2012 NFL Mock Draft: Finding the Next Calais Campbell, Ray Rice and Fred Davis
Calais Campbell, Ray Rice and Fred Davis were three players hit with the franchise tag before Monday's 4 p.m. deadline.
Let's try to uncover which prospects in the 2012 draft class could be the second-coming of these guys.
Last week, I identified the next DeSean Jackson, Dashon Goldson and Tyvon Branch. I then predicted the next Cliff Avril, Wes Welker and Dwayne Bowe after each player was franchised by their respective clubs.
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Calais Campbell
Derek Wolfe, Cincinnati
It's hard to find a prospect similar to Campbell. The Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman is a towering 6'8'' and 300 pounds. Cincinnati's Derek Wolfe is the most comparable in my estimation.
Wolfe is 6'5'', a shade under 300 pounds and ran an official 5.01 in the 40-yard dash at the combine. He had a monster senior season en route to earning the Big East Defensive Player of the Year award. He had 70 tackles, 21.5 for loss, with 9.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.
Sounds like a Campbell season stat-line to me.
Wolfe plays with a tremendous motor and can line up anywhere along the defensive line to play as an overpowering pass-rusher who's far from a liability against the run.
Ray Rice
Doug Martin, Boise State
Watch Martin's quick highlight reel. Who does that look like to you? I see a young Ray Rice.
Martin was the do-it-all feature back for the Broncos, especially over the last two seasons in which he amassed over 2,400 yards on the ground with 28 rushing touchdowns.
Martin's also comfortable catching passes out of the backfield. He recorded 28 grabs in each of the last two seasons and scored a total of four receiving touchdowns.
Like Rice, he's deceptively agile and quick running behind mammoth offensive linemen. Martin also runs with a ton of power and rarely shies away from linebackers or cornerbacks.
Fred Davis
Dwayne Allen, Clemson
Allen won this year's John Mackey award as the best tight end in college football, just like Davis did with USC in 2007.
Allen is a hefty 6'4'' and 255 pounds—nearly the exact same size and weight as the Redskins' Davis.
Both are quality intermediate seam options that can move the chains with their size and athletic ability. Allen is about as well-rounded as they come as a pass-catching tight end, just as Davis was when he entered the NFL.
Each guy is better than you'd expect when blocking for the run and are big-time red zone targets.
This one's a no-brainer—Allen fits perfectly into the Davis mold.
2012 NFL Mock Draft (March 1, Post-Combine Update)
1. Indianapolis Colts: Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
2. Washington Redskins (trade with St. Louis Rams): Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor
3. Minnesota Vikings: Matt Kalil, OT, Southern California
4. Cleveland Browns: Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU
6. St. Louis Rams (trade with Washington Redskins): Dontari Poe, NT, Memphis
7. Jacksonville Jaguars: Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame
8. Miami Dolphins: Courtney Upshaw, DE/OLB, Alabama
9. Carolina Panthers: Michael Brockers, DL, LSU
10. Buffalo Bills: Nick Perry, DE, Southern California
11. Seattle Seahawks: Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina
12. Kansas City Chiefs: Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College
13. Arizona Cardinals: Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford
14. Dallas Cowboys: David DeCastro, OG, Stanford
15. Philadelphia Eagles: Dont'a Hightower, LB, Alabama
16. New York Jets: Melvin Ingram, DE, South Carolina
17. Cincinnati Bengals: Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama
18. San Diego Chargers: Cordy Glenn, OL, Georgia
19. Chicago Bears: Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina
20. Tennessee Titans: Zach Brown, LB, North Carolina
21. Cincinnati Bengals: Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama
22. Cleveland Browns (from Atlanta): Fletcher Cox, DL, Mississippi State
23. Detroit Lions: Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama
24. Pittsburgh Steelers: Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa
25. Denver Broncos: Devon Still, DT, Penn State
26. Houston Texans: Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor
27. New England Patriots (from New Orleans): Alfonzo Dennard, CB, Nebraska
28. Green Bay Packers: Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina
29. Baltimore Ravens: Peter Konz, C, Wisconsin
30. San Francisco 49ers: Stephen Hill, WR, Georgia Tech
31. New England Patriots: Whitney Mercilus, DE, Illinois
32. New York Giants, Kelechi Osemele, OL, Iowa State
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