1. Indianapolis -- Andrew Luck. Duh.
2. Washington -- Robert Griffin III. We told you it was going to be the Redskins to make the trade, but they did give up more than we anticipated. It will be well worth it.
3. Minnesota -- Matt Kalil. While the Vikings' secondary is a mess they must protect their franchise quarterback, Christian Ponder.
4. Cleveland -- Justin Blackmon. Don't be surprised if they go Maurice Claiborne instead here and look at wide receiver with Pick 22.
5. Tampa Bay -- (Previous pick -- Maurice Claiborne) Trent Richardson. It appears as though the Buccaneers think Eric Wright is the solution to their cornerback issue. We understand that their defensive scheme doesn't require top notch cornerbacks, but Wright is awful.
6. St. Louis -- (Previous pick -- Riley Reiff) Maurice Claiborne. Tampa Bay's puzzling faith in Wright means Claiborne or Blackmon falls to the Rams, so they still get an elite player as well as add a No. 2 and two future No. 1's. Best move of the offseason.
7. Jacksonville -- Melvin Ingram. Jacksonville values character, and Ingram is safer than Quentin Coples in that regard.
8. Miami -- (Previous pick -- Quentin Coples) Ryan Tannehill. He is a perfect fit for the Dolphins' offense and would explain why they low-balled Matt Flynn in free agency. We do not believe he is worth this pick, but given the recent trends with quarterback in the NFL some team is going to reach for the project.
9. Carolina -- (Previous pick -- Dontari Poe) Quentin Colpes. Miami's reach means a stud defensive end is available for the Panthers. He has significant work ethic issues, but the Panthers locker room would be a good environment to get the most out of him. From a physical standpoint he looks everything like former Panthers stud Julius Peppers.
10. Buffalo -- (Previous pick -- Courtney Upshaw) Riley Reiff. Pass rush is no longer a slam dunk with the signings of Mario Williams and Mark Anderson. We think it is still a possibility as the Bills have been just that bad against the pass and Anderson is limited against the run, but until Demetrius Bell is re-signed we think they go offensive tackle with this pick.
11. Kansas City -- (Previous pick - Jonathan Martin) Dontari Poe. The Chiefs badly needed to address the tackle position, but they decided to do it in free agency with former Texan Eric Winston, so Jonathan Martin is no longer an option for the Chiefs. Scott Pioli comes from the mindset that a strong defensive line is paramount to success and he just hired a defensive head coach. We still believe he is a reach, but Poe is hands down the best defensive tackle prospect in this class.
12. Seattle - Nick Perry. A putrid pass rush needs to be addressed, and Perry presents the most upside. A trade down is also a very likely scenario as offensive tackle Jonathan Martin and offensive guard David DeCastro both still remain on the board and they are likely going in the next two picks. Between the questionable scouting reports on Upshaw and the USC pipeline, we could see the Seahawks target him draft day.
13. Arizona -- (Previous pick - David DeCastro) Jonathan Martin. The Cardinals could take either Stanford offensive lineman as their offensive line is a mess, but Martin plays the premium position which also happens to be Arizona's bigger hole. Even though DeCastro is a better player the Cardinals go with Martin.
14. Dallas -- (Previous pick - Janoris Jenkins) David DeCastro. Perfect scenario for the Cowboys as they addressed their other glaring issues (secondary) in free agency. Slam dunk pick if he falls.
15. Philadelphia -- (Previous pick - Luke Kuechly) Dre Kirkpatrick. We cautioned before that coach Andy Reid hates drafting linebackers early, he reminded you with the trade for DeMeco Ryans. Defensive tackle is their biggest need, but there are none worth this pick so the Eagles target another premium position with this pick. Who would have thought cornerback would be a consideration with their cornerback corps before 2011? In the end, the Eagles clearly aren't sold on Asante Samuel long term and his expected replacement (Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie) is a bum.
16. New York Jets -- (Previous pick - Trent Richardson) Michael Floyd. This could be the team to trade up to No. 12 to get Martin. They can't possibly believe Wayne Hunter can still play right tackle, can they? Until wide receiver is addressed in free agency we assume they will go this direction in the draft ... even though Tim Tebow (the thorn in the side of wide receivers everywhere) is now their backup.
17. Cincinnati -- (Previous pick - Dre Kirkpatrick) Janoris Jenkins. The Bengals want either him or Kirkpatrick. They can sit tight and just wait to see who falls. In this version Kirkpatrick didn't so we're giving them Jenkins.
18. San Diego -- (Previous pick - Cordy Glenn) Courtney Upshaw. Thankfully the Chargers have somewhat addressed the offensive line because, in our opinion, Glenn is not worth this spot, but made sense two weeks ago given how the consensus viewed him. Upshaw is clearly the best player available, despite what the recent reports have said, and would be a slam dunk on a team that is aging and struggling to put pressure on the quarterback.
19. Chicago -- (Previous pick - Michael Floyd) Whitney Mercilus. Good move trading for Brandon Marshall because we don't have Floyd falling to the Bears anymore. They haven't addressed their issues at defensive end, though, and Mercilus would fit in perfectly with this scheme. They need to get younger on that side of the ball, too.
20. Tennessee -- Mike Adams. The Titans will be heavily investing in the offensive line this offseason. Adams sucks, but he was evaluated well ... for some reason. The Titans would be wiser to look at Peter Konz instead.
21. Cincinnati -- Fletcher Cox. Neither of us are enthralled with Cox, but the opinions that matter do. The Bengals are often guilty of internet draft board theft due to a non-existent scouting department and draft accordingly, so he makes sense here as they have some holes to fill at defensive tackle.
22. Cleveland -- Doug Martin. Playmakers are what the Cleveland Browns need, and now they have two of them. Lamar Miller has more upside, but Martin is the more complete back which is what the Browns need now that Peyton Hillis has moved on.
23. Detroit -- Mark Barron. Amari Spievey needs to be replaced. Barron is one of the best players available.
24. Pittsburgh -- Luke Kuechly. The other best player available, by a lot. Pittsburgh drafts the best player available regardless, but it helps that they have a need at inside linebacker. Kuechly is a steal this late.
25. Denver -- (Previous pick -- Michael Brockers) Devon Still. The run defense is a big issue, so the Broncos would be wise to target Still if he is on the board. That said, Peyton Manning-led teams have a tendency to go after offensive skill position players even if there is a need on defense, so be prepared for a curveball.
26. Houston -- Kendall Wright. A dream scenario for the Texans, who subsequently cut Jacoby Jones.
27. New England -- Vinny Curry. The Patriots' pass rush is putrid. Curry is a perfect fit.
28. Green Bay -- (Previous pick -- Doug Martin) Peter Konz. This almost makes too much sense. He's a local kid and they now have a glaring hole at center. They're also meeting with free agents to fill their other glaring hole (pass rush), so a center just makes too much sense.
29. Baltimore -- Zach Brown. A great situation to harness a risky high upside player like Brown.
30. San Francisco -- (Previous pick - Peter Konz) Cordy Glenn.Sniped by the Green Bay Packers for Konz! Again, scouts have Glenn graded out well, even though we don't we're assuming he's going to be a first-round pick. The 49ers have a need on the offensive line, so Glenn fits.
31. New England -- (Previous pick -- Andre Branch) Michael Brockers. We'd be less concerned about Brockers if coach Bill Belichick thinks he can turn him into an anchor on the line. He has major question marks, but in the right situation he could develop very nicely.
32. New York Giants -- (Previous pick - Coby Fleener) Don'ta Hightower. After further consideration, Coby Fleener doesn't fit what the Giants like to do with their tight ends. Hightower may not be the best fit in the 4-3 due to lack of range, but he is the best player available and regardless of fit he is better than any MIKE linebacker currently on the roster.
Next time we're going to dive into Round 2.
Chambo & Marty's Mock Draft: Version 2 fantasysharks.comThu 3/22/12 9:06 AM