2012 NFL Mock Draft: Analyzing Effect of Landry Jones' Decision to Stay

On Thursday, Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones announced that he will return to school for his senior season.

Jones, who most draft analysts had as their No. 3 quarterback behind Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, was looking likely to be a first-round pick in April's 2012 NFL draft if he had chosen to come out.  

Now that Jones is out, how does that effect the rest of the 2012 first round? Let's take a quick look at some of the picks that may be effected. 

1.  Indianapolis Colts—Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford

2.  St. Louis Rams—Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State

3.  Minnesota Vikings—Matt Kalil, OT, USC

4.  Cleveland Browns—Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor

5.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers—Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU 

6.  Washington Redskins—Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina

7.  Jacksonville Jaguars—Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa 

8.  Carolina Panthers—Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame

9.  Miami Dolphins—Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina

Would the Dolphins have pulled the trigger on Jones at No. 8? That might have been a stretch. However, the Dolphins do need a franchise quarterback, and Jones' decision to return to Oklahoma drains another top level prospect from the pool.

They'll likely look at other positions in April.  

10.  Buffalo Bills—Courtney Upshaw, OLB, Alabama

11.  Seattle Seahawks—Brandon Weeden QB, Oklahoma State

Now that Jones is back in school, his in-state quarterback rival will likely be the draft's No. 3 quarterback.

Will a quarterback-needy team like the Seahawks go after Weeden this early? It's certainly possible, especially after we saw both Christian Ponder and Jake Locker go incredibly early last April.

His age (Weeden will be 28-years-old by the time he's in an NFL training camp) is concerning, but remember that Kurt Warner was 28 when he made his first NFL start. 

12.  Kansas City Chiefs—Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama

13.  Arizona Cardinals—Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford 

14.  Philadelphia Eagles—Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College

15.  New York Jets—Ronnell Lewis, LB, Oklahoma

16.  Cincinnati Bengals—Zach Brown, LB, North Carolina

17.  San Diego Chargers—David DeCastro, OG Stanford

18.  Chicago Bears—Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama

19.  Dallas Cowboys—Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama

20.  Tennessee Titans—Melvin Ingram, DE, South Carolina

21.  Denver Broncos—Devon Still, DT, Penn State

22.  New York Giants—Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina  

23.  Cincinnati Bengals—Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor 

24.  Houston Texans—Dont'a Hightower, LB, Alabama

25.  Cleveland Browns—Mike Adams, OT, Ohio State 

26.  Detroit Lions—Alfonzo Dennard, CB, Nebraska

27.  Pittsburgh Steelers—Cordy Glenn, OL, Georgia

28.  Baltimore Ravens—Vontaze Burfict, LB, Arizona State

29.  New England Patriots—Peter Konz, C, Wisconsin 

30.  San Francisco 49ers—Mohamed Sanu, WR, Rutgers

31.  New England Patriots—Mark Barron, S, Alabama

32.  Green Bay Packers—Nick Perry, OLB, USC