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NFL mock draft 3.0: Trades, trades and more trades!

April 19, 2012 AFC, NFC, NFL

We are officially one week away from the 2012 NFL Draft and one week away from the complexity of the 2012 Season changing with every pick.

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2012 NFL Draft: 5 teams who should trade with Vikings

April 10, 2012 AFC, Minnesota Vikings, NFC, NFC North, NFL

The 2012 NFL Draft is just 16 days away and as we know the top two picks, what we don’t know is how the rest of the draft will shakeout. Right now it seems most around the NFL have a set order in how the draft is going to play out within the first several picks, but the Minnesota Vikings may look to throw a wrench into things as they are shopping the third overall pick.

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NFL mock draft 2.0: Cowboys bring competition for Romo?

April 7, 2012 AFC, NFC, NFL

Free Agency has come and gone, teams have filled needs through signings and are now preparing for the 2012 NFL Draft.

This off-season may go down in NFL history as the biggest Free Agency period of all time. Peyton Manning signed with the Denver Broncos, Tim Tebow is now a New York Jet and Mario Williams is a Buffalo Bill. How have those signings changed the complexity of the NFL Draft, let’s see how in my second mock draft.

1. Indianapolis Colts- Andrew Luck QB Stanford: I have a solid top six that should only change barring any trades within the top six. Right now the only thing left for the Colts is to make it official and hear Roger Goodell announce Andrew Luck as the newest member of the Indianapolis Colts. We have seen rookie quarterbacks have success since 2008 when both Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco took their teams to the playoffs as rookies, and has continued on, now can Andrew Luck take the Colts to the playoffs in his first season?

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2012 NFL mock draft: First round

March 13, 2012 AFC, NFC, NFL

After teasing you with my divisional mock draft tour, I now present to you the full 32 team first round mock. This will be the first of about 3 or 4 mock drafts I will do leading up to Thursday Night April 26th when the 2012 NFL Draft gets under way.

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2012 NFL Mock Draft: Top 10 Picks

January 14, 2012 AFC, NFC, NFL

The 2012 NFL Draft Order is set, the only thing left is to order the remaining playoff teams and Draft season will be in full swing. The Indianapolis Colts won the Andrew Luck sweepstakes and hold the number one pick. It is guaranteed that they will be taking Andrew Luck to be Peyton Manning’s successor in Indianapolis. Jeff Fisher will have a tall task in St. Louis as he looks to be the next coach to take on the task of rebuilding the Rams, while Leslie Frazier’s first year in Minnesota didn’t quite go well. Mike Holmgren has the Cleveland Browns once again picking in the top ten but thanks to the trade with Atlanta, he will have an extra pick to help the Browns try to compete in the competitive AFC North. Meanwhile in Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers are going from a ‘youngry’ Raheem Morris to a coach who has yet to be named and will look to turn Tampa back into the team who won ten games in 2010. From there, the Jaguars, Redskins, Panthers, Dolphins and Bills round out your Top Ten draft order heading into the off-season.

Plenty of teams inside the top ten who need a QB, and with Matt Barkley and Landry Jones returning that will throw a wrench into the plans for those teams. Will that cause teams to trade ahead of Cleveland, who would most certainly take Robert Griffin in order to take Griffin before he falls to Cleveland. Some are going to have new coaches while others will have new General Managers. So I present to you, a Mock Draft covering the Top ten teams and project who they could draft in April.

1. Indianapolis Colts- Andrew Luck QB Stanford: This is a no brainer right here, Luck is going to be the future of Indianapolis. The only question that remains is what happens to Peyton Manning, will he be traded or will he stay and tutor Luck for a year or two before giving way to the Andrew Luck Era.

2. St. Louis Rams- Matt Kalil OT USC: Jeff Fisher’s very first task as the Head Coach of the Rams should be ensuring Sam Bradford doesn’t catch the David Carr syndrome. They have tried to fix the offensive line but with no prevail, Matt Kalil is a Franchise Left Tackle who can come in and protect Bradford for the next decade or so.

3. Minnesota Vikings- Justin Blackmon WR Ok. State: In 1998 the Vikings said hello to Randy Moss who was drafted 22nd overall and became a star player right away. In 2012, the Vikings say hello to their new Randy Moss, Justin Blackmon. Christian Ponder needs a legit number one receiver and with Blackmon on board joining Adrian Peterson, the Vikings offense should be much better next year.

4. Cleveland Browns- Robert Griffin III QB Baylor: Colt McCoy right now is doing nothing to show he can be a franchise quarterback. He was drafted in the third round so the Browns don’t have much invested in him and with a rookie wage scale, they can afford to draft Griffin. Now the question will be, will Griffin finally stop the quarterback carousel in Cleveland and finally provide them a franchise quarterback.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Morris Claiborne CB LSU: Cornerback is the big issue for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers heading into the off-season. Ronde Barber will turn 37 before the Draft and is a Free Agent. Aquib Talib is one more offense away from being suspended from the league and has a court date in March, a month before the Draft. Claiborne is not only the best player available but he also fills a need. Tampa’s young defense gets better with the addition of Claiborne.

6. Washington Redskins- Alshon Jeffery WR South Carolina: To whomever will be the Redskins QB in 2012, I give you a present in the form of Alshon Jeffery. Now of course I do expect Washington to try to trade up for Robert Griffin but I don’t do trades this early. So assuming they stay at six, they get a weapon for either Grossman or Beck and whoever the franchise quarterback ends up being.

7. Jacksonville Jaguars: Quinton Coples DE UNC: Jacksonville loves drafting defensive lineman early and unfortunately they have drafted busts which leads to the more permanent fix in Coples. Coples has the perfect size, speed and athleticism to be a force for the Jaguars on defense. Coples ended the season with 7.5 sacks and in a division where you face Matt Schaub and Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck twice a year, you have to get to the Quarterback and Coples certainly will do that.

8. Miami Dolphins: Trent Richardson RB Alabama: This could be the first shocker here, but Richardson is the best player available here at eight. I know they drafted Daniel Thomas last year but with it being a two back league, Richardson can come in as the starter with Thomas and Bush taking over for Richardson on third downs or in goal line situations.

9. Carolina Panthers: Dre Kirkpatrick CB Alabama: The Panthers must work on their defense to make sure Newton doesn’t have to do everything. Carolina was ranked dead last against the pass and must do something to slow down other teams from beating them in the air. This is a good young team who I expect to be a playoff contender couple years down the line but must improve their defense in order to do so.

10. Buffalo Bills: Jonathon Martin OT Stanford: This is the best scenario for the Bills come Draft night. When the Bills suffered injuries to their offensive line and had to move players around, the offense suffered and so did Ryan Fitzpatrick. Demetrius Bell is not a franchise Left Tackle, while Jonathon Martin is. Martin can solidify the offensive line and ensure Ryan Fitzpatrick stays up right and the Bills can get back to the team who was 5-2.

Mike Presley is a NFL Featured Journalist for The Penalty Flag. He is a graduate of the Carolina School of Broadcasting and hosts a weekly NFL show on the schools radio station 89.3 The Storm entitled “The Front Seven.” Mike also writes for the racing website www.hardcoreracefans.com. Follow him on Twitter @mikepresley64.