
20. Tennessee Titans – Top 3 Needs: OL, DE, S
Selection: Dontari Poe, DT, Memphis
21. Cincinnati Bengals – Top 3 Needs: CB, RB, S
Selection: Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor
22. Cleveland Browns (From Falcons) – Top 3 Needs: QB, WR, OL
Selection: Cordy Glenn, G, Georgia
23. Detroit Lions – Top 3 Needs: OL, CB, S
Selection: Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford
24. Pittsburgh Steelers – Top 3 Needs: OL, DT, CB
Selection: Dont’a Hightower, LB, Alabama
25. Denver Broncos – Top 3 Needs: OL, CB, DT
Selection: Peter Konz, C, Wisconson
26. Houston Texans – Top 3 Needs: WR, OL, DT
Selection: Nick Perry, DE, USC
27. New England Patriots (From Saints) – Top 3 Needs: DE, DT, S
Selection: Whitney Marcilus, DE, Illinois
28. Green Bay Packers – Top 3 Needs: CB, S, DE
Selection: Shea McClellin, LB, Boise
29. Baltimore Ravens – Top 3 Needs: OL, WR, LB
Selection: Stephen Hill, WR, Georgia Tech
30. San Francisco 49ers – Top 3 Needs: WR, OL, S
Selection: Amini Silatolu, OG, Midwestern State
31. New England Patriots – Top 3 Needs: DE, DT, S
Selection: Devon Still, DT, Penn State
32. New York Giants – Top 3 Needs: OL, TE, S
Selection: Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford
So that’s it for my round 1 predictions. I tried to slate picks more for draft order than team because I think there will be a bunch of trades and they’re just impossible to predict. For more of my thoughts on many of the possible first rounders, refer to my mock draft 1.0. Thanks for reading and I hope you’ll enjoy this years draft as much as I will.