2012 NFL Mock Draft: Round 2, 1st Edition

2012 NFL Mock Draft Round 2:

1. St. Louis Rams: Mohamed Sanu, WR Rutgers.  Passed on Blackmon in the first, have to give Bradford another target.
2. Indianapolis Colts: Whitney Mercilus, DE Illinois.  Pass-rushing force in the Big 10.  Could be a one-year wonder, but Colts have to take that risk with Freeney getting older and Mathis being a free agent.
3. Minnesota Vikings: Mike Adams, OT Ohio State.  Minnesota really needs OT help to protect Christian Ponder so he doesn't HAVE TO use his running abilities.
4.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Nick Perry, DE Southern Cal.  Perry slid out of the first round due to lack of fit for most teams in the latter-half of the first round.  Tampa takes the best player on the board to improve what was a horrid defense.
5. Cleveland Browns: Chase Minnifield, CB Virginia.  Cleveland keeps this pick in the family for Chase's father, Frank, was a four-time pro bowler with the franchise in the 80s.
6. Jacksonville Jaguars: Dwight Jones, WR North Carolina.  Jacksonville is no stranger to reaching for picks to fill holes, and this is just another example.
7. Washington Redskins: Zebrie Sanders, OT Florida State.  What's the point of drafting Robert Griffin III if you can't protect him?  Exactly.  Good pick here.
8. Carolina Panthers: Brandon Jenkins, DE Florida State.  Carolina needs to improve its defensive line desperately.  Took care of the run came with Still in the first, now they take aim at getting a pass rush with Jenkins.
9. Buffalo Bills: Peter Konz, C Wisconsin.  The Bills just invested a lot of money in Ryan Fitzpatrick.  Now it's time to protect him, even the miserable pass rush of the Patriots was effective against the Bills.  Good value getting Konz here, as well.
10. Miami Dolphins: Ryan Tannehill, QB Texas A&M.  Miami missed out on the RGIII sweepstakes in the first round, drafts the second-best pocket QB in the draft.
11. Seattle Seahawks: Nick Foles, QB Arizona.  The Charlie Whitehurst experiment failed.  Time to think about the future at QB.
12. Kansas City Chiefs: Dwayne Allen, TE Clemson.  Patriots-Midwest looks at New England and sees the potential of having Allen and Tony Moeaki at TE tearing up opposing defenses in the middle of the field.
13. Dallas Cowboys: Robert Lester, S Alabama.  If lester declares, he will be one of the top FS in the draft.  Dallas really needs help in its secondary.  Drafting Jenkins in the first and Lester in the second goes a long way to address that.
14. Philadelphia Eagles: Lavonte David, OLB Nebraska.  Philly continues to improve its horrid linebacking core.  This time, they get some speed with David to match the intelligence of Kuelchy in the first round.
15. New York Jets: Brandon Washington, OG/OT Miami (FL).  Here's a summary of the Jets at right tackle: 11 Sacks allowed, 11 holding penalties.  Ouch.
16. New England Patriots (via Oakland): Stephon Gillmore, CB South Carolina.  The Patriots continue to stockpile young talent on defense.
17. San Diego Chargers: Coby Fleener, TE Stanford.  San Diego drafts some insurance for when (not if) Antonio Gates misses games next season.
18. Chicago Bears: Andrew Datko, OT Florida State.  Like quarterback Jay Cutler, Datko will be returning from injury this offseason.  Also like Cutler, Datko has first round talent, but unlike Cutler, will fall to the second round in the draft.
19. Philadelphia Eagles (via Arizona): Jared Crick, DT/DE Nebraska.  This pick will hinge on whether DeShaun Jackson returns.  If not, look for Nick Toon, the wide receiver from Wisconsin to go here.
20. Tennessee Titans: Jayron Hosley, CB Virginia Tech.  With Cortland Finnegan likely departing via free agency, Tennessee will need to draft a fill-in there.  Good value with this pick, as well.
21. Cincinnati Bengals: Lucas Nix, OG Pittsburgh.  Incumbent Bobbie Williams is A) 35 and B) a free agent.  Makes sense to add insurance/replacement.
22. Detroit Lions: Josh Robinson, CB Central Florida.  Finally, Detroit addresses its secondary in the draft.  Also, Robinson can help in special teams.
23. Atlanta Falcons: Ben Jones, C Georgia.  Incombant Todd McClure will be 35 and the Falcons don't have many gaping holes so some insurance at an important position is always a good idea.
24. Pittsburgh Steelers: Sylvester Williams, NT North Carolina.  Williams may need to start sooner rather than later due to Casey Hampton's torn ACL he suffered in Pittsburgh's surprising loss to Denver.  Steelers must address this position early in the draft.  May even go after a DT in the first round.
25. Denver Broncos: LaMichael James, RB Oregon.  For any other team, this would be a reach, but this is the Tim Tebow led Broncos.  James is exactly the type of running back that would work perfectly with this offense.  Will also work well as a tandem with Willis McGahee if Brady Quinn plays.
26. New York Giants: Nate Potter, OT Boise State.  William Beattie hasn't done the job at right tackle and Potter could potentially start week one.
27. Houston Texans: Brian Quick, WR Appalachian State.  One of the best division II players around, but it's always difficult to place them.  Houston could definitely use a big, fast target to go opposite the oft-injured Andre Johnson.
28. San Francisco 49ers: Ronnell Lewis, DE/OLB Oklahoma.  San Francisco addressed its biggest need in the first round at wide receiver with Kendall Wright, but he 49ers could use some help at the rush-linebacker spot, where Ahmad Brooks will be becoming a free agent, leaving Aldon Smith alone.  Until now.
29. Baltimore Ravens: Kevin Zeitler, OG Wisconsin.  With incombant Ben Grubbs likely asking for big money in free agency, the Ravens will need to do some retooling in the interior offensive line.  Zeitler fits the profile of what the Ravens need on offense with his mean style.
30. New Orleans Saints: Keenan Robinson, OLB Texas.  Robinson will give something the Saints don't have much of on defense: speed.  Robinson should run one of the better 40 yard-dash times for a linebacker at the combine and fits a need on the Saints defense.
31. New England Patriots: Reuben Randall, WR Louisiana State.  Good size, speed combo will force safeties to help corners on the sideline, which will create more matchup problems with tight ends Gonkowski and Hernandez.
32. Green Bay Packers: Trumaine Johnson, CB Montana.  Great size at 6'2" and low 4.5 40-yard dash time expected at the combine may skyrocket Johnson into the early first round, but any slip up at the combine should land him as the heir-apparent to Charles Woodson.

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