NFL Draft 2012: Analyzing The First Round Trades

It was a hectic day in Radio City Music Hall as the first round has a number of teams looking to trade. All in all, eight trades were conducted during the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Let’s take a look back at what happened.

1. Minnesota Vikings (3rd overall)/Cleveland Browns (4th overall)

The first trade of the night occurred before the draft even started. About 45 minutes before round 1 was due to commence, we heard that a trade had been made with the Cleveland Browns trading up from the 4th pick to 3rd overall in a deal that would send the Browns 4th, 5th and 7th round picks to Minnesota in return for the swap.

For Minnesota, this was an easy deal as the team had their sights set on only one player – USC left tackle Matt Kalil. It was safe to make the trade with Cleveland as they already have their franchise left tackle in Joe Thomas who was a first round pick himself a few years ago. The Vikings got themselves some value for their pick and yet still got the player they wanted.

For Cleveland, this trade was about one player – Trent Richardson. Richardson was obviously the third best prospect in this draft but with Adrian Peterson on their roster there was zero chance that Minnesota would take the Alabama running back. There were other teams highly interested with the St Louis Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers being chief among the suitors. In the end, Cleveland got their act together early and got a deal done to secure their running back of the future fifty years after getting Ernie Davis who was originally drafted by the Washington Redskins first overall in the 1962 NFL Draft but who would later in the draft have the rights to his services traded to Cleveland in the deal that sent Bobby Mitchell to Washington.

Trade Grade: Minnesota – A+, Cleveland – B

2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5th overall)/Jacksonville Jaguars (7th overall)

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been in desperate need of a wide receiver for some time and decided that when they didn’t like what was offered to trade down they would instead look to trade up for super Oklahoma State wideout Justin Blackmon. They found a willing trade partner in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who many had expected to take LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne with the 5th overall pick. The deal agreed upon was a reasonably cheap one with Jacksonville sending the Bucs their fourth round pick in exchange for the swap of first round picks.

Tampa Bay may have surprised many observing the draft by not getting Claiborne but they had kept their cards close to the chest. It emerged after the trade that the Buccaneers had secretly coveted Alabama safety Mark Barron and had always intended to go after him should the opportunity arise. As it was, the trade unfolded perfectly for them. the only downside for Tampa Bay was that they didn’t get quite as much value as they could have with this trade any upon later inspection of other trades in the draft may be disappointed they only got a fourth round pick.

Trade Grade: Tampa Bay – C, Jacksonville – B+

3. St Louis Rams (6th overall)/Dallas Cowboys (14th overall)

This trade was perhaps the biggest surprise of the night simply because it was unexpected to see Morris Claiborne be the last of the “big 6” to be drafted. Before the draft, much of the speculation surrounding who could be available at the sixth pick was around Matt Kalil, Justin Blackmon and Trent Richardson with very few thinking Morris Claiborne would get past Tampa Bay at 5.

Upon seeing Tampa Bay trade down and the Jaguars selecting Justin Blackmon, an opportunity immediately arose for a team to trade up for Claiborne. St Louis didn’t really want to draft a cornerback after signing former Tennessee Titan Cortland Finnegan to a big free agent contract this offseason. The Dallas Cowboys gave them a call and in the end the two teams came to an agreement which saw Dallas sending their second round pick to St Louis in exchange for moving the eight spots up from 14 to 6.

St Louis had now extracted maximum value for the 2nd overall pick they originally had. First they had managed to obtain two future first round picks and the Redskins 2012 second round pick in the trade that landed the Redskins Robert Griffin III. The Rams had now added another second round pick to that haul and will be the team with the power on day 2 of this year’s draft as they own three of the top thirteen second round picks. They also got themselves the star defensive tackle they needed at 14 in LSU’s Michael Brockers.

Dallas on the other hand saw a chance to fix an obvious flaw in the defense by obtaining a cornerback who will be one of the better coverage players in the NFL once he reaches his prime. The Cowboys secondary was horrendous in 2011 and they sought to rectify this by signing free agent cornerback Brandon Carr this offseason. However, there was still a great need for more rebuilding and, with Carr’s blessing, chose to move up and secure what will now be one of the best cornerback tandems in the NFL.

Trade Grade: St Louis – A-, Dallas – A

4. Seattle Seahawks (12th overall)/Philadelphia Eagles (15th overall)

In the week or so before the draft, the Philadelphia Eagles made it known that they wished to trade up to get a defensive tackle. Come draft day and they were making calls to try and get a deal done. The Chiefs would have been a likely partner but they elected to instead draft the defensive tackle they wanted most who was Dontari Poe of Memphis. The next pick belonged to Seattle who had an idea in mind for who they wanted and were keen to get what value they could in a trade and eagerly agreed to send the 12th pick overall to Philadelphia in exchange for the Eagles 15th overall pick as well as their 4th and 6th round selections.

With the 12th pick, Philadelphia knew exactly who they wanted – Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox. Many had Cox rated as easily the top defensive tackle available before the draft and it was a relief for Philadelphia when the Chiefs chose to pass on him in favour of the bulkier Poe. Cox is a player who has all the measureables you want from a defensive tackle in a 4-3 scheme and in particular the explosiveness to go after the quarterback.

We didn’t have to wait for long to find out why Seattle had chosen to trade down. Before the draft, most commentators speculated correctly that the Seahawks were after an elite pass rusher and there were several who thought that the likes of Quentin Coples, Chandler Jones or Melvin Ingram would be the pick. However, in Bruce Irvin the Seahawks made a reach but one that is based on production. Irvin is a top first round talent who had been projected low due to serious off-field issues. The Seahawks knew they were making a big reach but wanted to make sure they got their man so they took what value they could without risking too much and got the pass rusher they desired.

Trade Grade: Philadelphia A, Seattle A

5. Cincinnati (21st overall)/New England (27th overall)

In years past, Bill Belichick has become known as the king of draft trades. However, he had received severe criticism for always trading away good picks and never using the weapons he had to get the better players his team needed. In this year’s draft, the Patriots had a target or two in mind and when Syracuse defensive end Chandler Jones came within reach, New England made their move and traded their third round pick to Cincinnati in order to move up six spots from 27th overall to 21st.

In the criticism received following the 2011 draft, many noted that the Patriots had not addressed their need for pass rushers and this was prevalent on the grand stage of the Super Bowl as New England came up short. In Chandler Jones, the Patriots went and got one of the hottest rising commodities in Chandler Jones. That should help stop the complaints regarding the Patriots pass rush.

The Bengals were always going to be in a good position to trade on draft day as they possessed the pivotal picks of 17th and 21st overall. Having obtained the cornerback they needed in Dre Kirkpatrick at 17, the Bengals accepted the Patriots offer. What was odd about the move was that it was well known the Bengals needed offensive line help and both Riley Reiff and David DeCastro were still on the board but unlikely to drop to 27. Lo and behold, both were gone and the Bengals decided to take a chance on Wisconsin guard Kevin Zeitler. For all the power they had in the first round, the Bengals used it rather poorly with this trade.

Trade Grade: New England – A, Cincinnati – D

6. Denver (25th overall)/New England (31st overall)

New England were not done trading just yet. Having made the move to obtain Chandler Jones, the Patriots now eyed the Denver Broncos who had made it clear they wished to trade down. The Patriots still had a few picks left and in the end gave up the lowest pick – that being their low 4th rounder – to Denver in exchange for moving from 31 to 25. What was interesting was this now left New England with only two more picks after this selection – the two second round picks at 48 and 63.

There were a few fine players who had been dropping to this point. Most notable of these was Alabama linebacker Courtney Upshaw who was viewed by many teams to fit better as a 3-4 defensive end. That he was still available at 25 was a shock to many but the Patriots chose to ignore the Crimson Tide star in favour of his college teammate Dont’a Hightower. Hightower had played inside linebacker in college but is projected to play outside linebacker in the NFL. There were some who believed Hightower was not a good fit for the NFL as he is undersized and lacks the power many feel is necessary.

For Denver, they were looking to get out of the first round altogether but a move to 31st overall would be close enough. Obtaining the fourth round pick was a nice payoff although one wonders if they could have gotten one of the two second round picks owned by New England had they offered to send a pick back – perhaps a third rounder – in return.

Trade Grade: Denver – B-, New England A

7. Baltimore (29th overall)/ Minnesota (35th overall)

After their early trade with the Cleveland Browns, there was a statement made from the Minnesota camp that they were interested in trading back into the first round later on. So it came to pass as they made a trade with the Baltimore Ravens to move up six spots from their high second round pick in order to pick 29th overall. In exchange, the Vikings gave up their high fourth round pick as compensation.

Having drafted their franchise left tackle earlier in the day and in doing so passed on cornerback Morris Claiborne, the Vikings staff knew they needed to get some help in their secondary. This draft was well know by all to be short on talent at the safety position and Minnesota chose to take the second best safety in the draft in Notre Dame’s Harrison Smith. Smith was known in college as one of the hardest workers on the Notre Dame team and was a team captain. As such, he would help provide the platform needed for the Vikings who had to defend against the likes of Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford in the frigid NFC North.

Baltimore on the other hand had watched the way the draft had shaken out and the one thing that was most obvious was the number of offensive linemen who were dropping and this position was an area of need for them. At the time of the 29th pick, only four had been taken with the likes of Cordy Glenn, Peter Konz and Bobby Massie all sitting on the board. Also there was the fact that the team had also been watching closely certain defensive players such as Alabama’s Dont’a Hightower come off the board not long before. The ravens head into day two with two second round pick and with one of those being fairly early there is the potential for good value.

Trade Grade – Baltimore – A+, Minnesota – A-

8. Denver (31st overall)/Tampa Bay (36th overall)

Tampa Bay already had one trade done when trading down from 5th overall to claim safety Mark Barron but this was a consolation prize of sorts as they had been in the mix for star Alabama running back Trent Richardson. Tampa Bay were still in need of a running back but now were looking for a compliment for incumbent starter LaGarrette Blount as opposed to a replacement. The Buccaneers were well aware of the Giants need at running back and so were determined to trade above the reigning Super Bowl champions if possible.

Conversely, the Denver Broncos had also made an earlier trade when they traded down from 25 to 31 in the deal that brought New England Dont’a Hightower. It was widely known however that Denver wished to trade out of the first round entirely as the target they had in mind, thought to be Michigan State defensive tackle Jerel Worthy, was a second round talent. When Tampa Bay came calling looking to jump ahead of the Giants, the Broncos took a deal in which they would trade down five spots into the second round and in return would trade away the fourth round pick they had received from New England for that of the Buccaneers which was 25 spots higher.

The object of the Buccaneers trade had been to get the running back they desired and they chose the runner that many commentators had had as the second best overall – Boise State’s Doug Martin. Martin was mostly thought of as a second round talent but with the knowledge that the Giants may be picking a running back early the Bucs chose to choose their own destiny and jump ahead to secure the guy they wanted. As it was, the Giants did indeed take a running back at 32nd overall. However, there is some speculation that had the Bucs chosen not to make the trade that they may have chosen to wait until the second round to get a running back. Then again – with the St Louis Rams searching for a successor to star running back Steven Jackson and holding the 34th overall pick it is very possible Martin wouldn’t have been available when Tampa Bay picked at 36 so overall it was likely the right call.

Trade Grade – Denver A+, Tampa Bay – B

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