Biggest Winners After First Round of NFL Draft

 

St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams are in my opinion, the biggest winners after the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft. The Rams traded out of their number six pick (which they got to by trading the #2 overall pick to Washington) and still ended up getting the guy they wanted; Michael Brockers at #14. Not only did they get their guy, but they set themselves up to have a great nucleus of young talent with Bradford on offense and Brockers on defense along with MLB James Laurinaitis. Going into round two the Rams have 3 picks in the first 13 and look to assess the rest of their team’s holes (WR, OT & OLB). There is still top-tier talent left on the draft board, the Rams must be pleased with what they were able to pull of today.

Projected 2^nd round picks:
1.OG/OT-Cordy Glenn-Georgia
7.WR-Brian Quick-Appalachian St.
13.OLB-Lavonte David-Nebraska

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings are huge winners because of what they were to do with stirring up the whole league. Days before the draft Minnesota came out and said they have Morris Claiborne as the top guy on their draft board. By saying this, many other teams went into panic either trying to trade up for Matt Kalil or to trade up for the second-best cornerback, Stephon Gilmore. With all of this commotion going on, the Vikings created a high-pressure scenario, which raised the value of trades. It seemed as if the Cleveland Browns got scared that someone would jump in front of them and take their guy (Trent Richardson) because the Vikings said the #3 pick was up for grabs. With fear of their pick being stolen, Cleveland took initiative and swapped picks with Minnesota in order to block any other team potentially getting the #3 pick. Minnesota also got the 118^th & 139^th picks in the 2012 draft and the 211^th pick in 2013. After selecting a franchise LT in Matt Kalil at the #4 pick the Vikings showed they weren’t done yet. The Vikes traded up into the first round with the Baltimore Ravens; Minnesota received the 29^th overall pick in 2012 and Baltimore got the 35^th and 98^th picks in 2012. With the 29^th pick Harrison Smith was selected. Minnesota is desperate for a playmaking secondary but they might have been able to get Smith in the second round. This is a great draft for the Vikings so far because they got two guys they coveted very much and ended up acquiring more picks in the process.

No picks in second round.

New England Patriots

Bob Kraft has this franchise in order and the Patriots have become a regular on this list. Surprisingly this year New England traded up rather than down but they filled two key needs on the defensive side. The first trade sent the 27^th and 93^rd overall picks to Cincinnati in exchange for the 21^st overall selection. With that pick the Patriots selected DE/OLB Chandler Jones-Syracuse. Jones will fit perfectly in the Belichick scheme, which will be a 3-4 for the most part next year. Jones will play mostly OLB and he will be the primary pass-rusher; at 6’5 he can create separation and can get to the quarterback in a variety of ways. The Patriots also traded their 31^st and 126^th overall picks to the Denver Broncos for the 25^th overall pick in the draft. With the 25^th pick the Patriots took Don’t’a Hightower-Alabama. Hightower will be lining up on the side of Brandon Spikes in their 3-4 scheme. Although Hightower is not great in pass coverage, he brings great leadership, instinct and work ethic. Belichick taps back into his Alabama pipeline and finds a hidden gem in this year’s draft.

Projected 2^nd round pick
16.OG-Brandon Brooks-Miami (OH)

Peyton Signed. But What About Tebow?

Yesterday (Monday morning- March 19, 2012) I was sitting in class, Twitter-surfing. Around 11 o’clock am,  the Peyton Manning news took over the universe, he had agreed to terms with the Denver Broncos. The initial reaction was “How did Denver pull this off?” and my subsequent thought was, “where on earth will Tebow go?” Many NFL teams are starting to find their QBs, therefore the number of teams for Tebow could be limited. Within the past week the Seattle Seahawks signed Matt Flynn, the Jacksonville Jaguars brought in Chad Henne to help the progression of Blaine Gabbert and today the Miami Dolphins signed David Garrard. The price tag for Tebow is unknown, but, it looks like Denver is willing to unload him now that they have signed the almighty Peyton.

Most Likely Destination

Cleveland Browns- The Browns are arguably the one franchise in the NFL that is struggling the most.  They do not have one marquee player and even though Cleveland fans are dedicated, the Browns organization needs to bring in a franchise player. Colt McCoy will be 26 next season (third season) and although he isn’t the sole reason for Cleveland’s downfall he could be the guy who pays the consequences; especially with his history of concussions. Cleveland has some money to spend and they have a good amount of draft picks. I could see a trade where Cleveland gives up two future-second round picks and maybe a throw-in WR (like a Carlton Mitchell). Tebow fits the Cleveland West-coast style run by Pat Shurmur and although he might not bring immediate wins to Cleveland, he will be a block for the organization to build on. I don’t see Tebow attracting a first round pick, which is a win for the Browns (first one in a long time), Cleveland has two first rounders this year and if they bring in Trent Richardson or a top-notch WR, Tim Tebow and Joshua Cribbs would be happy campers.

"Please Lord, don't make me go to Cleveland."

Under the Radar Team

New England Patriots- Bill Belichick has a long history of drafting Florida players; Aaron Hernandez, Brandon Spikes and Jermaine Cunningham to name a few. I am not saying that would draw immediate interest, but Belichick likes drafting players out of stable environments and he is very close to Urban Meyer, who coached Tebow at the University of Florida. Another logical factor is that Josh McDaniels was Head Coach for the Denver Broncos when they drafted Tebow and McDaniels had a huge say in trading up for him. There could be some packages or crazy plays McDaniels has up is sleeve that he was never able to involve Tebow with in Denver. The Patriots are the most innovative team in the NFL and they could do amazing thing with Tebow’s talent. The factors going against Tebow are: Brady will never get taken off the field so Tebow can take a snap and the Patriots most likely won’t trade anything valuable for Tebow despite their surplus of draft picks. This is something to keep an eye on, however I don’t think it happens.

Team Under Speculation

Jacksonville Jaguars- This is a long shot for the Jaguars franchise. Last year the Jaguars selected Blaine Gabbert with the No. 10 overall pick in the NFL draft. Not only did Gabbert see ample amount of playing time albeit struggling, but new ownership also brought in Chad Henne on a two-year contract. Now with the new CBA and NFL ruling, A No. 10 pick doesn’t get paid nearly as much as what they used to and teams only suit up two QBs a game and I don’t see Henne being in street clothes on Sundays. Jacksonville is a hurting franchise right now and they need all of there draft picks in order to have a fighting chance in this league. The only thing that is keeping this rumor alive is the fact that the National Football League is a business and owners are trying to sell tickets and merchandise; no one is bigger than Tim Tebow (and he is a Jax native). The Jaguars need to sell tickets and the Broncos desperately need a Qb to learn under Manning, the only thing that would make sense to me is Blaine Gabbert getting shipped to Denver for Tim Tebow and a fourth round pick. Gabbert has all of the tools and last year he was the youngest QB to start a game (21 years–old). It would make perfect sense from Denver’s side of the fence because if this doesn’t happen they NEED to draft a Quarterback to be Peyton’s apprentice or else they will be a bottom-dweller of the league once again in the near future.

Teams on the Outside Looking In

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
-He could sit under Josh Freeman and be used sparingly. If Freeman continues to be turnover happy, Tebow could ultimately take over the franchise.

San Francisco 49ers
-Harbaugh missed the boat on Peyton Manning but he loves athletic and versatile Quarterbacks. He could do a lot of different things with Tim Tebow but he might just want use Alex Smith until 2^nd round pick Colin Kaepernick develops into a starter.

Deja Blu?

It smells like 2008.  No, Mankind has not perfected time travel, but we will be seeing the same two teams in this year’s Super Bowl as we did just four seasons ago.

The New York Giants will  meet the New England Patriots once again in a much anticipated matchup in Indianapolis.  Many will not forget when the Giants handed the Pats their first loss of the season, ending their run at perfection and the first possible 19-0 season. Highlights of Super Bowl XLII included the infamous helmet catch by Giants’ wide-receiver David Tyree, or the final touchdown of the game by Plaxico Burress.  But as many people know, a bit has changed since that game.

Now it is time for Brady and the gang to try to get revenge on those G-Men as there are various factors and side-stories going into this game. The Super Bowl is being played at Peyton’s home, which is somewhat comical; who will be suiting up in Peyton’s locker? His brother, or his rival? Also, does defense really win championships, or can the Patriots win it with the 31^st overall defense? The Giants seem to have the more complete team but the Patriots can score at any moment. The key matchup of this game will be the Giants’ pass rush vs. the Patriots’ offensive line.

Eli Manning has constantly been criticized throughout his career. At the beginning of the year Eli Manning said he was an elite quarterbacks, this year he has been just that. Manning threw for nearly 5,000 yards and has a touchdown/interception ratio of 29-16. Peyton’s younger brother has shown grit throughout this whole season; he has been sacked countless times, thrown under duress and led the Giants to many comebacks. The maturity level of Manning has been amazing this season, it is like he completely transformed into a new player. The quarterback matchup of this Super Bowl is going to be a great one as both teams will look to air it out.

I am not a fan of the Patriots or the Giants so I honestly do not care who wins, but I do think this game will be played with a ton of emotion and will make for good television. The Patriots defense has been swarming this post season, however, I don’t think the secondary can cover the trio of wide receivers that the Giants have (Nicks Cruz & Manningham). Last week on the last drive, Julian Edelman was covering Anquan Boldin and he was getting toasted.
On the other side of the ball, how will the Giants be able to stop almighty Gronk? With the pass rush the Giants present I would expect to see a lot of Shotgun packages with Lousaka Polite or  Gronkowski aside Brady. Polite was picked up before the playoffs and he is great at stopping the blitz. With Gronk in the backfield he will be able to chip one of the pass rushers and then release to the flats. I also would not be surprised if the Patriots use some 3 TE sets with Nate Solder as one of the tight ends. In order for the Patriots to win this game it will have to be a shootout. If the Giants want to win this game they need to hit Tom Brady a lot. I feel the winner of this game will make a game-changing play. My gut tells me the Patriots could either get a pick six or the Giants will get a kick return touchdown. Both are unlikely, but then again, anything can happen in the Super Bowl.

What does this Super Bowl really mean?  If the Patriots win, then Brady will get his fourth ring, tying Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw for the most all-time among quarterbacks.  If the Giants win, then Eli Manning snags his second ring, giving him more than his brother Peyton and they will also have denied that Patriots at a chance of revenge. Either way, sparks will be flying in Indy on February 5^th.

My Prediction:  Patriots win 35-27