2012 NFL Mock Draft: Does Dre Kirkpatrick's Arrest Drop Him Down Draft Boards?

According to several media outlets, Alabama All-American cornerback and sure-fire first-round pick Dre Kirkpatrick was arrested Tuesday morning on a drug charge.

The USA Today report states that the Manatee County Sheriff Department arrested Kirkpatrick at 12:48 a.m. Tuesday morning on suspicion of possessing marijuana. He paid $120 in bond and was released later that day.

Here is just one tweet, from Joe Schad, reporting the incident:

Kirkpatrick, who has put his name into the 2012 NFL draft, is widely considered to be a top-15 draft pick this April. Will his arrest Tuesday have any bearing on that stock?

That question is hard to answer right now.

We've seen talented players—Percy Harvin and Randy Moss for example—fall down boards because of an incident like Kirkpatrick's. But we've also seen plenty of teams forget about any kind of marijuana use and take a prospect high because of overwhelming skill.

Which will be the case for Kirkpatrick?

Let's take a look at our 2012 NFL mock draft to give our early answer.  

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

10.  Buffalo Bills—Courtney Upshaw, OLB, Alabama

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

12.  Seattle Seahawks—Michael Brockers, DT, LSU

13.  Arizona Cardinals—Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford 

14.  Dallas Cowboys—Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama

I've had Kirkpatrick in Dallas for a while now, and I don't think that any marijuana offense is going to drop him out of the top 15. That's especially true with the 14th pick belonging to the Cowboys, who desperately need help at the cornerback position and have overlooked petty offenses such as the one Kirkpatrick is accused of committing.     

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

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

17.  Cincinnati Bengals—Whitney Mercilus, DE, Illinois

18.  San Diego Chargers—David DeCastro, OG, Stanford

19.  Chicago Bears—Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama

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

21.  Cincinnati Bengals—Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor

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

23.  Detroit Lions—Alfonzo Dennard, CB, Nebraska

24.  Pittsburgh Steelers—Cordy Glenn, OL, Georgia

25.  Denver Broncos—Lamar Miller, RB, Miami

26.  Houston Texans—Dontari Poe, NT, Memphis

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

28.  Green Bay Packers—Nick Perry, OLB USC

29.  New York Giants—Dont'a Hightower, LB Alabama    

30.  Baltimore Ravens—Vontaze Burfict, LB Arizona State

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

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