NFL Drafts are often remembered for the quarterbacks at the top of it. The 2012 NFL Draft is one of those drafts. Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. Two franchise-changing quarterbacks. Luck has made the Indianapolis Colts and annual contender. Things aren't looking too good for Griffin and the Washington Redskins. The rest of the top of this draft is a lot like the first two picks. Some have been great. Some haven't been so great. A couple have even been terrible. Here are the first ten picks of the 2012 NFL Draft.
1. Indianapolis Colts-Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
2. Washington Redskins-Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor
3. Cleveland Browns-Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama
4. Minnesota Vikings-Matt Kalil, T, USC
5. Jacksonville Jaguars-Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma St.
6. Dallas Cowboys-Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Mark Barron, S, Alabama
8. Miami Dolphins-Ryan Tannehill, QB, Texas A&M
9. Carolina Panthers-Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College
10. Buffalo Bills-Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina
It's easy to pick out the happy teams from those ten teams. The Colts and Panthers are ecstatic. Luck and Kuechly are among the best players in the league. The Dolphins and Bills should be pleased with their selections. Tannehill is a promising quarterback and the Dolphins have given him that rich second contract. A contract that makes him the face of the franchise for the near future. Gilmore is often overlooked when people talk about the best cornerbacks. He belongs in those conversations.
It's too soon to put Griffin in the bust bin but his career so far has been close to a bust. That's a sad state as he was so dynamic as a rookie. Richardson and Blackmon can be considered busts. Richardson has already been let go by three teams. The Browns, Colts, and Raiders. Blackmon has found a wild life to be more appealing than a football life. maybe he can find new life in Canada. The Redskins, Browns, Jaguars, and Cowboys traded up to select their players. The Redskins, Browns, and Jaguars can't be happy with their moves. The Cowboys are still waiting to see if Claiborne can become the player that they hoped that he would be. The Buccaneers already decided that Barron wasn't the player for their system. They traded him to the Rams last year. It didn't help Barron that the Buccaneers coaches that traded him weren't the coaches that drafted him.
That leaves Matt Kalil. Like Griffin, he was terrific as a rookie. He made the Pro Bowl. Also like Griffin, Kalil has struggled in the years since. Nagging injuries haven't helped. He's still the starting left tackle in Minnesota but the clock is ticking. He came into training camp healthier, bigger, and stronger than he's been since that rookie season. He's been solid through the preseason games. Maybe he's back to that solid rookie form. At least that's the hope.
The top of the 2012 Draft is saved by Luck, Kuechly, Tannehill, and Gilmore. Especially Luck and Kuechly. There's still hope for Kalil but the rest has been disappointing, at best. Fortunately, there were some standouts in the remaining 22 picks of the first round.
Dontari Poe
Fletcher Cox
Melvin Ingram
Chandler Jones
Harrison Smith
Those players would have looked better in the top-10 than the some of the players actually selected there.
It's safe to say that several teams look back on the 2012 NFL Draft with some regrets.
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