NFL Draft Start Time 2012: Teams That Must Trade Back into First Round

Will the Indianapolis Colts take all 10 minutes of the clock tonight at the 2012 NFL draft?

How about the Washington Redskins?

We already know who both teams will take tonight, but all bets are off after that.

The festivities kick off tonight at 8 PM ET on both NFL Network and ESPN and will continue tomorrow evening (Rounds 2-3) and Saturday (Rounds 4-7).

Having said that, certain teams won't be able to wait until Friday night and trading back into the first round may be their best bet.

Here's a look at some that will consider making that very move.

Indianapolis Colts

With Luck already in-house, one of the best ways to get the most out of him early is to surround him with weapons—familiar ones, if possible.

Luck's top weapon at Stanford was tight end Coby Fleener, and he's hanging on the fringe of the first round right now.

The Colts pick at No. 34 in Round 2, but it cannot be guaranteed he'll still be there. 

Moving up a few spots to assure his place on the team is a smart move for both the present and future in Indianapolis.

Cleveland Browns

This team could choose to wait and see what happens with Brandon Weeden. However, if they really want him, their best bet is to go and get him after adding playmakers at No. 4 and No. 22.

Weeden, at the very least, provides legitimate competition to Colt McCoy and could potentially be the starter on day one.

The Browns have a number of holes to fill. However, if they go into the season and think they'll be even slightly unhappy with just Colt McCoy, they need to land the would-be 29-year-old rookie.

New England Patriots

Eventually, Bill Belichick needs to make something of all the picks he's stockpiled over the years. 

This year, in particular, the team has a number of glaring needs defensively. NFL Network's Albert Breer reports:

"

Per league sources, Patriots have inquired with Seattle about what it would take to get to 12. Could be just info gathering. Could be more.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 26, 2012"

While that could just be "info gathering," the Pats need to consider making a move at some point.

They own four picks in the first 63. Even if they trade up once, they still have enough ammo to trade back up again.

Eventually, the time comes when you have to act on all the savings over the years, and now may be the time for Belichick to do just that.