2012 NFL Mock Draft-Version 2.0

As we continue to move toward the upcoming NFL draft, there are plenty of rumors flying around as to who’s going where. The Senior Bowl this week helped a number of players stock, while others were hurt by poor performance. The top of the draft remains largely unaffected, but the middle and end of the first round are much more fluid.

Luck looks to be the #1 pick, but will be be the #1 QB in Indy? Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-US PRESSWIRE

Last year proved that the draft can have a huge immediate impact in the NFL as well as in fantasy leagues. Cam Newton, AJ Green, Julio Jones, Mark Ingram, and Andy Dalton tore it up in year one and instantly became fantasy factors. So who will emerge this year?

In this mock, we’ll just do the first round, but I will try and expand to first 2 or 3 in a later version as more information becomes available and the overall picture becomes clearer. Since this is a site dedicated to fantasy sports, a quick analysis of the fantasy impact of the pick is given where applicable.

Each FantasyCPR mock draft is featured in the mock draft databases at WalterFootball.com, DC Pro Sports Report,  Sports Jabber, hailredskins.com and fftoolbox.com. Each site keeps track of a huge number mock drafts all over the web so if you’re a draft junkie there great places to get your info.

Clicking the link for the team will take you to the site on the Fansided network dedicated to that particular team and for daily draft-dedicated coverage visit nflmocks.com and withthefirstpick.com

1. Indianapolis Colts
Andrew Luck-QB-Stanford
Fantasy Impact: Luck’s the most sure pick in the draft. He’s the obvious and correct choice for the Colts. The intriguing part of this pick and the offseason as a whole is what they decide to do with Peyton Manning. It increasingly looks like Indy is ready to part ways with #18. In which case, Luck immediately becomes a QB2 with serious upside. This offense has weapons at receiver and TE that would allow Luck to succeed on some level right away. The new coach is a defensive specialist butLuck’s accuracy should lend itself to a conservative offense that allows for big YAC. He’s got top 12 QB potential even in his rookie year, but there’s a lot of risk making him your QB1.

2. Cleveland Browns (trade with St. Louis Rams)
Robert Griffin III-QB-Baylor
Fantasy Impact: Still think the Browns have to make this move. RG3 instantly makes the Browns offense compelling. They’ll be in a bidding war with the Dolphins and possibly the Redskins, but hey key is that the Rams dropping just to 4 means that either Kalil or Blackmon will still be there.

3. Minnesota Vikings
Matt Kalil-OT-USC
Fantasy Impact: The Vikings are listening to offers for this and it wouldn’t be surprising for someone to come up for Blackmon. I still see this as the most likely scenario though. Kalil is the best O-lineman in the draft and will be a key part of the Ponder/Peterson offense for the years to come.

4. St. Louis Rams (trade with Cleveland Browns)

In this mock, Justin Blackmon (81) heads to St. Louis. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

Justin Blackmon-WR-Oklahoma St.
Fantasy Impact: Blackmon will play opposite Brandon Lloyd and boost the value of Sam Bradford, Lloyd, and sleeper TE Lance Kendricks. How good Blackmon (or this offense) will be remains to be seen, but he has the tools to be one of the most dynamic pass receivers in the NFL. Jeff Fisher knows what he’s doing, and I think he’ll look to get Bradford some offensive weapons. The other option would be to protect the franchise QB by drafting a lineman but the only one ranked high enough to merit this pick is gone in this scenario with Kalil headed to the frozen north 1 pick earlier.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Morris Claiborne-CB-LSU
Fantasy Impact: Schiano likely goes defense first here and tries to work with Freeman, Blount, and Mike Williams on offense.

6. Washington Redskins
Dre Kirkpatrick-CB-Alabama
Analysis: Kirkpatrick played huge in the championship game and will instantly upgrade the ‘Skins pass defense.

7. Jacksonville Jaguars
Courtney Upshaw-DE/OLB-Alabama
Fantasy Impact: The Tide D with back-to-back picks as Upshaw builds on a huge week at the Sr. Bowl by going to Jacksonville to help get things turned around for the Jags.

8. Carolina Panthers
Michael Brockers-DT-LSU
Analysis: Brockers surprised many by coming out after his redshirt Sophomore season buy his potential could get him into the top 10 and the Panthers need hlep in th middle of their D-line.

9. Miami Dolphins
Quinton Coples-DE-North Carolina
Analysis: Miami replaces the retiring Jason Taylor with an elite talent in Coples who underperformed his Sr. season.

10. Buffalo Bills
Alshon Jeffery-WR-South Carolina
Fantasy Impact: The Bills could use a possession receiver and Jeffery has proven to be a good one. His speed is a concern, but the Bills are wearying of Stevie Johnson and could try and land his replacement here.

Trent Richardson projects to be an every down back in the NFL, and he heads to KC in this mock. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-US PRESSWIRE

11. Kansas City Chiefs
Trent Richardson-RB-Ala
Fantasy Impact: This would be a great value pick as the Chiefs pair Richardson with Jamaal Charles in the backfield and with WRs Dwayne Bowe and Jonathan Baldwin they’d instantly be contenders in the AFC West.

12. Seattle Seahawks
Quinton Coples-DE-North Carolina
Analysis: Falls because of concerns about motivation but has elite talent and skills. Pete Carroll will coach him up

13. Arizona Cardinals
Riley Reiff
OT-Iowa

14. Dallas Cowboys
Jonathan Martin
OT-Stanford

15. Philadelphia Eagles
Luke Kuechly
LB-Boston College

16. New York Jets
Mark Barron
S-Alabama

17. Cincinnati Bengals (from Oakland)
David DeCastro
OG-Stanford

18. San Diego Chargers
Nick Perry
DE-USC

19. Chicago Bears
Michael Floyd-WR-ND
Fantasy Impact: Floyd is a steal at this point in the draft for a WR-needy team like the Bears. He should have fantasy value as well if Jay Cutler can come back healthy.

20. Tennessee Titans
Melvin Ingram
DE-South Carolina

21. Cincinnati Bengals
Peter Konz
C-Wisconsin

22. Cleveland Browns (from Atlanta)
Alfonzo Dennard
CB-Nebraska

23. Detroit Lions
Stephon Gilmore
CB-South Carolina

24. Pittsburgh Steelers
Kelechi Osemele
OG-Iowa State

Kendall Wright is one of the hottest names in the draft and Denver is one team that could benefit from his field-stretching ability.. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

25. Denver Broncos
Kendall Wright-WR-Baylor
Fantasy Impact: Wright’s stock is shooting up and he could be long gone by this point, but his speed will pair perfectly with Demaryius Thomas on the other side and help the Broncos have more down-the-field threats for Tim Tebow’s deep throws which are his strentch

26. Houston Texans
Devon Still-DT-Penn State
Analysis: The Texans defense is going to be very, very good and getting bigger in the middle will only help them.

27. New England Patriots (from New Orleans)
Janoris Jenkins-CB-North Alabama
Analysis: The Pats are candidates to move back while letting the ‘Skins, Dolphins, or Seahawks trade up for Ryan Tannehill or another QB they fancy. If they keep the pick, Jenkins will be a steal and the Pats haven’t shied away from players with character issues before.

28. Green Bay Packers
Ronnell Lewis
DT/DE-Mississippi State

29. Baltimore Ravens
Dont’a Hightower
LB-Alabama

30. San Francisco 49ers
Mohamed Sanu-WR-Rutgers
Fantasy Impact: Jones is another WR who could go much higher if his stock continues to climb the board. He’s a possession type receiver which would only help the continued development of Alex Smith. In PPR leagues he’d be WR3 with upside right away.

31. New York Giants
Zach Brown
LB-North Carolina

32. New England Patriots
Vontaze Burfict
LB-Arizona State

There’s definitely some good prospects falling out of this first round in this scenario.  Most notably Lamar Miller-RB-Miami, Mike Adams-OT-Ohio State, Fletcher Cox-DT-Mississippi State, Cordy Glenn-G-Clemson, and Dwight Jones-WR-UNC…

Let me know your feedback in the comments and check back next week to see what adjustments are made as the draft approaches. Enjoy the Sr. Bowl this Saturday and get an eye-full of all the prospects that you want your team to target in the draft and that you’ll be targeting in your fantasy drafts next year.

Have a great weekend!

Tags: 2012 NFL Draft, Andrew Luck, Justin Blackmon, NFL Mock Draft, Robert Griffin III