NFL Draft 2012: First Round Projections for All 32 Teams

The National Football League has concluded the 2011 regular season, and while supporters of a dozen squads get to gear up for a playoff run fans of the other twenty teams are left with a bad taste in their mouths from another disappointing campaign.

One of the best ways to wash the taste away is to take a hopeful look forward to this April's 2012 NFL Draft, so in the spirit of there's always next year here's an updated look at how the first round could shake out on April 26th, with a hypothetical trade or two thrown in just for the heck of it.

1.01 Indianapolis Colts

THE PICK: Andrew Luck—QB, Stanford

Whether the Colts take Luck to function as Peyton Manning's understudy for a year or two before taking the reins or throw him into the fire after parting ways with Peyton (which is unlikely), the Stanford signal-caller is the obvious choice here.

1.02: Miami Dolphins (from St. Louis Rams)

THE PICK (after hypothetical trade): Robert Griffin III—QB, Baylor

Matt Moore played fairly well for the Dolphins in 2011, but a Miami franchise desperate to become relevant again in the South Florida sports scene will offer the Rams a Godfather offer even better than what the Cleveland Browns got for the Julio Jones pick to move up and grab the Heisman Trophy winner.

Will he be the franchise quarterback the Dolphins desperately need? Maybe, but the splashy play will certainly make headlines.

1.03: Minnesota Vikings

THE PICK: Matt Kalil—OT, USC

Morris Claiborne would be a tempting pick here given the dreadful state of the Minnesota secondary. But  when the opportunity to draft a stud left tackle presents itself you take it, especially if you're grooming a young quarterback such as the Vikings are with Christian Ponder.

1.04 Cleveland Browns

THE PICK: Justin Blackmon—WR, Oklahoma State

Whether the Cleveland Browns give quarterback Colt McCoy one more year or make a play for free agent Matt Flynn of the Green Bay Packers, whoever is under center will need playmakers, and Blackmon would give the Browns the true number one wideout they so desperately need.

1.05 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

THE PICK: Trent Richardson—RB, Alabama

While LeGarrette Blount has shown some flashes of talent in Tampa Bay, he's also shown an inability to hang onto the football and a complete disinterest in pass protection, so the Buccaneers will move on by taking the draft's best ballcarrier.

1.06 Washington Redskins

THE PICK: Landry Jones—QB, Oklahoma

The current quarterbacks for the Washington Redskins are John Beck and Rex Grossman.

I repeat, the current quarterbacks for the Washington Redskins are John Beck and Rex Grossman.

EDIT: On January 5th Jones announced that he will return to Oklahoma, so it's very possible at this point that the Redskins will be desperate to move up in the draft to get Robert Griffin.

Or they could trade down, grab an extra pick, and look for a quarterback in Round Two

Or they could stand pat and look to address the offensive or defensive line.

Gotta love Daniel Snyder. Anything's possible.

1.07: Denver Broncos (from Jacksonville Jaguars)

THE PICK (after one lulu of a hypothetical trade): Morris Claiborne—CB, LSU

After being destroyed in the AFC wildcard round John Elway and the Denver Broncos will make a trade that sends to two fan bases into an apoplectic fit: dealing quarterback Tim Tebow to the Jacksonville Jaguars in a megatrade that makes the Herschel Walker deal look rational.

The Broncos will then use the first of the many picks acquired in the deal to address an aging secondary by selecting the draft's best cornerback in Claiborne, who's a gift at seventh overall.

1.08: Carolina Panthers

THE PICK: Courtney Upshaw—DE/OLB, Alabama

The Panthers started featuring more 3-4 defensive looks as the season progressed, and if the Panthers wish to continue that transition Upshaw would provide them just the sort of versatility they'd be looking for with the ability to play both 4-3 DE and 3-4 OLB.

1.09: St. Louis Rams (from Miami Dolphins)

THE PICK: Riley Reiff—OT, Iowa

After trading the down the St. Louis Rams are still able to address one of their biggest needs by grabbing the All Big Ten tackle, who would upgrade an offensive line that allowed  a league leading 55 sacks in 2011.

1.10: Buffalo Bills

THE PICK: Dre Kirkpatrick—CB, Alabama

The Buffalo Bills were a middle-of-the-pack defense in 2011 and Drayton Florence and Leodis McKelvin are average at best, so Kirkpatrick could step in immediately as a starter opposite Terrence McGee at cornerback.

1.11: Kansas City Chiefs

THE PICK: David DeCastro—Guard, Stanford

The Chiefs have a number of areas of need, but with one of them being the interior of the offensive line the 2011 consensus All-American would start from day one and likely represents the best player available to Kansas City in this slot.

1.12: Seattle Seahawks

THE PICK: Quinton Coples—DE/DT, North Carolina

Coples was somewhat disappointing in his senior season in Chapel Hill, but the 6'6" 285 pound Coples would improve the Seattle run defense, give them a more viable end to take attention from Chris Clemons, and could kick inside to tackle in obvious passing situations.

1.13 Arizona Cardinals

THE PICK: Jonathan Martin—OT, Stanford

The Cardinals offensive line allowed the second most sacks in the NFL in 2011 and Levi Brown is scheduled to make $18 million in the last year of his contract, including a $9.6 million bonus, so it's time for the Redbirds to look ahead at the position.

1.14: Dallas Cowboys

THE PICK: Alfonzo Dennard—CB, Nebraska

Just in case you missed them getting abused last Sunday night, the Cowboys pass defense, is, um, not good, and while Dennard isn't a mind blowing talent he's a solid player who would instantly improve the Cowboys secondary.

1.15: Philadelphia Eagles

THE PICK: Michael Floyd—WR, Notre Dame

With DeSean Jackson's future in the City of Brotherly Love very much in doubt the Eagles need a receiver to pair with Jeremy Maclin, making the selection of Floyd an easy call for the Eagles here.

1.16: New York Jets

THE PICK: Whitney Mercilus—DE/OLB, Illinois

The Jets could stand to upgrade their pass rush, so while some may consider Mercilus a bit of a reach this early the FBS sack leader could be a nice fit for the Jets as a rush 3-4 OLB, although the pick may give a few fans Vernon Gholston flashbacks.

1.17: Cincinnati Bengals (from Oakland Raiders)

THE PICK: Alshon Jeffery—WR, South Carolina

The Bengals have two first round picks in the 2012 draft compliments of the Carson Palmer fleecing, and Mike Brown will spend the first of those selections to give the Bengals another offensive weapon opposite A.J. Green in Cincinnati.

1.18: San Diego Chargers

THE PICK: Cordy Glenn—G, Georgia

This choice may be the biggest reach of the first round to this point, but A.J. Smith gets another year to screw things up in San Diego, and with Kris Dielman considering retirement the Chargers have a huge need on the interior of their offensive line.

1.19: Chicago Bears

THE PICK: Nick Perry—DE, USC

Israel Idonije is 31 years old, a replacement level talent, and a free agent, so it makes sense for the Bears to grab a new batterymate for Julius Peppers with the 2011 Hendricks award finalist from Southern Cal.

1.20: Tennessee Titans

THE PICK: Stephon Gilmore—CB, South Carolina

The Titans have a number of needs, including along both the offensive and defensive lines, but with cornerback Cortland Finnegan sure to command a king's ransom in free agency the Titans may be forced to look for his replacement in the draft.

1.21: Denver Broncos

THE PICK: Ryan Tannehill—QB, Texas A&M

After creating the offseason's biggest story by dealing quarterback Tim Tebow to the Jacksonville Jaguars the Broncos will look to the future at the position with the second of their first round picks, selecting Tannehill to serve as free agent acquisition Jason Campbell's clipboard holder for a season or two.

1.22: New York Giants

THE PICK: Luke Kuechly—ILB, Boston College

If the 2011 Butkus and Nagurski award winner falls to the Giants at 22 they should cartwheel their way to the podium, as Kuechly, who had 191 tackles last year for the Eagles, would instantly fill a glaring need in the middle of the New York defense.

1.23: Houston Texans

THE PICK: Devon Still—DT/DE, Penn State

The Texans might grab the steal of the first round if they can nab Still in this spot.

The 6'5" 310 pound Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year could be a force in the middle of Wade Phillips' 3-4 defense, as Phillips prefers smaller penetrating tackles ala Jay Ratliff to the beefeating blocker-engagers favored in many 3-4 schemes.

1.24: Cincinnati Bengals

THE PICK: Mark Barron—SS, Alabama

Reggie Nelson's a free agent coming off a breakout season playing for the cheapest owner in the NFL and Chris Crocker is so-so, so the Bengals could well be looking for some help at the safety position.

1.25: Cleveland Browns (from Atlanta Falcons)

THE PICK: Lamar Miller—RB, Miami

With Peyton Hillis a free agent after an awful season, the Browns will bid Madden Curse '12 adieu and use their second first-rounder to continue their offseason overhaul at the offensive skill positions.

Flynn. Blackmon. Miller.

Hope Springs Eternal for Browns Nation. At least until the season starts.

1.26: Detroit Lions

THE PICK: Peter Konz—C, Wisconsin

This pick makes so much sense that I'm almost certain it won't happen.

Lions starter Dominic Raiola is a 33 year-old middling talent who isn't nearly worth his $4 million paycheck, so out with the old, in with the new.

1.27: Pittsburgh Steelers

THE PICK: Dont'a Hightower—ILB, Alabama

With James Farrior nearing the end of the line and Lawrence Timmons coming off a miserable 2011 campaign Hightower could be a classic Pittsburgh value pick, filling a need that may not even seem to be there yet in a year or two.

1.28: San Francisco 49ers

THE PICK: Zach Brown—OLB, North Carolina

With Ahmad Brooks possibly set to depart via free agency the 49ers could fill that gap easily with Brown, who topped 90 tackles last year and is one of the fastest linebackers available in this class.

1.29: Baltimore Ravens

THE PICK: Vontaze Burfict—ILB, Arizona State

This pick should terrify people.

If Ray Lewis and fellow Arizona State standout Terrell Suggs can get Burfict to pull his head out of his butt and get him to put his foot in everyone else's, the playmaking linebacker could make the Ravens defense even more formidable.

1.30: Green Bay Packers

THE PICK: Chris Polk—RB, Washington

While there are other holes to plug in Titletown (if you can call them that, as the Packers appear to be doing OK), Ted Thompson is known for being a best player available type, and selecting Polk here might just allow him to kill two birds with one hunk of cheese.

1.31: Oakland Raiders (from New England Patriots)

THE PICK (after hypothetical trade): Kendall Wright—WR, Baylor

The New England Patriots continue their recent history of trading down in the draft, while the Oakland Raiders pay homage to Al Davis by drafting a fast player for no real reason other than he's fast.

R.I.P. Mr. Davis. Draft won't be the same without you.

1.32: New England Patriots (from New Orleans Saints)

THE PICK: Chase Minnifield—CB, Virginia

Just in case you hadn't been watching the NFL this season the New England secondary is horrible on a level that defies description.

It's why we must have them in the Super Bowl, if only because a New Orleans or Green Bay vs. New England Super Bowl will have an over/under line of approximately 340.