BASJ NFL Mock Draft 2012: Part 2 of 3

The NFL draft is just 3 short days away, and, as the hype keeps growing, we'll continue our mocking of the first round, picking who we expect each team to take (not taking into account any trades that haven't happened yet, of course). So here we go for picks 11-20:


Pick 11: Kansas City Chiefs: Melvin Ingram, LB/DE South Carolina: The Chiefs need a lot of pieces as they attempt to rebound from a lost year in which both their starting QB and RB each went down for the year with injury pretty early on. After a big 27 TD season, Matt Cassell was limited to just 9 games in 2011 and star running back Jamaal Charles went down after tearing his ACL in week 1. The Chiefs can expect rebounds from those two guys, and they also brought in power back Peyton Hillis from Cleveland. They really need to focus on their defense, especially their front-7, as they appear pretty set at DB. They could go Mark Barron to pair up with Eric Wright at Safety, but I think they go for the ball-hawk Ingram, who had 20 TFL's in 2011.

DeCastro Top Guard

Pick 12: Seattle Seahawks: David DeCastro, G, Stanford: The Seahawks have an imposing defense, just signed the guy they hope to be their long-term answer behind center in Matt Flynn, and have a helluva a back in Marshawn Lynch, who ran for over 1100 yards after gaining just over 300 in the first half of the season. The O-Line got a little better, but Lynch is the guy who deserves credit for those yards as Seattle had about as "patch-work" O-line as any team in the league. A talented, smart athlete like DeCastro could really help that bunch, give Lynch a steady guy to run behind and really be an anchor for new QB Flynn. They have good young skill guys, they just lack those tough "trench" players, especially offensively.

Pick 13: Arizona Cardinals: Cordy Glenn, G/T, Georgia Tech: Now, AZ has a lot of needs so they could go a number of different routes here, or trade back. They also could look into Matt Barron to help their wretched secondary, or a pass-rusher like Courtney Upshaw or Quninton Couples. I think they want to make that offense a force again like it was in the Kurt Warner days, and they have good young backs and receivers. The jury's still out on Kevin Kolb, but after the money and the package AZ had to part with to get him, they aren't just going to give up on him after one injury riddled season.

Pick 14: Dallas Cowboys: Mark Barron, S, Alabama: The Cowboys have publicly expressed their interest in Mark Baron, an extremely talented strong safety who can come up to the line and play the run or drop back in coverage like a DB without missing a beat. He can do it all, and with that long hair, reminds some people of a bigger Troy Polomalu with the way he plays and the results he gets. Super talented athlete who plays a premium position at a high level. The 'Boys will be lucky if he isn't snatched up by this pick, otherwise they to could go with Upshaw or Couples.

Pick 15: Philadelphia Eagles: Quinton Couples, DE, North Carolina: Couples is a more pure DE, and will really improve the Eagles up front, where they were so vulnerable in 2011. It wasn't their O-line, their run game, their passing game or their defensive backs, it was the fact they couldn't stop a high school running back if he were running behind a halfway decent line.Couples can play both the run and the pass pretty equally, and although he still has some inconsistencies in his game, he's got the talent to be an Aldon Smith type talent.

Pick 16: New York Jets: Michael Brockers, DT, LSU: The Jets want winners, and they need an anchor in the middle of their D-line. Many football people believe Brockers is the best pure DT in the draft, though there are also those that believe he was a bit of a byproduct of a great defensive scheme. They could go with the combine-hyped Dontari Poe, but I think they'd rather have the LSU 6'5", 322 pound beast to help clog up the middle for opposing backs.


Pick 17: Cincinnati Bengals: Courtney Upshaw, DE/LB, Alabama: The talented Upshaw could last this long just based on what teams need ahead of the Bengals, and they could wind up with another guy, as I mentioned earlier, who could be an "Aldon Smith" type talent. He's a little more versatile that Smith, as he's more experienced at dropping into coverage as well as rushing the passer, but will need to add some moves to his arsenal to be a premium rusher at the NFL level like Mr. Smith has. He's got good instincts, and is serviceable as is, but has the room to grow, and that's what makes him such a low-risk, potentially highly rewarding pick.

K. Wright TD Catch

Pick 18: San Diego Chargers: Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor: The Chargers lost a huge piece of their offensive puzzle in Vincent Jackson, and may look to their next number one wideout in the form of the former Baylor star. Wright doesn't have Jackson's size, at just 5'11", 195 pounds (only reason he's not a top-10 pick), but is an athletic specimen, and was one of the best in the NCAA at catching the ball last year with 108 receptions and 1,663 yards in only 13 games.

Pick 19: Chicago Bears: Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford: The Bears are looking for ways to improve their aerial attack as much as possible, as they reunited Brandon Marshall with Jay Cutler already with a deal with Miami, now could look to Andrew Luck's top red-zone target at 19 if they don't get Kendall Wright, or take the chance on Stephen Hill. They could also go O-line here as both Jonathan Martin and Mike Adams could be logical choices.

Pick 20: Tennessee Titans:  Mercilus Whitney, DE, Illinois: Whitney had a breakout, 16-sack season in 2011, and it's going to earn him a first round pick. The Titans haven't had a disruptive force like he can be since Julius Peppers years ago, and they need a guy like that to help drive the defense. They have good corners, and safeties, but they need to be applying more pressure to opposing QB's. Another team that could take a look at Stephen Hill too though, as they could envision his 6'5" frame opposite of Kenny Britt's 6'4" frame as a potentially un-stopable force on the outsides.