Draft 'Mania!

Well, let the madness begin. With 22 minutes left until the first pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns have made the first move of the night. They traded their 4th overall pick plus a 4th, 5th and 7th round pick to the Minnesota Vikings for their 3rd overall pick. It makes me curious as to why they gave up so much to move up one spot. Do they just want to secure Trent Richardson, or are they going to be the first surprise of the draft? These are my initial impressions as the draft progressed tonight:

1. Indianapolis Colts: Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford -- No surprise here.. Be interested to see how he picks up the pieces in Indy. Lot of pressure on this kid. He definitely has the tangibles..
2. St. Louis Rams Washington Redskins: Robert Griffin, III, QB, Baylor -- We ALL know the Redskins have QB troubles. My biggest concern about RGIII is his style of play. Look at the other scramblers in the NFL: Micheal Vick & Tyrod Taylor to name a few - both of them were injured last season, and Vick has been injured multiple times taking hits from scrambles. I think RG3 will be successful. The question is, can he stay healthy?
3. Minnesota Vikings Cleveland Browns (traded with Vikings to move up): Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama -- The trade up here kind of confuses me. I don't think the Vikings had any intentions of getting Richardson. Only real possible explanation for this move is that someone else was trying to trade up and get them. Either way, the Browns got a good one here. Be interesting to see how Richardson performs against the defensive lines of the AFC North.
4. Cleveland Browns Minnesota Vikings (traded down from 3 with Cleveland): Matt Kalil, OT, USC -- No surprise here. Minnesota gained a lot by trading down with Cleveland, as they now have the most (13) picks in the draft. 
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jacksonville Jaguars (traded up from 7 with TB): Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma St. -- Great move here by Jacksonville. Get a weapon for Gabbert to throw to and relieve some of the pressure from Maurice Jones-Drew.
6. Washington Redskins, St. Louis Rams Dallas Cowboys (traded up from 14 with St. Louis): Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU -- A great move here by Dallas. Get a great compliment to go along with Carr in the secondary.
7. Jacksonville Jaguars Tampa Bay Buccaneers (traded down from 5 with Jacksonville): Mark Barron, S, Alabama -- All around GREAT defensive player. Good hands, quick, explosive. Excellent run defense. Will be a force to go with Ronde Barber.
8. Miami Dolphins: Ryan Tannehill, QB, Texas A&M -- not so sure I agree with this. Tannehill is good, but I don't think he was a top 10... Coming off an injury, you don't know what to expect, but I guess the Dolphins liked what they saw when he worked out with them. My other problem with this is the Dolphins aren't the greatest when it comes to developing QBs. It'll be interesting to see how he progresses, considering they traded away their star WR, which STILL has me scratching my head.
9. Carolina Panthers: Luke Kuechly, ILB, Boston College -- Don't really know much about him. Has pretty decent hands, excellent tackler. Should boost the Panthers secondary.
10. Buffalo Bills: Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina -- Just adds strength to what has become a pretty formidable secondary. 
11. Kansas City Chiefs: Dontari Poe, DT, Memphis -- Underdeveloped but has tools to succeed. Interesting pick. I feel he'll be a good addition.
12. Seattle Seahawks Philadelphia Eagles (traded up from 15 with Seattle): Fletcher Cox, DT, Mississippi State -- Had a phenomenal year in college. Poised to perform well.
13. Arizona Cardinals: Micheal Floyd, WR, Notre Dame -- Kind of surprising, with Melvin Ingram still on the board, but still an excellent fit for him and for the Cardinals. Has the potential to be VERY good. Good compliment to Larry Fitzgerald. Will take pressure/attention off Fitzgerald. Now they just need to go find a suitable QB...
14. Dallas Cowboys St. Louis Rams (traded down from 6 with Dallas): Michael Brockers, DT, LSU -- A tad surprising, would have thought they might have gone with an O-lineman instead. should be nice compliment on d-line for Chris Long. Not sure what to think of him. He didn't produce particularly impressive numbers for a first round draft pick. Only 2 career sacks, more of a run stuffer.
15. Philadelphia Eagles Seattle Seahawks (traded down from 12 with Philly): Bruce Irvin, OLB, West Virginia -- VERY shocking. Very good speed. Has some off-field character issues that limited his playing time in college. Interesting to see what happens. Not projected by most to go before 2nd round.
16. New York Jets: Quinton Coples, DE, UNC -- Again, surprising with Melvin Ingram still available. Very quick, but inconsistent. Senior year, numbers kind of down. If he plays to his full potential, could be a great get. Otherwise, he's a bust.
17. Cincinnati Bengals (acquired from Carson Palmer trade from Oakland): Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama -- Good knowledge of different defensive formations. A tad small.. If he puts on a bit of weight, could be a force.
18. San Diego Chargers: Melvin Ingram, DE, South Carolina -- Can play pretty much anywhere on the field - LB, DE, KR, special teams. Incredible athlete, good pass rusher. Interesting pick. Should help boost their secondary. Will be very interesting to see where they actually play him. Surprising that he was still available
19. Chicago Bears: Shea McClellin, OLB, Boise State -- Good player. A bit high for him I think. Good pass rusher off the corner. Very low center of gravity.
20. Tennessee Titans: Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor -- Good offensive addition. Only problem was his workouts turned in low numbers. Very productive with RG3. Be a nice target for Hasslebeck or Locker to throw to.
21. Cincinnati Bengals New England Patriots (traded up from 27 with Cincinnati): Chandler Jones, DE, Syracuse -- Good pick for them. Great trade. They've desperately needed a defensive end. Only worse defensive team last year was the Green Bay Packers
22. Cleveland Browns: Brandon Weeden, QB, Oklahoma State -- Biggest shock so far. Cleveland making a statement. Will be interesting to see who wins out at QB between him and Colt McCoy in the offseason. I think by taking him as a 1st rounder, it's clear where they want to be though. Pretty good day overall for Cleveland.
23. Detroit Lions (announced by Madden '13 cover athlete and announced pick): Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa -- Good pick by Detroit. Definitely bolsters Stafford's protection, which he desperately needs.
24. Pittsburgh Steelers: David DeCastro, G, Stanford -- Another good pick here. Just like the Lions, the Steelers O-line is kind of iffy. This will definitely bolster that line. Hopefully it will be able to protect Big Ben better.
25. Denver Broncos New England Patriots (traded up : Dante Hightower, LB, Alabama -- Very good athlete. Can play multiple defensive positions. Coverage ability may be an issue. But once again, another defensive bolstering for the Patriots, which they DESPERATELY needed.
26. Houston Texans: Whitney Mercilus, DE, Illinois -- Houston went out and did what they had to do. Having lost Ryans and Williams, they needed to get a few defensive player. I think they found him.
27. New England Patriots Cincinnati Bengals (traded down from 21 with NE): Kevin Zeitler, OG, Wisconsin -- Don't know anything about this guy. Analysts report he has potential.
28. Green Bay Packers: Nick Perry, DE, USC -- still needs to be developed. Shown quite a bit of potential.
29. Baltimore Ravens Minnesota Vikings (traded 2nd and 4th round picks to Baltimore): Harrison Smith, S, Notre Dame -- Probably hands down 2nd-best safety in the draft. Has good ability to read defense. Battle-tested, reliable. Minnesota definitely needs him.
30. San Fransisco 49ers: A.J. Jenkins, WR, Illinois -- Position definitely not a surprise, but the player sort of is. Very quick, good hands.
31. New England Patriots Denver Broncos Tampa Bay Bucaneers (traded up with Denver, who traded down from 25 with NE): Doug Martin, RB, Boise State -- Very good pick here. Good compliment to split the carries with Blount. Good pass blocker.
32. New York Giants: David Wilson, RB, VT -- Great addition to running game. Prone to fumbling, needs to get that under control. Extremely versatile, very low center of gravity. Big second effort. Good at breaking tackles. FAST. Athletic, triple jump champion in track. Need I say more?

Picks by School

1. Alabama (4): Trent Richardson (3), Mark Barron (7), Dre Kirkpatrick (17), Dante Hightower (25
2. University of South Carolina (2): Stephon Gilmore (10), Melvin Ingram (18)
3. Louisiana State University (2): Morris Claiborne (6), Michael Brockers (14)
4. Oklahoma State (2): Justin Blackmon (5), Brandon Weeden (22)
5. Baylor (2): Robert Griffin, III (2), Kendall Wright (20)
6. Stanford (2): Andrew Luck (1), David DeCastro (24)
7. Notre Dame (2): Michael Floyd (13), Harrison Smith (29)
8. University of Southern California (2): Matt Kalil (4), Nick Perry (28)
9. Boise State (2): Shea McClellin (19), Doug Martin (31)
10. University of Illinois (2): Whitney Mercilus (26), A.J. Jenkins (30)
11. Texas A&M (1): Ryan Tannehill (8)
12. Boston College (1): Luke Kuechly (9)
13. Memphis (1): Dontari Poe (11)
14. Mississippi State (1): Fletcher Cox (12)
15. West Virginia (1): Bruce Irvin (15)
16. University of North Carolina (1): Quinton Coples (16)
17. Syracuse (1): Chandler Jones (21)
18. Wisconsin (1): Kevin Zeitler (27)
19. Virginia Tech (1): David Wilson (32)

 Biggest Surprises:

• Melvin Ingram being left on the board as long as he was.
• The trade up from 4 to 3 by Cleveland STILL has me scratching my head...
• Bruce Irvin was a complete shock at #15, wasn't projected until mid-second round.
• Brandon Weeden being chosen #22 by Cleveland. I don't, and I don't think many other people did either, think that anyone would take a chance on him in the first round.
• The Rams continuing to trade down. I think they really lost out.
• David Wilson: Not necessarily a surprise, definitely has first round talent. The real surprise came from Tampa Bay trading up to get Doug Martin, which is who New York had apparently had their sites on.

Things to note:

• We no longer have to listen to ESPN analyze Andrew Luck on a daily basis, even AFTER we already knew he was the #1 overall pick.
• It was another tough year for RBs in the first round. While 3 RBs came off the board, they went from Richardson at #3 and didn't pick another until #31.
• 5 teams didn't have a first round pick: Oakland Raiders, New Orleans Saints, Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, Atlanta Falcons
• Before tonight, Boise State had only had 2 1st round draft picks in their schools history, had 2 tonight.
• Alabama had 4 players go in the 1st round for the second straight year.
• 3 QBs selected in 1st 8 picks
• Most draft trades in top 10 of draft in history
• 8 total 1st round trades
• Draft only lasted 3 hours - fastest 1st round in history.

Biggest Risks:
Ryan Tannehill at #8. I think he has the tangibles, but I don't know if he's stepping into the right situation in Miami to utilize his talents.
Bruce Irvin, Brandon Weeden

Biggest Winner:
I'm going to have to say the New England Patriots. They desperately needed defensive players, and went out and got two top-notch defensive players in Dante Hightower and Chandler Jones. I hate to say it, but that defense is already looking better (although that's not really saying much)...
St. Louis Rams, to an extent, because they now have 12 picks throughout the rest of the draft.

Biggest Loser:
I'm definitely going to have to go with St. Louis. They traded down once (to 6th), Blackmon got taken 5th. Traded down again (to 14th), Michael Floyd got taken 13th. They ended up having to take someone I don't think that they really particularly wanted. On the bright side, they still have 12 picks left in the draft.

--Grant Pearrell