2012 NFL Mock Draft 3.0: Buffalo Bills take Stephen Gilmore
By Andrew Satta
New York Tebows– Fletcher Cox DT, Miss State. Could go ahead of Brockers, but the Tebows luck out in this scenario. The Tebows may want a receiver here, but may have to move up to get Floyd. Cox is a dominating athlete and NY really needs to shore up that defensive line, playing against the Bills and Pats twice a year.
Cincinnati Bengals– Janoris Jenkins CB, S Florida. Jenkins certainly has a few screws lose, but he’s ridiculously talented and Cincinnati needs a corner. Either he or Dre Kirkpatrick will be available in this spot. Jenkins is all over the map in other mocks, but he might be the best corner in the Draft when all is said and done, and a team as close to success as Cincinnati should be willing to take the risk. With regard to where he ultimately goes though, your guess is as good as mine. We might see Jenkins into the middle of the second round.
San Diego Chargers– Cordy Glenn, T/GGeorgia. San Diego needs help on the line, and the versatile Glenn fits a “jack of all trades” type of mold. He can line up and 3 different spots, a valuable commodity to have.
Chicago Bears– Jonathan Martin OT, Stanford. At this point with the information that’s been talked about, Chicago is the team I have the hardest time picking a player for. Their defense is getting old and they could use another receiver, but more than any other team, as their QB goes, so does the rest of the team and when Cutler went down with an injury it was all over. More protection for Jay is now here.
Tennessee Titans– Courtney Upshaw LB, Alabama. I wanted to put a corner here, but I’m going with linebacker help. Tennessee needs help against the run and in pass rush and the versatile Upshaw.
Cincinnati Bengals (from Oakland)- Stephen Hill WR, Georgia Tech. The injured Hill is a phenomenally speedy wide out that would be potentially devastating when paired with AJ Green. This pick is pretty versatile, they could trade it to pick up other picks, or trade up with it to land Trent Richardson. Guys like Cordy Glenn or Jonathan Martin make sense here if they’re still on the board.
Cleveland Browns (from Atlanta) – Kendall Wright WR, Baylor. This is the year we figure it out regarding what McCoy can do when he finally has some weapons. Expect Cleveland to get another offensive playmaker in the second round.
Detroit Lions– Dre Kirkpatrick DB, Alabama. Every mock I see has offensive line help here, and on every message board the Detroit fans are gnashing their teeth, screaming about getting a corner. Here ya go…
Pittsburgh Steelers– Dont’a Hightower, LB Alabama. The aging but always resourceful Pittsburgh D gets a shot in the arm. With Mike Wallace staying, Pittsburgh goes back to focusing on their bread and butter. This pick could very well be offensive line help.
Denver Broncos– Quinton Coples DE, UNC. The slide is over for Coples. The Broncos forego getting a speedy wideout for Manning to score a potential dominating pass rusher. If they hit on this, the Denver pass rush becomes ridiculous.
Houston Texans– Chandler Jones DE, Syracuse. Pass rush is always a premium and Houston takes a player with extraordinary upside to breed into the spot of departed Mario Williams. It wouldn’t shock me if this pick were a WR or TE to help take pressure off Andre Johnson.
New England Patriots (from New Orleans) –Shea McClellan OLB/DE, Boise St. New England had a good team last year, but the defense was masked most of the time by the offense. They need to add some pass rush, and the very little that they had was gutted this offseason. I do not see anywhere else they could go given how stacked their offense is.
Green Bay Packers– Dontari Poe DT, Memphis. The controversial Poe teams up with BJ Raji to form a powerful middle for the defensive line, which suddenly gives Green Bay a huge advantage in the trenches. Poe is a physical freak who will occupy blockers, allowing Clay Matthews more freedom.
Baltimore Ravens– Peter Konz C, Wisconsin. Baltimore needs help on the lines, and Konz can start at Guard, where the Ravens currently have a hole, and move to the middle in time.
San Francisco 49ers– Coby Fleener TE, Stanford. I have seen Fleener in the 2nd round but I say no way to that, the guy had an excellent combine, and a very good Pro Day, so the NFC’s runnerups get a fine pass catcher to pair with Vernon Davis. This TE combo would rival the Patriot’s.
New England Patriots– Nick Perry DE, USC. Who are we kidding, the Patriots are going to trade this pick, but if they do not, Perry is the pass rush they still lack.
New York Giants- Bobby Massie OT, Ole Miss. When in doubt, grab on offensive lineman. New York could stand to shore up the line after this year. They lost a little in the secondary, but they are very deep there. This pick could very well be traded as well.
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