2012 NFL Draft Order: Predicting What Spot Every Team Will Pick From

The end of the 2011 NFL season is so close you can almost smell it.

And you can bet there are plenty of general managers out there who wouldn't mind the clarity that comes at the close of Week 17, at least with regard to the 2012 NFL draft. Once the final whistles have blown on the regular season, most of the front office folks around the league will know where in the order they'll be selecting and, as such, can plan their draft strategies accordingly.

But who needs to wait for all the games to play out to predict where each of the NFL's 32 teams will land?

Not us! With the picks for the last slate of games already in, let's have a look at what the final draft order should look like.

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1. Indianapolis Colts

The Colts have been playing relatively well of late, winning their last two games after a dismal 0-13 start, and the Jaguars aren't any good...

But Jacksonville has done some of its best work this season at home, where Blaine Gabbert and Co. have beaten the Baltimore Ravens and the Tennessee Titans.

Indy will give it their all, but will ultimately fall to 2-14, thereby adding a spark of reality to the raging quarterback debate between Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck.

2. St. Louis Rams

With the Colts at 2-14, the Rams can only hope to snag the No. 2 pick, at best.

Surely, the 49ers would be happy to oblige St. Louis here. San Francisco is still fighting to secure the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoff picture.

With that sort of motivation in their corner, don't be surprised if the Niners lay it on thick like they did last time, when they shut out the Rams by a score of 26-0 at Candlestick Park.

3. Minnesota Vikings

No Adrian Peterson and possibly no Christian Ponder likely means no fourth win for the Minnesota Vikings, even against the shell of a team formerly known as the Chicago Bears.

Either way, that game figures to set back the sport of football at least a decade or so, which should be enough in and of itself to slot the Vikes into the third spot in the draft.

4. Cleveland Browns

A 4-12 record should be good (or bad) enough to put the Cleveland Browns in the four-spot in the 2012 draft.

That is, unless they can somehow pull off a New Year's Day miracle against the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers.

Barring any miracles, expect the Browns to end up here, with Alabama's Trent Richardson set firmly in their sights.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I wouldn't trust the Buccaneers to win a game against much anyone these days, considering how poorly they've played in dropping their last nine games in a row.

Especially against the Atlanta Falcons, who should have a playoff spot wrapped up regardless of what happens against the New Orleans Saints on Boxing Day (i.e. the day after Christmas) but will nonetheless be looking to maintain good form heading into January.

6. Jacksonville Jaguars

Will the Jacksonville Jaguars add a fifth win to their season total against the Indianapolis Colts?

They managed to beat the Colts in Indy earlier this season and have pulled out some rather impressive wins at EverBank Field in Jacksonville.

Maybe, too, Blaine Gabbert will put together a solid game, just to convince management not to take another quarterback with a top-10 pick.

7. Miami Dolphins

I'd like to say with some certainty that the Miami Dolphins will beat the New York Jets, especially after watching the former nearly upend the New England Patriots and the latter stink it up against the Giants.

But, it's tough to imagine the Jets not playing with a desperate sense of urgency now that their playoff lives are hanging in the balance. As for the Fins, they'll put up a good fight, though not too big of one with Robert Griffin III expected to be on the board if he comes out early.

8. Washington Redskins

If the Washington Redskins couldn't beat a Vikings team that lost Adrian Peterson and Christian Ponder on consecutive plays, how can they even hope to hang with the Philadelphia Eagles, who've won their last three games by a combined score of 91-36?

They might as well give this one up now so they can finally (and mercifully) secure the franchise quarterback they've long been in search of.

9. Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs have every reason to feel like they can play spoiler against the Broncos next Sunday.

And his name is Kyle Orton. Yes, Captain Neckbeard is set to make his triumphant return to Denver, with Tim Tebow, his much-beloved backup, staring him down from the opposing sideline at Mile High Stadium.

Still, Tebow should have enough tricks up his sleeve to send KC packing for a long offseason and the top-10 draft pick it affords.

10. Carolina Panthers

As much as I love what Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers have done of late, I can't help but love Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints just a bit more. Brees will be gunning to shatter the NFL record books, while the Saints, pending Monday night's game against the Falcons, will have their eyes on the No. 2 seed in the NFC.

11. Buffalo Bills

Nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills.

And if by "circles the wagons" you mean "disappoints after a strong start", then yes, nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills.

Expect the New England Patriots to circle a few wagons of their own against the Bills in Foxborough on the final Sunday of the season.

12. Arizona Cardinals

Can John Skelton lead the Arizona Cardinals to an 8-8 finish? Or Will Marshawn Lynch find the "on" switch for "Beast Mode" and shower the Cards with Skittles?

Here's the better question—who cares?

13. Dallas Cowboys

How 'bout them Cowboys?

No, really, how 'bout 'em? As in, how 'bout the fact that they're about to choke down the stretch of the season...again.

Sunday's finale against the New York Giants should be quite an interesting affair, to say the least, as both teams, known for tanking late, will try to keep their heads above water just long enough to win the NFC East.

If Tony Romo's throwing hand isn't fit, then expect Dallas to quit, more or less.

14. Philadelphia Eagles

So the Dream Team is bound to finish 8-8, assuming they beat the Redskins to close out the season.

A disappointment for the Philadelphia Eagles, to be sure, but not entirely unexpected, seeing as how they couldn't protect Michael Vick on one end or stop the run on the other.

They'll fight tooth-and-nail for a run-stuffing linebacker here and hope for the best next season.

15. Cincinnati Bengals (from the Oakland Raiders)

The Cincinnati Bengals can thank Carson Palmer and Andy Dalton for giving them the gift of the 15th pick.

Palmer, because the Raiders shelled out their first-round pick to get him and haven't done much of consequence since, and Dalton, because he proved to be good enough to finally allow Bengals owner Mike Brown to unclench his rear end just long enough to let go of Palmer.

16. Seattle Seahawks

Marshawn Lynch and the Seahawks should have enough rainbow flavor left in their mouths to top the Arizona Cardinals and move to 8-8 on the season.

Ironically enough, that record will actually be better than the one with which Pete Carroll's club finished last season, though, in another twist of fate, it wasn't enough to win the 'Hawks the division this time around.

They can thank the resurgent 49ers for that bit of disappointment.

17. San Diego Chargers

Apparently, Christmas didn't come soon enough for the San Diego Chargers, who discovered that a stellar record in December over the years isn't sufficient, in and of itself, to secure victories whenever the calendar turns.

Certainly, the Detroit Lions weren't impressed. The Raiders might not be either, but I'd still take Philip Rivers over Carson Palmer any day of the week.

18. Chicago Bears

Sunday night's game at Green Bay against the Packers is almost certainly a loss for the Chicago Bears.

But a road game at the Minnesota Vikings, sans Adrian Peterson, should be a decent enough opportunity for Caleb Hanie and Chicago's cast of career backups to stop their five-game slide.

19. Cincinnati Bengals

I'm going to go out on something less than a limb here and predict that the Cincinnati Bengals will move to 0-4 against the Steelers and the Ravens this season when Baltimore comes to town on the final Sunday.

That'll leave the Bengals just shy of the playoffs, but with two picks in the middle of the first round with which to build their team into a contender in the AFC North.

20. New York Jets

The New York Jets will rebound from their disappointing loss to the Giants with a win over the Miami Dolphins, but it'll ultimately prove to be too little too late.

With Mark Sanchez out of the postseason, the team will finally get a chance to look closely and carefully at its quarterback situation.

21. Tennessee Titans

The team the Jets will lose out to, of course, is the Tennessee Titans. Matt Hasselbeck and company will trample a tanking Houston Texans team to secure the final Wild Card spot in the AFC and the spot at the bottom of the first round of the draft that comes with it.

22. New York Giants

The New York Giants should benefit tremendously from NBC flexing their season finale against the Dallas Cowboys to Sunday night.

I seem to recall Tony Romo and the Cowboys struggling, say, just about every time they've played in a nationally-televised game this season.

Romo's hand injury might keep him out of this one, which would essentially hand the NFC East crown to Eli Manning and the similarly choke-happy Giants.

23. Denver Broncos

I'm going to count on Tim Tebow having just enough magic left in his wayward arm to fend off Captain Neckbeard's Chiefs and lead the Denver Broncos to the AFC West championship.

It won't be easy, or pretty for that matter, but by golly, Timmy won't let the fans in the Mile High City down, will he?

24. Detroit Lions

Neither the Lions nor the Packers will have much to play for in Week 17, unless, of course, Green Bay stumbles against the Bears on Sunday night.

Still, Detroit figures to conserve at least some of its youthful energy for its first postseason appearance since 1999, 11 wins be damned.

25. Houston Texans

Houston, the Texans have some serious problems heading into their first-ever playoff run. Losses to Carolina and Indianapolis have made that much clear, and another against Tennessee will only make the beeping of the team truck backing into the postseason ring that much louder.

26. Cleveland Browns (from the Atlanta Falcons)

The Cleveland Browns won't mind swooping in on the Atlanta Falcons' first-round pick.

Well, it wouldn't exactly be a "swoop", per se, seeing as how the Falcons willfully gave it up to nab Julio Jones in the 2011 draft.

Still, a loss to the Saints and a win over the Buccaneers should land Atlanta in the playoffs, but knock them out soon enough to be No. 26 in the pecking order.

27. Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens will lock down the AFC North title with a win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17, but will fall victim to their own inconsistencies once they take to the turf in the playoffs.

Too bad, too, since this Ravens team is so talented and Ed Reed and Ray Lewis may not be long for the NFL after this season.

28. San Francisco 49ers

I can't imagine the 49ers NOT destroying the Rams in Week 17. San Francisco will be fighting for the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoff picture, while St. Louis will have the No. 2 pick in the draft on its collective conscience.

The clear edge, then, goes to Jim Harbaugh's boys, who shellacked the Rams by a score of 26-0 earlier this season.

29. New England Patriots

Another season, another 13 wins and an AFC East title for the New England Patriots.

And another untimely exit from the playoffs, thanks to a defense that's so bad that even Tom Brady's getting tired from carrying the team all the time.

30. New England Patriots (from the New Orleans Saints)

The Pats also happen to be masters of racking up first-round draft picks, as they have again this year, thanks to the Saints' infatuation with Mark Ingram.

New Orleans will get to the NFC Championship Game, lose to the Green Bay Packers and then surrender the No. 30 pick to New England.

And then pray that Drew Brees doesn't leave.

31. Pittsburgh Steelers

Well, would you look at that? The Steelers and the Packers in the Super Bowl for the second year in a row!

Assuming, of course, that Ben Roethlisberger's ankle isn't so badly sprained that he can't lead Pittsburgh to three more road victories in the playoffs.

32. Green Bay Packers

And then there was one.

Aaron Rodgers will get to keep his title belt and add another Vince Lombardi Trophy to the collection of 'em at Lambeau Field as the Green Bay Packers emerge victorious in Indianapolis.

It won't be easy, not with Green Bay erecting its own infirmary to deal with all the injuries, but it's tough to imagine anyone else really giving the Pack a run for their money.