2012 NFL Mock Draft: Which Late First-Round Picks Will Surprise?

Just because someone isn't a high pick, doesn't mean that he won't make an impact in the NFL. Often times, the impact is felt by the players in the later part of the draft. The high picks go to better teams, get to play comfortable roles and aren't asked to do too much.

None of these players are going to be selected in the Top 16 of the draft. But by this time next year, we will be talking about the impact that they made.

Mark Barron

The Alabama safety has something that few other players have—diversity. He can play the run, as well as the pass, and that's what makes him valuable to a team like the Giants. 

The NFL has become a league that's dominated by offenses, specifically passing offenses. Many of those teams have defenses that can't do anything against the run. 

Barron is more than capable of coming up into the box to go against the run. He's also able to drop back and defend the pass, which is becoming more of a need in the NFL.

As a senior, Barron will step into the NFL and make a big impact on Sunday. 

Luke Kuechly

Kuechly is another player who will to step in and help a team that needs to defend the run better. There's no shortage of those teams in the NFL. Kuechly's best attribute is that there's very little risk around him.

He's a sure tackler and just doesn't make mistakes. Kuechly moves around the field well.

Teams picking in the later half of the draft are normally some of the better teams in the league. Kuechly won't be as needed to lead the defense. He'll have the players around him, and will just need to stay in the middle, tackling ball carriers. 

Peter Konz

Because he doesn't play a "premium position," Konz will fall to the second half of the first round. But when he's actually on the field, Konz is going to be one of the top immediate impact players, and will be good for a long time. 

It's hard to win in the NFL without a good center. Someone has to get the ball to the quarterback, and then protect the middle of the field for the running back. 

That's what Konz will do. The team that lands him will get an impact center for a long time. Few teams can't use that.

Order of picks 1-20 is here.

* denotes that a coin flip will be used to determine the order of picking.

Picks 21-32 will be officially determined by playoff finish.

Pick	Team	Player
1.	Indianapolis Colts	Andrew Luck
2.	St. Louis Rams	Matt Kalil
3.	Minnesota Vikings	Justin Blackmon
4.	Cleveland Browns	Trent Richardson
5.	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Dre Kirkpatrick
6.	Washington Redskins	Robert Griffin III
7.	Jacksonville Jaguars	Dre Kirkpatrick
8.*	Carolina Panthers	Vontaze Burfict
9.*	Miami Dolphins	Landry Jones
10.	Buffalo Bills	Jonathan Martin
11.*	Kansas City Chiefs	Riley Reiff
12.*	Seattle Seahawks	Alshon Jeffery
13.	Arizona Cardinals	David DeCastro
14.	Dallas Cowboys	Alfonzo Dennard
15.	Philadelphia Eagles	Zach Brown
16.	New York Jets	Cordy Glenn
17.	Cincinnati Bengals (via Oak)	Michael Floyd
18.	San Diego Chargers	Zebrie Sanders
19.	Chicago Bears	Dont'a Hightower
20.	Tennessee Titans	Mohamed Sanu
21.	Denver Broncos	Devon Still
22.	New York Giants	Mark Barron
23.	Houston Texans	Fletcher Cox
24.	Detroit Lions	Luke Kuechly
25.	Cincinnati Bengals	Lamar Miller
26.	Cleveland Browns (via ATL)	Kendall Wright
27.	Pittsburgh Steelers	Courtney Upshaw
28.	New England Patriots	Janoris Jenkins
29.	Baltimore Ravens	Peter Konz
30.	San Francisco 49ers	Stephon Gilmore
31.	New England Patriots	Jared Crick
32.	Green Bay Packers	Melvin Ingram

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