My Fifth NFL Mock Draft

Welcome to my fifth 2012 NFL mock draft. Since my last mock draft free agency has started and is a week old and today Peyton Manning has decided to sign with the Broncos. I still do predict trades in my mock drafts, because that’s what makes this so much fun! But in this draft I will explain some of the trades I have executed. 

1)    Colts- Andrew Luck QB Stanford: Manning to Denver. Luck to Indy. NEXT!

2)    Redskins- Robert Griffin III QB Baylor: Luck goes #1, Redskins picking at #2, need a QB? RGIII. NEXT!

TRADE ALERT!!! The Vikings trade the #3 overall pick to the Dolphins for the #8, #42 overall picks and their 2013 first round pick.

Explanation: With both Manning and Matt Flynn choosing not to go to the Dolphins they are in a fight with the Browns (who pick fourth) to get Ryan Tannehill.

3)    Dolphins- Ryan Tannehill QB Texas A&M: The Dolphins need a franchise QB and with striking out on Flynn and Manning, a trade for Tannehill is needed.

4)    Browns- Trent Richardson RB Bama: The Browns offseason hasn’t been that great, and with no QB option available they give current QB Colt McCoy a focal point offensive threat in the all-around back, Richardson.

5)    Buccaneers- Morris Claiborne CB LSU: The Bucs made the best splash in free agency signing WR Vincent Jackson, guard Carl Nicks, and CB Eric Wright. But still the addition of Wright doesn’t mean the Bucs can pass on Claiborne. In the NFC and especially in the NFC South you need three or more good corners.

6)    Rams- Justin Blackmon WR Okla St: The Rams need a number one WR threat for franchise QB Sam Bradford. Blackmon is the best WR in the draft.

7)    Jaguars- Melvin Ingram DE South Carolina: The Jaguars signed former Cowboy WR Laurent Robinson so the Jaguars can wait till round two to add a young WR so DE gets the nod.

8)    Vikings- Matt Kalil OT USC: The Vikings get their man at eight instead of three and pick up another second round pick and a first round next year… SCORE!!

9)    Panthers- Quinton Coples DE UNC: The Panthers need defensive line help, Colpes will likely play left end but could slide inside to DT on third downs.

10) Bills- Riley Reiff OT Iowa: The Bills made a big splash by signing Mario Williams to a $100 Million dollar deal. The Bills will then turn their efforts into getting a franchise left tackle.

11) Chiefs- Dontari Poe NT Memphis: The Chiefs have a great young defense but are missing a noise tackle. Poe made himself a lot of money at the combine.

12) Seahawks- Luke Kuechly MLB BC: The Seahawks signed Matt Flynn and re-signed Red Bryant and signed former Titians DE Jason Jones so the Seahawks have taken care of their two biggest needs in free agency so they turn to finding their defensive leader in the draft.

13) Cardinals- Jonathon Martin OT Stanford: The Cardinals didn’t get Manning but still need a new left tackle.

14) Cowboys- Mark Baron S Bama: The Cowboys signed former Chiefs CB Brandon Carr and former Bengals guard Nate Irving so they spend their first round pick on the best safety in the draft.

15) Eagles- Michael Brockers DT LSU: Eagles head coach Andy Reid loves drafting linemen. Some depth at DT is needed so Andy does what Andy wants.

16) Jets- Dont’a Hightower ILB Bama: The Jets added former Redskins safety LaRon Landry in free agency and with ILB Bart Scott likely to be cut a young combo of Hightower and pro bowler David Harris will be another strong point of this great Jets defense.

17) Bengals- David DeCastro G Stanford: The Bengals have lost guard Nate Irving in free agency and need a new starting left guard, DeCastro is the best guard prospect in years.

18) Chargers- Courtney Upshaw OLB Bama: The Chargers lost Vincent Jackson to the Bucs but signed former Saints WR Robert Meachem and former Broncos WR Eddie Royal to replace Jackson and add depth. They resigned their starting left tackle and center and added former Ravens OLB Jarret Johnson but still need someone on the other side. The Chargers are reportedly high on Upshaw.

19) Bears- Mike Adams OT Ohio St: The Bears won big in the trade for Brandon Marshall. With the big play WR on the roster the Bears turn their attention to fixing the offensive line and that all important left tackle spot.

20) Titians- Nick Perry DE USC: The Titians just signed former Raider DE Kamerion Wimbley to a five year deal but still other starting DE Derrick Morgan hasn’t be able to stay healthy so adding another DE is a must.

21) Bengals- Dre Kirkpatrick CB Bama: The Bengals added the guard they needed at 17 and now draft a starting corner at 21.

22) Browns- Michael Floyd WR Norte Dame: The Browns added a RB at four and now give McCoy at big tall red zone target to throw to.

23) Lions- Janoris Jenkins CB North Bama: The Lions resigned OT Jeff Backus and signed former Colts CB Jacob Lacey but Lacey is likely to replace Eric Wright who went to Tampa Bay and depth was needed before Wright left.

24) Steelers- Cordy Glenn G/T Georgia: The Steelers like last year’s right tackle Marcus Gilbert a lot and plan to move him to left tackle. Glenn can play guard (a position the Steelers need to address) or right tackle.

25) Broncos- Fletcher Cox DT Miss St: The Broncos signed Manning to a 5year, $96 Million dollar deal, that means one or both of the starting DTs Brodrick Bunkley or Marcus Thomas won’t return to the Broncos in 2012.

26) Texans- Kendall Wright WR Baylor: The Texans need a speed WR to play opposite of Andre Johnson.

27) Patriots- Stephon Gilmore CB South Carolina: The Patriots signed former Rams WR Brandon Lloyd and former Colts WR Anthony Gonzales. So the WR position has been fixed. The Patriots then instead add another big CB to their roster.

28) Packers- Whitney Mercilus OLB Illinois: The Packers could draft a center here to replace Scott Wells leaving in free agency but pass rush is a bigger need.

29) Ravens- Peter Konz C/G Wisconsin: The Ravens lost guard Ben Grubbs to the Saints in free agency and with Matt Birk back but still at age 35 he doesn’t have much left. Konz can start at guard to replace Grubbs and then take over at center in a year or two.

30) 49ers- Stephen Hill WR Georgia Tech: The 49ers signed Randy Moss to a one year deal and former Giants WR Mario Manningham to a two year deal. Still drafting Hill is a good year because it will probably take two years to fully develop him into the big play receiver he can be.

TRADE ALERT!!! The Patriots trade the #31 and the #63 overall picks to the Bills for the #41 overall pick and their 2013 first round pick.

31) Bills- Brandon Weeden QB Okla St: The Bills got their DE in free agency and their left tackle at ten and at 31 they draft a (29 years old) rookie to push or even take over for starter Ryan Fitzpatrick if he fails to live up to his contract.

32) Giants- Bobby Massie OT Ole Miss: The Giants need to add a tackle in this draft; Massie is rising up draft boards and could get pushed into the first round as the fifth OT tackle.

33) Colts- Rueben Randle WR LSU: The Colts lost WR Pierre Garcon in free agency so they need to give Andrew Luck a speed threat at WR.

34) Rams- Zebrie Sanders OT Florida St: The Rams need to find a new OT in this draft, Sanders has the skill set to play both left and right tackle.

35) Vikings- Harrison Smith S Norte Dame: The Vikings secondary needs a complete makeover. Smith is a border line first round pick but he has some ball hawking skills.

36) Buccaneers- David Wilson RB Virginia Tech: The Bucs could go corner again here but a speed RB to go with LeGarrette Blount and his power running style.

TRADE ALERT!!! The Browns trade the #37 overall pick to the Seahawks for the #43 overall and their fourth round pick.

37) Seahawks- Kendall Reyes DT UConn: The Seahawks fixed their DE position in free agency but still need to add a DT.

38) Jaguars- Jerel Worthy DT Mich St: The Jaguars need a WR but with WR worth the pick here they draft Worthy. The Jags starters are good but tend to get hurt so depth is needed.

39) Rams- Zach Brown OLB UNC: The Rams need to add a young OLB in this draft. With two second round picks and three in the top 39 overall they should draft Brown.

40) Panthers- Devon Still DT Penn St: The Panthers continue to boost their defensive line and draft Still.

41) Patriots- Andre Branch DE Clemson: The Patriots need to add pass rush to a defense that got all its pass rush from veteran free agents.

42) Vikings- Trumaine Johnson CB/S Montana: The Vikings add a big corner for their press cover two style defense.

43) Browns- Kirk Cousins QB Mich St: The Browns need to bring in some kind of competition for Colt McCoy.

44) Chiefs- Kevin Zeitler G Wisconsin: The Chiefs need to add a young guard to their roster. Zeitler could start from day one.

45) Cowboys- Vinny Curry OLB Marshall: The Cowboys need to add some depth at OLB.

46) Eagles- Lavonte David OLB Nebraska: The Eagles linebackers need to be upgraded. David is rising up draft boards.

47) Jets- Chandler Jones OLB Syracuse: The Jets could add some pass rush depth at OLB behind recently re-signed OLB Bryan Thomas.

48) Patriots- Doug Martin RB Boise St: The Patriots could lose “The Law Firm” in free agency so a replacement is going to be needed.

49) Chargers-Dwight Bently CB LA-Lafayette: The Chargers need to add some talent at CB in this draft.

50) Bears- Coby Fleener TE Stanford: The Bears need to add a TE to their roster since last year’s starter Kellen Davis had only 18 catches last year.

51) Eagles- Lamar Miller RB Miami: The Eagles don’t need a RB but Miller is the best talent on the Board and could be needed if McCoy gets seriously hurt in 2012.

52) Titans- Josh Robinson CB UCF: The Titans lost starting CB Cortland Finnegan to the Rams in free agency so some depth is needed.

53) Bengals- Chase Minnifield CB/S Virginia: The Bengals re-signed Reggie Nelson but still adding Minnifield for depth at CB and safety is good, especially since you can never have too many good corners.

TRADE ALERT!!! The Lions trade the #54 overall pick to the Packers for the #60 overall pick and a third and sixth round picks.

54) Packers- Philip Blake C Baylor: The Packers lost starting center Scott Wells in free agency so adding his replacement is needed and with teams like the Falcons (55) and Saints (59) looking to add a center, the high price trade with division rival Lions.

55) Falcons- Dwayne Allen TE Clemson: Falcons star TE Tony Gonzales almost retired this offseason so it is clearly time to find his replacement. Allen was once considered a first round pick so a steal for the Falcons at 55.

56) Steelers- Brandon Thompson NT Clemson: A new noise tackle is needed for that older Steelers defense.

57) Broncos- LaMichael James RB Oregon: Peyton Manning likes to throw to his running back, James is a Darren Sproles like RB that Manning would love to have.

58) Texans- Ronnell Lewis OLB Oklahoma: With Mario Williams the Texans had a great three man rotation at OLB, with Williams leaving in free agency to the Bills a third OLB behind starters Connor Barwin and Brooks Reed.

59) Saints- Alson Jeffery WR South Carolina: The Saints lost WR Robert Meachem to the Chargers in free agency so WR depth has become at need.

60) Lions- Andrew Datkio OT Florida St: The Lions need to add a tackle in either the first or second round in the draft.

61) Ravens- Mohamed Sanu WR Rutgers: The Lee Evans trade was a total bust so the Ravens need to add a third WR to go with current starting WRs Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith.

62) 49ers- Amini Silatolu Midwestern St: The 49ers need to fix their offensive line which gave up way too many sacks last year.

63) Bills- Jayron Hosley CB Virginia Tech: The Bills could add some depth at CB.

64) Giants- Alfonzo Dennard CB Nebraska: The Giants lost Aaron Ross to the Jaguars in free agency so adding a young CB would be a good idea.