PlanetSteelers 2012 Board Mock Draft Official Selection Thread

[Discipline of Steel]

As much as Cleveland has remade their offense, Tampon Bay is revamping their defense which got shredded 10 games in a row to end the season last year. Having already pocketed Morris Claiborne and Zach Brown at CB and LB, they might as well take a crushing hitter at another defensive position of need...safety. Also from LSU...................

Brandon Taylor

[RuthlessBurgher]

The Redskins traded away a crapload of draft picks for the right to draft Robert Griffin III. Now they have to protect him. They have an early 1st round pick entrenched at LT in Trent Williams, and it seemed like the RT spot would be well-manned by veteran Jammal Brown. However, Brown has been dealing with lingering hip issues, so Washington needs an insurance policy at RT. One tackle prospect in particular seems to be rising up the board of late and now seems to be firmly entrenched in the late-second, early-third round area (which would make this pick just about right for him).



The Washington Redskins select Illinois OT Jeff Allen.

[D Rock]

Jacksonville knows they need to support their new QBs. They almost did it early in round 2 by pulling the trigger on Juron Criner. Instead, they got them some protection up front with Zeitler and things worked out great as their other target at WR is now available in the 3rd.

A big guy to go with their small fast guy and their medium sized fast guy -


Marvin McNutt

6'3" 216 lb WR from Iowa

[RuthlessBurgher]

The Bills addressed weaknesses at OL and WR with Riley Reiff and Rueben Randle, respectively (that's a lot of R's). They addressed their pass rush needs in free agency, bringing in Mario Williams and Mark Anderson. Their next biggest need is at corner, where their two starters, Terrence McGee and Drayton Florence will both be turning 32 years old during this season. They drafted Aaron Williams a year ago, but could use another young corner (since it does not appear as though Leodis McKelvin will be a regular starter in this league).



The Buffalo Bills select Brandon Boykin (that's a lot of B's), CB from Georgia.

[Pouncey53Fan]

After acquiring two straight picks from the Miami Dolphins, the Chargers decide to go out to the West Coast for their picks. With the 72nd and 73rd overall picks, we will select Mitchell Schwartz, OT/OG, California and LaMichael James, RB, Oregon.
The right side of the offensive line is a major problem in San Diego. Schwartz should be able to provide an instant upgrade at either the right guard or right tackle spot. Then as for James, the Chargers missed that presence Darren Sproles provided for them. Not so much as a prime running back, but a speed back who was an outstanding pass catcher out of the backfield. This is exactly what LaMichael James will bring back to Philip Rivers and the offense.

[NottinghamForest_UK]

The Chiefs need an upgrade or at least some competition for Cassel. Therefore, our third round selection is QB, BROCK OSWEILER. We feel he has the potential to be a future pro-bowler, with his physical skill sets and massive arm. Welcome aboard ....

[RuthlessBurgher]

The Seahawks nabbed QB Ryan Tannehill in round 1 and pass rushing DE Nick Perry in round 2. They have Beast Mode Lynch at RB, but not much behind him (Leon Washington is a fine kick returner and punt returner and a guy who could catch passes out of the backfield or even as a slot receiver at times, but if Marshawn gets hurt, I would have a hard time seeing Leon taking over regular RB duties...he is more of a specialist type). Aside from Washington, the next man up if Lynch goes down would be Kregg Lumpkin. We can do better than that. They could go with the 5'11" 215 lbs. Chris Polk as a potential replacement for Lynch if got hurt (Lynch is listed with the exact same 5'11" 215 lbs. measureables), or they could go with more of a complement to Lynch in 5'10" 197 lbs. Isaiah Pead. Well, Pead is best suited as a 3rd down change of pace type back, and that is what Leon Washington does, so the Seahawks will go with the local boy instead.



The Seattle Seahawks select Washington RB Chris Polk.

[pfelix73]

Texans need to add some depth up front along the OL so the Texans pick OT/G James Brown from Troy Univ.

[squidkid]

jets select fs Markelle Martin to team up with newly acquired ss Mark Barron and league shutdown corner Revis

[Pouncey53Fan]

With their third pick of the third round, the Chargers decide that help in the secondary is needed and we see a pretty solid value still on the board. That value is Casey Hayward, CB, Vanderbilt.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Okay, Chadman did not make his pick for the Bears overnight, so I will now leapfrog him with my pick for Arizona and squidkid's pick for Dallas (which he PM'ed to me). Then I will make Chicago's pick for Chadman, then my own pick for Tennessee, and we'll get this last half of the third round officially rolling.



After taking a tackling machine at ILB in round 1 in Luke Kuechly, and not having a pick in round 2 because of the ill-fated Kolb trade, the Cardinals still have numerous needs. They need OL help, they need a true #2 WR to complement Fitzgerald, and they could use an improved pass rush. They can take the B.P.A. at one of those positions, so they'll look for the biggest value pick that would fill one of those big needs. All of the OL and WR with 1st and 2nd round grades came off the board long ago, but there is still a pass-rushing OLB on the board who has a mid-2nd round grade and would be an excellent complement opposite of Sam Acho.



The Arizona Cardinals select Oklahoma OLB Ronnell Lewis.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Squidkid PM'ed me what may be the most polarizing pick of our mock draft so far. This guy seemed destined to be a highly-sought-after first round pick not too long ago. But as the unnecessary penalties rose, the on field performance last season dropped, the combine and pro day workouts were awful, and the interviews were worse, this guy's stock started dropping faster than any other prospect in recent memory. In our mock, he's not a first round pick, but he's not a guy who tumbles in to the late rounds either.



The Dallas Cowboys select Arizona State LB Vontaze Burfict.

[RuthlessBurgher]

The Bears took TE Coby Fleener in round 1 and DT Kendall Reyes in round 2, filling two needs. They filled their WR need by trading for Brandon Marshall, so their biggest need left is on the OL. Gabe Carimi in entrenched at RT, but at LT, J'Marcus Webb gave up 12 sacks and 14 penalties last season (even Steeler fans who are used to our awful OL play have to look at those numbers and say, whoa!). Even worse, there is no one behind Webb to replace him, so reinforcements are needed. Luckily, there is an OT prospect on the board who was considered to be a mid-round selection not too long ago, but whose stock has risen to a legit 3rd round value at this point.



The Chicago Bears select Oklahoma OT Donald Stephenson.

[RuthlessBurgher]

The Titans addressed their needs on the interior OL with Peter Konz in round 1, and improved their pass rush with Chandler Jones in round 2. Now they can use more help in their secondary. Cortland Finnegan followed Jeff Fisher to St. Louis, so they could use depth at corner to go with projected starters Jason McCourty and Alterraun Verner. There is a 6'2" 204 lbs. cornerback still on the board, and they could use a corner with size since they are in a division that has them playing again Andre Johnson twice per year. And if he doesn't pan out at corner at the next level, he also has some positional flexibility to safety as well, and the Titans could use some depth there too.



The Tennessee Titans select Montana CB Trumaine Johnson.

[Steelersrock151]

Damn you Titans. I actually pm'ed Chadman last night to try and trade up for his spot to select Johnson. With him no longer on the board, the Cincinnati Bengals choose to strengthen their oft injured/suspended secondary by selecting Chase Minnifield, CB, Virginia.