2012 NFL Mock Draft: Which Teams Will Make Surprising Picks?

Every year in the first round of the NFL Draft, there are a couple of picks that make you scratch your head.

There are also picks that make the crowd in attendance and all those watching at home scream, "WHAT?!"

You have to love picks like these. It's oftentimes hard to agree with them, but it's picks like these that keep things interesting. Without them, the NFL Draft would fail miserably as a television extravaganza (it's already horribly over-hyped as it is).

The 2012 draft is still many months away, but you can rest assured that there are going to be plenty of these surprise picks to go around. For kicks, let's go ahead and discuss a few that we might see on draft day.

Denver Broncos Draft Nebraska CB Alfonzo Dennard

A couple of weeks ago, I would have told you that the Broncos were a lock to draft one of 2012's top quarterbacks, a la Landry Jones or Matt Barkley.

Suddenly, the Broncos are sitting on a three-game win streak and looking at a possible wild card berth. Given the way their defense (not their offense) is playing, I actually think they're going to get it.

When the draft rolls around, the Broncos will have a number of different directions they could go. They won't be drafting a quarterback if Tim Tebow leads them to the playoffs, so my guess is that many people will be expecting them to take a running back.

I actually think they'll end up taking a cornerback, in this case Alfonzo Dennard. Upon joining the Broncos, Dennard would basically be Champ Bailey's heir apparent. Bailey is still playing at a very high level, but he's getting old and his body is not as unbreakable as it used to be.

The Broncos already have a great young piece up front in Von Miller. Not many will expect them to add a great young piece to their secondary, but I can see them doing it.

New York Jets Draft Notre Dame WR Michael Floyd

It's pretty apparent right now that the Jets are a deeply flawed team. They're going to have plenty of holes to fill when the draft rolls around.

Despite that, many will say that wide receiver really isn't a huge area of need. Plaxico Burress will be gone after this year, but at least they have Santonio Holmes. They'd be better off using their first-round pick on another position.

But if Michael Floyd is available, I don't think the Jets would pass on him. It will be a surprising pick, but there will be a certain line of reasoning behind it.

In so many words, what the Jets would be doing is going all-in on Mark Sanchez. He simply hasn't developed into the quarterback they hoped he would be, but maybe that will change if they get him another top-flight target.

It would be similar to what the Atlanta Falcons did with Julio Jones in 2011, except much more desperate.

San Diego Chargers Draft Arizona State ILB Vontaze Burfict

Before the Chargers even think of how they can fix their mess of a team, they need to get rid of Norv Turner.

Once they do that, the next thing they should do is direct their attention to the defense. It has plenty of solid individual pieces, but it needs more. If you ask me, what it really needs is a spark.

The Chargers could make safer picks, but I think they'll shock people by going for Vontaze Burfict. It's been well-documented that he has a few screws loose, and that means he's going to have a lot of growing up to do once he gets in the league. 

But the way I see it, Burfict could pretty much be the next coming of Shawne Merriman. San Diego's defense hasn't had the same fire ever since he declined and ultimately got booted out of town. Drafting Burfict would be a perfect opportunity for them to find that fire again.

Washington Redskins Draft Baylor QB Robert Griffin III

He's been just okay in recent games, but that's not going to stop Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck from being the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. The real question is which quarterbacks will go next, and where.

Conventional wisdom suggests that Luck will be followed by Oklahoma's Landry Jones and then USC's Matt Barkley, in that order. I'm thinking he'll be followed by Baylor's Robert Griffin III, and that the Redskins will be the ones doing the honors.

Unless they have another solution handy, the Redskins are going to be taking a quarterback in the first round. They won't be getting Luck, but I foresee them being in a position to have their pick of the litter after Luck comes off the board.

The idea of drafting RG3 ahead of Jones and Barkley won't be as much of a surprise on draft day as it is now, but my guess is that this is a pick that will be debated anyway.

Cleveland Browns Draft Alabama RB Trent Richardson

When I first posed the idea of the Browns drafting a running back a couple weeks ago, some accused me of utter madness.

Indeed, what about Peyton Hillis, the Madden 12 cover boy?

What about him? I think his time in Cleveland will be up as soon as this season is over, as it's pretty apparent now that he's not worth the money he's asking for. The Browns are better off looking for a running back who's not cursed.

They could pursue these options in free agency, or just put their trust in Montario Hardesty, but I'm thinking they'll use a first-round pick on Trent Richardson instead. They'll have to overlook some of their other needs in order to draft him, but my gut tells me Richardson will be a pick well spent down the road.

Note: draft order is a version of my Week 12 NFL Power Rankings, adjusted to account for playoff projections.

Pick	Team	Player
1	Indianapolis Colts	Andrew Luck, QB (Stanford)
2	St. Louis Rams	Alshon Jeffery, WR (South Carolina)
3	Minnesota Vikings	Matt Kalil, OT (USC)
4	Carolina Panthers	Morris Claiborne, CB (LSU)
5	Jacksonville Jaguars	Justin Blackmon, WR (Oklahoma State)
6	Arizona Cardinals	Jonathan Martin, OT (Stanford)
7	Cleveland Browns	Trent Richardson, RB (Alabama)
8	Washington Redskins	Robert Griffin III, QB (Baylor)
9	Miami Dolphins	Landry Jones, QB (Oklahoma)
10	Kansas City Chiefs	Riley Reiff, OT (Iowa)
11	San Diego Chargers	Vontaze Burfict, ILB (Arizona State)
12	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Dre Kirkpatrick, CB (Alabama)
13	Philadelphia Eagles	Luke Kuechly, ILB (Boston College)
14	Seattle Seahawks	Matt Barkley, QB (USC)
15	Buffalo Bills	Melvin Ingram, DE (South Carolina)
16	Tennessee Titans	Manti Te'o, ILB (Notre Dame)
17	New York Jets	Michael Floyd, WR (Notre Dame)
18	New York Giants	Courtney Upshaw, OLB (Alabama)
19	Detroit Lions	Janoris Jenkins, CB (North Alabama)
20	Cincinnati Bengals	Lamar Miller, RB (Miami)
21	Denver Broncos	Alfonzo Dennard, CB (Nebraska)
22	Cleveland Browns (via Atlanta Falcons)	Jarvis Jones, OLB (Georgia)
23	Cincinnati Bengals (via Oakland Raiders)	Quinton Coples, DE (North Carolina)
24	Dallas Cowboys	David DeCastro, G (Stanford)
25	Baltimore Ravens	Ronnell Lewis, OLB (Oklahoma)
26	Chicago Bears	Cordy Glenn, G (Georgia)
27	Houston Texans	Jeff Fuller, WR (Texas A&M)
28	New England Patriots (via New Orleans Saints)	Devon Still, DT (Penn State)
29	New England Patriots	Mark Barron, S (Alabama)
30	San Francisco 49ers	Nick Toon, WR (Wisconsin)
31	Pittsburgh Steelers	Stephon Gilmore, CB (South Carolina)
32	Green Bay Packers	Brandon Thompson, DT (Clemson)