Andrew Luck And RG3 Are Top Two Picks At 2012 NFL Draft
As expected, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III were the Number One and Two picks in the 2012 NFL Draft. The Indianapolis Colts kicked off the annual draft party by taking Stanford quarterback Luck with the No.1 pick. The Washington Redskins followed by selecting Griffin, aka RG3, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from Baylor.
There then followed a string of trades as teams jockeyed into position. The Cleveland Browns swapped picks with the Minnesota Vikings to take Alabama running back Trent Richardson with the third pick. Minnesota, who got added picks in the fourth, fifth and seventh rounds in the deal, took offensive tackle Matt Kalil of Southern California.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded the fifth pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who selected Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon.
The Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns also picked QBs – Ryan Tannehill and Brandon Weeden respectively.
Luck will be taking over the reins of the Colts’ offense from four-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning, who has joined the Denver Broncos.
Luck said: “He was my football hero growing up. I realize you don’t really replace a guy like that. Those shoes to fill are huge. If one day I can be mentioned alongside Peyton in quarterback history, it would be a football dream come true.”
The second and third rounds of the draft will be held on Friday, with rounds four through seven conducted on Saturday.
All the first round picks:
1 Indianapolis Colts – Andrew Luck, quarterback, Stanford
2 Washington Redskins (from Rams) – Robert Griffin III, quarterback, Baylor
3 Cleveland Browns (from Vikings) – Trent Richardson, running back, Alabama
4 Minnesota Vikings (from Browns) – Matt Kalil, offensive tackle, Southern California
5 Jacksonville Jaguars (from Buccaneers) – Justin Blackmon, wide receiver, Oklahoma State
6 Dallas Cowboys (from Redskins via Rams) – Morris Claiborne, defensive back, Louisiana State
7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (from Jaguars) – Mark Barron, defensive back, Alabama
8 Miami Dolphins – Ryan Tannehill, quarterback, Texas A&M
9 Carolina Panthers – Luke Kuechly, linebacker, Boston College
10 Buffalo Bills – Stephon Gilmore, defensive back, South Carolina
11 Kansas City Chiefs – Dontari Poe, nose tackle, Memphis
12 Philadelphia Eagles (from Seahawks) – Fletcher Cox, defensive tackle, Mississippi State
13 Arizona Cardinals – Michael Floyd, wide receiver, Notre Dame
14 St. Louis Rams (from Cowboys) – Michael Brockers, defensive tackle, Louisiana State
15 Seattle Seahawks (from Eagles) – Bruce Irvin, defensive end, West Virginia
16 New York Jets – Quinton Coples, defensive end, North Carolina
17 Cincinnati Bengals (from Raiders) – Dre Kirkpatrick, defensive back, Alabama
18 San Diego Chargers – Melvin Ingram, linebacker, South Carolina
19 Chicago Bears – Shea McClellin, defensive end, Boise State
20 Tennessee Titans – Kendall Wright, wide receiver, Baylor
21 New England (from Bengals) – Chandler Jones, defensive end, Syracuse
22 Cleveland Browns (from Falcons) – Brandon Weeden, quarterback, Oklahoma State
23 Detroit Lions – Riley Reiff, offensive tackle, Iowa
24 Pittsburgh Steelers – David DeCastro, guard, Stanford
25 New England (from Broncos) – Dont’a Hightower, linebacker, Alabama
26 Houston Texans – Whitney Mercilus, linebacker, Illinois
27 Cincinnati (from Saints via Patriots) – Kevin Zeitler, guard, Wisconsin
28 Green Bay Packers – Nick Perry, linebacker, Southern California
29 Minnesota Vikings (from Ravens) – Harrison Smith, defensive back, Notre Dame
30 San Francisco 49ers – A.J. Jenkins, wide receiver, Illinois
31 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (from Patriots via Broncos) – Doug Martin, running back, Boise State
32 New York Giants – David Wilson, running back, Virginia Tech
The Guardian
