NFL Draft 2012: Day 2 Winners And Losers

It’s always tough evaluating the NFL Draft so soon after the picks are made. Well, someone has to do it. Here’s my top 5 winners and losers from day 2 of the draft.

Winners

1. St Louis Rams

The St Louis Rams came into day 2 in the best position to get the best value from the second round as they had three of the top thirteen picks in the round. With the situation they were in, they used their picks to full advantage in getting wide receiver Brian Quick from Appalachian State and running back Isaiah Pead of Cincinnati. However, what really impresses me about St Louis was using the bevy of picks to their advantage in taking a chance on Miami come North Alabama cornerback Janoris Jenkins. Knowing that they had a bunch of top picks they could afford the risk of drafting Jenkins and I applaud them for the initiative. Further to this they picked up another cornerback at the top of the third round in Montana’s Trumaine Johnson who was a terrific value pick and provides cover in case Jenkins goes bad.

2. Baltimore Ravens

Having traded out of the first round, the Ravens found themselves sitting behind the Rams and Colts on day two with Alabama linebacker Courtney Upshaw still on the board. When Upshaw dropped to them they got for themselves a top 15 value with the 35th overall pick and fully justified their trade back when there had been so much available at 29. Baltimore then followed up with the solid but not flashy offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele from Iowa State who will help fill the gap left by Ben Grubbs at guard. Finally they rounded out the day with Temple running back Bernard Pierce who will be a solid backup to franchise back Ray Rice and will likely be more involved in the offense than previous backups.

3. Indianapolis Colts

If day one was all about Andrew Luck, day two was all about finding him weapons. One of the biggest criticisms of Indianapolis drafting Luck was that he had very little to throw to with slot receiver Austin Collie and the aging Reggie Wayne being his only targets on the team. The Colts began as expected by drafting Luck’s collegiate teammate from Stanford – tight end Coby Fleener. What surprised many was that having picked the top rated tight end in the draft Indianapolis used the first pick of the third round to pick the second rated tight end Dwayne Allen from Clemson. Suddenly the Colts receiving corps was looking extremely menacing. Finally, the Colts traded back into the third round to get FIU wide receiver T.Y. Hilton who would not only provide another target in the passing game but also give Indianapolis a much needed return man on special teams who has the potential to be as good as Chicago Bears superstar Devin Hester.

4. Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia were in a strong position heading into day two as not only did they have two second round picks but they also had a pretty complete team and thus were able to take the cream off the top rather than being forced to address needs as some teams did. With that being said, their first pick addressed the biggest need on the team as they took linebacker Mychal Kendricks from Cal who should not only be able to play on the outside but also provide cover for new acquisition DeMeco Ryans at the middle linebacker spot. With their second pick Philadelphia leveraged it to trade back to the lower second round until eventually the value became too great as defensive end Vinny Curry from Marshall was yet to come off the board. Curry is one of the more explosive and talented pass rushers of the draft and so the Eagles took him despite being solid at end. In the third round the Eagles chose to address their need for a backup quarterback by taking Arizona’s Nick Foles. Foles has issues he has to deal with but if there was a team that makes sense to help iron those issues out it is the Andy Reid coached Philadelphia.

5. Cincinnati Bengals

From the doghouse to the penthouse – I was vocal yesterday in saying that I thought the Bengals had performed poorly on day one but they made up for that with some excellent choices on day one. That started with drafting defensive tackle Devon Still from Penn State in the middle of the second round. They had a sever need to improve the middle of their defensive line and Still would go some way toward addressing this. They would further address the defensive tackle late on day two by drafting Clemson’s Brandon Thompson with the 93rd overall pick. Thompson was a player whose stock had dropped but who possessed first round potential and was a good find. The Bengals also addressed their need for a wide receiver opposite A.J. Green by selecting Rutgers wide receiver Mohamed Sanu in the middle of the third round. This pick is extra sweet given the cruel prank played by a Rutgers student on day one when he called Sanu as a fake Bengals employing saying the team were drafting him in round one. Poetic Justice indeed.

Honorable Mention – San Diego Chargers

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Losers

1. Denver Broncos

Denver may have done well on day one in picking up extra picks by trading back into the second round but that is all for nothing if you do nothing with them. The broncos spent all day picking the wrong players it seemed. It started with their first pick at 36 where they chose to take defensive tackle Derek Wolfe from Cincinnati. A decent pick sure but one that should have waited until the late second or early third round. When they get to their later second round pick they choose to go for a quarterback which while important was probably not the best call as they chose the lanky Brock Osweiler from Arizona State. Again another decent pick but one that should have been made later in the draft. To top it all off the Broncos have one of the top third round picks and choose to go running back. Instead of taking one of the top options in Bernard Pierce, Lamar Miller or Chris Polk, they choose to go with San Diego State runner Ronnie Hillman which is arguably the biggest reach they made all day. Ultimately, a poor day from Denver – they got some good players but could have done so much better.

2. Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars inclusion on this list is for one reason and one reason only – they drafted a punter in the third round. Yes, Bryan Anger is as good a punter as has come out of college since Shaun Lechler. Yes, he was probably worth a third round pick. So why am I complaining? The Jacksonville Jaguars have multiple needs all over the field and they use their high third round pick on a PUNTER!?!?! ‘Nuff said.

3. Oakland Raiders

Ok this is a little disingenuous but the fact remains that having no picks until the very end of the third round is really hurting a team that badly needs help. What hurts them even further is that with that 95th overall pick they chose a player who helps them but was in no way one of the top players available. With all the positions that Oakland needs help at and all the talent that was available their strategy should have been to take the best player available. In my opinion Utah’s Tony Bergstrom doesn’t come close – no offence intended Tony.

4. New England Patriots

Having made a couple of very good trades on day one to pick up key defensive players Dont’a Hightower and Chandler Jones, the Patriots were in the strange position of only having two second round picks left for the whole draft coming into day two and as such they needed to hit on both. However, New England raised eyebrows by using their first pick in the second round to take unheralded safety Tavon Wilson from Illinois in what was an obvious but unnecessary reach when there were far more high quality players still on the board. When time came for the second pick, the trader in Bill Belichick emerged when the Patriots chose to trade it for a third and fifth round pick. This would have been a decent move except that New England promptly used the third round pick to take Arkansas defensive end Jake Bequette when there were much better options available.

5. Cleveland Browns

Cleveland had had a good day one obtaining star running back Trent Richardson and 28 year old quarterback Brandon Weeden. This good feeling evaporated for Browns fans when Cleveland used their high second round pick to take offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz from Cal who had a third to fourth round grade when there was a multitude of other offensive line options available such as first round talents Bobby Massie, Cordy Glenn, Jonathan Martin and Amini Silatolu. Cleveland’s second pick was little better when, having traded down in the third round, they chose Cincinnati defensive tackle John Hughes when they had obvious needs at wide receiver and cornerback that had much better players available.

Dishonorable Mention – Detroit Lions

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