2012 NFL Mock Draft: Which Teams Are Looking to Trade Down?

As Rob Rang at CBS reported, an NFL executive told him that half the teams in the top 10 of this year's NFL draft are looking to trade down.

Fun.

That won't happen, of course, but getting anywhere close sure would make for an exciting first round indeed. Let's take a look at a few teams who should be fielding offers for their pick and who they'll select if they stay put.

1. Indianapolis Colts: Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford

Yeah, I don't think they'll be looking to trade out of this spot.

2. Washington Redskins: Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor *

See above. This is the last first-round pick they'll have for a few years, after all.

3. Minnesota Vikings: Matt Kalil, OT, USC

The Vikings have put it out there that they would be willing to move down, likely hoping that a team pining for Ryan Tannehill would want to move ahead of Cleveland, a potential landing spot for the Texas A&M quarterback.

But Tannehill is a huge reach with the fourth pick, let alone trading away a bounty just to move into the third slot. At the end of the day, the Vikings will keep this pick and select the best offensive tackle in the draft.

4. Cleveland Browns: Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama

Cleveland could be another candidate to move down, not thrilled with the prospects outside of the top three.

But with two picks in the first round and a truly special talent sitting on the board at a position of need in Trent Richardson, why not make the pick that will help sell tickets and jerseys and, oh yeah, give your team a much-needed upgrade at the skill positions?

It's the fun and smart pick. Richardson should be a Brown next year.

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

The Bucs have a lot of holes to fill, and stockpiling draft picks certainly wouldn't hurt the team.

But if they stay put, Claiborne should be the guy. He's the best player on the board, and the team will need to replace Ronde Barber at some point.

6. St. Louis Rams: Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State

They've got a ton of high-round picks for the next three drafts. They would be best-served giving Sam Bradford some help.

7. Jacksonville Jaguars: Melvin Ingram, DE, South Carolina

Jacksonville needs playmakers, plain and simple. They'd be better off staying put.

8. Miami Dolphins: Ryan Tannehill, QB, Texas A&M 

The Dolphins could be a candidate to move down, needing plenty of help across the board and missing out on the truly elite talents at the top of the draft.

Or they could select a quarterback of the future and stay put. Given the team's quarterback options now, I'd recommend the second option.

9. Carolina Panthers: Fletcher Cox, DT, Mississippi State

The Panthers have a need at defensive tackle, and they'll have the pick of a very deep litter here.

10. Buffalo Bills: Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa

This pick probably depends on how highly the team feels about Riley Reiff. If they love him, they'll draft him here.

If they aren't that high on him, they'll probably draft down. The team desperately needs an offensive tackle, but the top-end pickings are slim. I'd guess Reiff will be the guy, but who knows?

11. Kansas City Chiefs: Dontari Poe, NT, Memphis

I wish Poe would drop to the Ravens just so I could make nerdy poetry jokes. But he won't get past the Chiefs here.

12. Seattle Seahawks: Luke Kuechly, MLB, Boston College

Seattle may be a candidate to move up, but I don't see them moving down. They'll select Kuechly if they stay put.

13. Arizona Cardinals: Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame 

This pick could go a lot of ways, but adding a weapons opposite of Larry Fitzgerald might be the best bet for the team at this slot. Floyd and Fitzgerald would be a nasty pair.

14. Dallas Cowboys: David DeCastro, OG, Stanford

The Cowboys could use an upgrade at guard, and its rare you'll ever find one quite as good as DeCastro in the draft.

15. Philadelphia Eagles: Mark Barron, S, Alabama

With DeMeco Ryans now in town, the major weakness of this team is at the safety position. Barron should help in that regard.

16. New York Jets: Courtney Upshaw, OLB, USC

Upshaw will fit in nicely at outside linebacker in the Jets 3-4, helping fill a major need for the team.

17. Cincinnati Bengals: Cordy Glenn, OG, Georgia**  

The Bengals have options, but I think they'll look to solidify the offensive line first.

18. San Diego Chargers: Nick Perry, OLB, USC 

The high-motor, athletic Perry should give the Chargers a nice speed rusher off the edge almost immediately.

19. Chicago Bears: Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina 

Coples will drop; mark my words, but not past the Bears. The team won't be able to resist pairing the high-potential Coples at defensive end opposite Julius Peppers.

20. Tennessee Titans: Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama

Cortland Finnegan who?

21. Cincinnati Bengals: Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor

They took care of other needs via free agency. Now they'll give Andy Dalton a new toy and A.J. Green a new running mate. The Bengals offense will be fun to watch next year.

22. Cleveland Browns: Stephen Hill, WR, Georgia Tech 

Cleveland adds another offensive playmaker and a talent in Hill who could either become one of the game's truly exciting prospects or fall flat on his face as a bust.

23. Detroit Lions: Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama  

With the departure of Eric Wright, the Lions seriously need help at corner. In Jenkins, they get a potential star if he can keep himself out of trouble.

24. Pittsburgh Steelers: Dont'a Hightower, LB, Alabama

He was the anchor of Alabama's 3-4 defense last year. This just feels like a Pittsburgh pick, and a good one at that.

25. Denver Broncos: Michael Brockers, DT, LSU

Brockers will dramatically improve a big area of need for the team. He could end up being the steal of the draft.

26. Houston Texans: Devon Still, DT, Penn State

The Texans can go in a lot of directions with this pick. I say they look to add the best player on the board and decide on Still.

27. New England Patriots: Whitney Mercilus, DE, Illinois ***

The likelihood of the Patriots keeping the two first-round picks they possess seems unlikely at best. They love stockpiling picks—it's one of Bill Belichick's favorite pastimes.

But if they do stay here, Mercilus would be a nice player to add on to bolster the team's pass-rush on the edge.

28. Green Bay Packers: Peter Konz, C, Wisconsin

The Packers will draft a center for the future at some point, and Konz is hands-down the best option available.

29. Baltimore Ravens: Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford

The Ravens insist that Jah Reid can fill the need at guard, so Martin can step in and add depth or potentially take over a tackle position for the team.

30. San Francisco 49ers:  Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina

Gilmore adds depth in the secondary, as he is a corner for now but has the body type and game to potentially transition to safety in the future.

31. New England Patriots: Jamell Fleming, CB, Oklahoma

Yeah, they could trade this one too. Or they could look to strengthen a poor secondary.

32. New York Giants: Zach Brown, OLB, North Carolina

This is just a hunch pick. The athletic Brown could find a home in New York, where they would certainly put to use his talents.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets are growing a playoff beard.

Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama