2012 NFL Draft Guesses Part 1: NFC

It's the most wonderful time of the year! The time when 32 NFL teams shell out millions of dollars to kids (well except for Brandon Weeden) who have not done a single thing at the professional level to earn it yet! Isn't that just swell?

So without further ado, here is what I think about every teams draft day decisions/(un)educated guesses.

Let's start off with the draft as a whole. The first two picks went off without a hitch, or suspense (A rule needs to be made about this. A fine for divulging who you are picking before the draft starts. Just something. That had less suspense than finding out who the Democratic nominee for President was this year), to the Indianapolis Colts and Washington Redskins.

Then, like someone gave the Draft a Viagra, things picked up to say the least.

Minnesota traded the third pick in the draft to Cleveland for the Browns' 1st- (Pk 4), 4th- (Pk 118), 5th- (Pk 139) and 7th-round (Pk 211) picks.

Tampa Bay traded the 5th pick overall to Jacksonville for the Jaguars' 1st- (Pk 7) and 4th-round (Pk 101) picks.

St. Louis dealt their 6th overall pick they received from Washington to Dallas for the Cowboys' 1st- (Pk 14) and 2nd-round (Pk 45) picks.

So just to recap, what was the original 3-7 overall picks (Minnesota, Cleveland, Tampa Bay, St. Louis, and Jacksonville) turned into Cleveland, Minnesota, Jacksonville, Dallas, and Tampa Bay with Dallas and St. Louis being the obvious big movers.

Now that the background info is out of the way, it is now time to finally place some sort of quantifiable value to these draft results. Except that you can't. How can I grade a group of guys just out of college that have yet to play a professional down? I am no Houdini (but I'm definitely better than Kazaam, how this was allowed to happen I will never know) therefore I cannot predict what will happen with these players. The best I can do is judge a team's draft performance based on the needs a team has addressed as well as how I think a player will end up panning out in the NFL, so it's essentially an opinionated shot-in-the-dark. Well here goes nothing.

NFC West

Arizona Cardinals- The Cardinals nabbed what some experts believed the best wide receiver in the draft in Notre Dame's Michael Floyd. Being about 6'3" 220 pounds with great jump ball ability and halfway decent speed (4.47 40-yard dash) Floyd will provide superstar Larry Fitzgerald with a dominant opposite receiver that he has been missing since Anquan Boldin went to the Baltimore Ravens. The problem is though if no one can get the ball to Floyd it won't matter what he can do. The Cardinals tried to solve their Kevin Kolb-John Skelton QB controversy (is it a controversy when both quarterbacks aren't good?) by drafting San Diego State quarterback Ryan Lindley in the 6th round and offensive tackle Bobby Massie in the 4th round. Completing only 53% of your passes against Mountain West competition does not bode well for Lindley however.

San Francisco 49ers- With all 11 starters coming back from a defense that allowed only 14.3 points per game last year, there was no need to take any high picks on that side of the ball. So they took early flyers, literally, in Illinois WR A.J. Jenkins and Oregon RB LaMichael James with their first two picks. Both of them ran mid to sub 4.4 second 40 yard dashes. Add that to the acquisition of whatever is left of Randy Moss, another year of learning (I would like to assume that happened but you know what happens when you assume) for Michael Crabtree, the monster that is Vernon Davis, and a healthy Frank Gore with his head not knocked sideways and the offense does not look half bad at all. The only question mark is still Alex Smith. I applaud what he did last year and he single handedly had the phrase "game manager" created for him, but it was still the first year we have seen this from him. Was it a fluke or has Jim Harbaugh figured out what Alex Smith's strengths are after all of these years. Smith is what will make or break this team's Super Bowl chances.

Seattle Seahawks- Well Mr. Carroll and the Seahawks sure do know how to raise a couple of eyebrows. The Poodle and the Seahawks picked DE Bruce Irvin with the 15th overall pick. He had so many off the field problems, such as being academically ineligible in high school and serving juvenile jail time for burglary, that he actually changed his name from B.J. to Bruce when he arrived at Mt. San Antonio College in California to get away from his past. I wish I was making this up. Now having said that he was a physical specimen once he got to West Virginia, utilizing his 4.5 speed to make opposing lineman look like a participant in this flash mob. Carroll did recruit Irvin when he was still coach at USC so if there was someone to reel this kid in it would be him. After picking Utah State LB Bobby Wagner in the second round to help mend the wounds of the Aaron Curry experiment (he was the 4th overall pick in the draft! see what I mean about grading these guys?) the Seahawks drafted Wisconsin QB Russell Wilson in the 3rd round. This comes after they signed super backup QB Matt Flynn to a 3 year $19.5 million dollar contract. I have no clue what Carroll has planned for Wilson but he was a winner at NC State and at Wisconsin and he's very athletic so I expect him to be a part of the offense in some form this year.


St. Louis Rams- It looked about as bad as that treasonous Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter movie. After first having the 2nd pick in the draft, they traded that for 3 first round picks (really two, one was RGIII) and a second round pick which I highly applauded. Then it was looking even better for them after Jacksonville moved up ahead of them to swipe WR Justin Blackmon and the Rams dealt their pick to Dallas for their first round pick (Pk 14) and their second round pick. This was the right move at the time with WR Michael Floyd still on the board. Then Arizona just went all Liam Neeson in "Taken" on the Rams draft plans by drafting Floyd. They end up drafting DT Michael Brockers from LSU with the 14th pick, too high for my liking. Instead of being proactive and going after Blackmon or Floyd they ended up with Appalachian State WR Brian Quick who is a big target (6'3" 220 pounds) but he has nowhere near the pedigree the other two receivers do. They need him to come in NOW and be dominant and I don't think it will happen for a while. They took a chance with all of those second round picks by using one of them on CB Janoris Jenkins. I am all for giving people a second chance if that person genuinely wants to redeem himself. He was the most dominant cornerback on a defense that had Joe Haden who was drafted 7th overall by the Cleveland Browns. If off the field issues cease to be an issue, he will be a stud. Overall just from the fact that they secured multiple 1st and 2nd round picks next year the draft was a success.


NFC North


Chicago Bears- It cannot go without saying that their biggest offseason acquisition of Brandon Marshall was massive even though it happened at the peak of Dolphins' GM Jeff Ireland's brain fart/yard sale of an offseason. But the Bears very quietly had a good draft as well. They chose Shea McClellin, a defensive end from Boise State. Every time I watched him he always had that Jared Allen/Sack before the quail hunt in Wedding Crashers crazy about him. I think that's always a good quality in a defensive end. Their next pick though could be the difference maker that team has looked for or an absolute bust. WR Alshon Jeffery from South Carolina. He's 6'4" and has weighed anywhere from 213 to 240 pounds. Which I believe is an issue for an NFL wide receiver. When he was fit and healthy he can get 7 catches, 127 yards, and 2 touchdowns against Alabama, dismantling 7th overall pick Mark Barron and 17th overall pick Dre Kirkpatrick in the process. Or he could be the guy who only had one 100 yard game last year. A Marshall-Jeffery-Cutler trio could bring havoc to this division.


Detroit Lions- Jeff Backus you are the weakest link. Being in Ann Arbor this past year I got to watch my fair share of Lions games on TV. The one thing I always noticed was either Backus getting called for holding, being flat out beat off the edge, or put on his back. His time is up. The Lions drafted Iowa OT Reilly Reiff to replace him. Another good pick from a franchise that is now back on track...except for the defense. Front seven, no problem. Back four, more porous than water through a colander. So what do the Lions do with their second pick? Draft a wide receiver of course, Ryan Broyles. Hell they didn't draft the best receiver available at the time (Reuben Randle). Does he hold the FBS (Division I for normal people like you and me) for career receptions? Yes. Did he also tear his ACL last year? Yes. Were they already 4th in the league in passing yards and did they draft a wide receiver last year? Yes and yes (Titus Young). So he's going to be the fifth or sixth best receiver on the team and they drafted him as their 2nd pick. They did get a cornerback with their next pick, Dwight Bentley from Lousiana-Lafayette, yes they did. But again in that 2nd round Trumaine Johnson, Jayron Hosley, Josh Robinson, Jamell Fleming, and others were there for the taking. That would have benefited the Lions a lot more than a player who will barely get playing time this year.


Green Bay Packers- Their first 6 picks of the draft were all on the defensive side of the ball which is good because well to say it kindly, if the Lions secondary was water through a colander, the Packers secondary was Niagara Falls through a chain link fence. Dead last in passing yards allowed. But here is where things get weird. Their defense is the ultimate example of bend-don't-break. They were 32nd in passing yards allowed but 1st in interceptions and 10th in QB rating against. So what is obviously happening is, the pass rush can't get to the quarterback, the offense marches down the field, the shorter field helps the defensive backs and they pick the balls off then. Enter USC DE Nick Perry and Michigan State DT Jerel Worthy to improve on the 27th most sacks last year and another ball-hawk to the list in cornerback Casey Hayward.


Minnesota Vikings- The Vikings were the very first winners of the draft by gaining a 4th, 5th, and 7th round pick by simply moving down a pick from third to fourth. And they still got the player they were going to get all along in the left tackle of the future Matt Khalil from USC. That's taking candy from a baby. They desperately needed someone to look after Christian Ponder's (or whatever quarterback is starting in 2 years) blind side. Playing against Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, and Jay Cutler a combined 6 times a year it is highly recommended that you are either able to outscore them or attempt to stop them. The Vikings are in no place to try and outscore anyone especially after this gruesome injury to their one offensive star. They got Notre Dame S Harrison Smith who started all four years there as well as speedster (he ran a 4.33 40) CB Josh Robinson from UCF. The Vikings then added some weapons for Ponder with Arkansas wide receivers Jarius Wright and Greg Childs in the 4th round. It's a start but they still have a long way to go, most notably seeing if Christian Ponder is a legitimate franchise quarterback.

NFC South


Atlanta Falcons- The Falcons have now felt the true impact of the Julio Jones draft day trade of last year. With no first round pick to either draft or deal for more picks, these guys had more bite than the Falcons. They drafted a center who will start on Day 1 in Wisconsin's Peter Konz...and that was basically it. They better hope Julio Jones has a breakout campaign this year or else the boo birds will start to come out.


Carolina Panthers- Joining a hopefully healthy beast in Jon Beason is Boston College LB Luke Kueckly, who can basically do anything a linebacker is ever asked to do, stuff the run, cover the pass, tackle in space, force turnovers. He's the real deal. He is a defensive Andrew Luck, extremely polished in his craft and very smart. I do not think they addressed one key weakness of theirs: the secondary. They allowed the most passing yards per attempt in the league and had the third highest QB rating against. The only defensive backs they took were in the 5th and 7th rounds. That's not going to get the job done with their current squad: Chris Gamble, R.J. Stanford, Charles Godfrey, and Sherrod Martin. She shares my disgust. Cam can only score so may points, the defense is going to have to make some plays once in a while to help him and what the Panthers did does not come close to accomplish that.


New Orleans Saints- Talk about a bad offseason. Did Nicolas Cage and Adam Sandler get word that this team was a new movie or something? Holy shit...I mean no head coach, no GM for 8 games plus if he gets something for this new listening to opposing coaches allegation, the heart of the defense Jonathan Vilma suspended for the year plus more defensive players for an extended period, first round pick taken, no second round pick, hell they still haven't signed Drew Brees to a long term deal yet. They are beyond disarray. They could go 10-6 or 6-10, no one has the slightest clue how the players will react when it comes game time. So I'm just throwing my hands up at this one, no analysis can explain what may happen. Wisconsin WR Nick Toon is the only possible bright spot they have had in months.


Tampa Bay Buccaneers- If Josh Freeman can return to the form he was two years ago this team has a chance to disrupt some plans. With the 7th pick they drafted Alabama S Mark Barron who flys to the ball, isn't afraid to play in the box, and can be a threat to intercept any ball around him. The Bucs had another 1st round pick too and with that they drafted Boise State RB Doug Martin with the 31st pick. A combination of him and LeGarrette Blount could spell trouble for the rest of the division. I just wonder if this little incident is now water under the bridge between them. Hopefully it is because this duo will be an exciting 1-2 punch to watch. The Bucs then scored big in the 2nd round by drafting Nebraska LB Levonte David. This kid brings an energy to the position that has been missing since Derrick Brooks left. They snuck up on us two years ago, they have the recipe to do it again this year.


NFC East


Dallas Cowboys- Jerry Jones sure does know how to shock America and even his own draft picks. Shooting up from the 14th pick to the 6th pick while giving St. Louis their 2nd round pick, the Cowboys selected LSU CB Morris Claiborne, the most opportunistic defensive back to come out of the Draft in years. It is like he is a glitchy NCAA Football video game, sometimes running the receivers' routes ahead of them. My first reaction when I found out he scored a 4 on the Wonderlic Test was that I couldn't care less because the test has nothing to do with football and should be finally abolished. Claiborne then said this about his performance on the test, "I came to the Combine for football and I didn't see any football questions on the test. So I didn't finish it. That test doesn't tell me who I am." He truly had me at hello. He is 100% right. I am all for destroying this test of nothing. The combination of Claiborne, top free agent cornerback Brandon Carr, and a decent year by Mike Jenkins will do this team wonders next year.


New York Giants- The defending champs needed to draft a running back. They lost Brandon Jacobs in free agency, who averaged less than 4 yards a carry anyways, and they were dead last in the rushing department in the NFL. So they drafted RB David Wilson from Virginia Tech with the last pick of the 1st round. He will be a very good complement to Ahmad Bradshaw. Let's hope he does not take these habits (Go Blue!!!!) with him to the professional level. Yes that is a 22 yard loss on a run you just witnessed. With no fumble. Plays like that will turn Tom Coughlin's skin tone into the color of a fire truck. With the loss of Super Bowl savior WR Mario Manningham (again Go Blue!!!!) to the 49ers, the Giants nabbed WR Rueben Randle from LSU who's big body (6'4" 210 pounds) will be the red zone target Eli Manning has been desperately needing. Rounding out their draft the Giants drafted CB Jayron Hosley in the 3rd round, another great steal. This comes after basically all of their cornerbacks and their brothers got seriously injured. Look for another Super Bowl run from the New York Football Giants.


Philadelphia Eagles- The focus of the draft for the Eagles was defense and they accomplished this by drafting Mississippi State DT Fletcher Cox, Cal LB Mychal Kendricks, and Marshall DE Vinny Curry. This fits what announcers and analysts last year contracted verbal diarrhea from, the Wide 9 defense. At least once a game it had to be mentioned by someone on TV and absolutely zero people watching cared. I'm happy this was finally replaced by Jon Gruden and Andrew Luck's Spider 2 and 3 Y Banana. They used their 3rd round pick on Arizona QB Blaine Gabbert, I mean Fabio, sorry third time's a charm Nick Foles. Knowing Michael Vick's injury history too well, Foles will get an opportunity to get in at least a game or two this year. Closing out their top picks they selected Georgia CB/WR/KR/PR Brandon Boykin at he end of the 4th round who will have to contribute immediately with the departure of Asante Samuel.


Washington Redskins- Let the career comparisons of Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck officially begin. As far as I'm concerned RG3 is already winning by a count of 4-1 with the one in Luck's favor only being that he was drafted before RG3. Griffin was on the cover of ESPN Magazine and the cover of  Sports Illustrated leading up to the draft. He got the cover of NCAA Football 13 with Barry Sanders. And his first trading card was released, which by the way makes him look beyond awesome. Griffin has a MUCH better supporting cast around him so him outperforming Luck this year is a reality. Paying so much to get him cost them valuable picks this year and next but it will be worth it. The big hoopla recently was the media attention the drafting of Michigan State QB Kirk Cousins in the 4th round. Why this was blown up so much I have no logical answer for you. Griffin is their franchise quarterback for the next 10+ years, Cousins is an average insurance policy so the Redskins fans don't have to see the likes of Rex Grossman or John Beck again if Griffin gets hurt at any point. Simple. There is no quarterback controversy. That is not physically possible when you draft a quarterback with the 2nd overall pick. It is, as Stephen A. Smith would say, asinine, asi-ten, asi-eleven, and asi-twelve that KIRK COUSINS will challenge RG3 with the starting job. Let the positive future of that franchise begin.




AFC analysis coming later this weekend.