2012 NFL Draft: Teams Sure to Regret First-Round Picks

The first round of the 2012 NFL draft is in the books, and while several teams greatly improved themselves during the draft's first day, three teams made head-scratching picks they will eventually regret.

Here are the teams I think reached the most in round one.

Kansas City Chiefs: Dontari Poe at No. 11

The Chiefs took the plunge with Poe, a once-in-a-decade athlete at defensive tackle who just doesn't show well on tape. At Memphis, Poe often got shoved around on the interior. Playing against inferior competition in Conference USA, he just didn't show the kind of explosion and playmaking ability a guy with his physical gifts should have.

Romeo Crennel will have to bring out the guy we saw at the combine, not the one who shows up on tape. If he can do that, maybe this pick makes sense. 

Poe could turn out to be a dominant defender, but he could also wind up being a huge bust. With a solid player like Stanford guard David DeCastro still on the board at a position of need, I was really surprised Kansas City opted to take Poe.

Seattle Seahawks: Bruce Irvin at No. 15

This shocked everyone in the room, but Pete Carroll has done that before. The Seahawks obviously are in the camp that believes Irvin is the best pure pass-rusher in the draft, but I am not. He was by far the biggest reach in the first round.

The West Virginia product is an explosive edge rusher and, for a Seattle team that registered just 33 sacks in 2011, (11 of which came from Chris Clemons) getting someone who can get to the quarterback was priority No. 1. 

The issue here is that the Seahawks could have waited until the second round to get Irvin, or even traded back later into the first round. Heck, they had already traded back from No. 12 to get to 15, they could have continued to stockpile picks and still landed Irvin much later. The character concerns about him alone would have likely driven him down into the middle of the second round.

With South Carolina's Melvin Ingram and USC's Nick Perry still on the board, grabbing Irvin at No. 15 was a reach Seattle could regret.

New York Jets: Quinton Coples at No. 16

When a player has the physical gifts that Coples possesses, he should be a dominant player. The North Carolina product was anything but that during his final season at Chapel Hill.

Coples is 6'6" and 285 pounds of athletic ability. He is quick, strong and has all the measureables you look for in an elite edge-rusher (long arm, big hands, etc.). The problem is that he just doesn't show up on tape and his motor and desire have been questioned. 

He is a boom-or-bust pick, but if Rex Ryan can somehow motivate the kid, maybe he'll turn into the player he is capable of becoming. I just have a hard time seeing that happen. Coples is also an awkward fit for the Jets' 3-4 scheme, as he is a pure 4-3 defensive end. 

With Ingram—who was a perfect fit for Ryan's defense and the style of play he prefers—still on the board, this pick was inexcusable. 

Coples could end up figuring it out in New York, or he could be the next Vernon Gholston. The latter is much more likely.