Jojo Doria

Surprises and interesting twists were not confined to the top 10 of the 2012 NFL Draft as there was plenty of intrigue throughout the round.

In an effort to address a primary need for a nose tackle, the Kansas City Chiefs took the 346-pound defensive tackle Dontari Poe from Memphis at No. 11 followed by the Eagles' pick at No. 12 -- Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox.

It was regarded as a good trade up for Philadelphia, which surrendered fourth and sixth-round picks to Seattle to move up three spots and land Cox, whose exceptional agility and length are expected to make him a perfect fit for coach Jim Washburn's Wide Nine scheme.

Notre Dame's Michael Floyd became the second wide receiver selected in the round. He went at No. 13 to Arizona Cardinals, who will pair him along All-Pro Larry Fitzgerald.

The St. Louis Rams took LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers at No. 14, with the pick they got from Dallas before the Seahawks added a pass rusher in West Virginia's Bruce Irvin after dropping to No. 15 following the trade with Philadelphia.

The next five picks saw North Carolina defensive end Quinton Coples going to the New York Jets, Alabama cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick heading to the Cincinnati Bengals, South Carolina defensive end Melvin Ingram to the San Diego Chargers, Boise State defensive end Shea McClellin to the Chicago Bears, and wide receiver Kendall Wright of Baylor to the Tennessee Titans.

The Patriots reversed their recent draft course and traded up twice to land Chandler Jones, the defensive end from Syracuse and Alabama linebacker Dont'a Hightower.

With the masterful stroke from coach Bill Belichick, New England traded up with Cincinnati for the No. 21 pick and got Jones, who is expected to be a perfect fit in the Pats 4-3 scheme, but could also play OLB as an edge rusher in the team's 3-4 look.

The Pats then took No. 25 pick after trading up with the Broncos, to get the versatile 265-pound Hightower.

After trading with the Minnesota Vikings to acquire the third overall pick, the Cleveland Browns appeared to have landed their quarterback of the future as they took 28-year-old Oklahoma State signal-caller Brandon Weeden at 22.

Weeden will battle Colt McCoy for the starting quarterback job in Cleveland's West Coast offense.

Detroit next removed Iowa offensive tackle Riley Reiff from the boards, Pittsburgh got Stanford guard David DeCastro and the Pats rounded out the top 25.

The Vikings traded up with the Ravens to get Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith at No. 29, while the Bucs moved up for Denver's 31st pick -- running back Doug Martin of Boise State.

The final seven picks were: Illinois defensive end Whitney Mercilus to the Texans (No. 26), Wisconsin offensive guard Kevin Zeitler to the Bengals (No. 27), USC defensive end Nick Perry to the Packers (No. 28), Notre Dame's Smith, Illinois wide receiver A.J. Jenkins to the 49ers (No. 30), Boise State's Martin and running back David Wilson of Virginia Tech to the Super Bowl champion Giants.

2012 NFL Draft Round 1 Picks

Pick Team Player Position Colege
Source: NFL
1INDIANAPOLISLuck, AndrewQBStanford
2WASHINGTONGriffin, RobertQBBaylor
3CLEVELANDRichardson, TrentRBAlabama
4MINNESOTAKalil, MattTSouthern California
5JACKSONVILLEBlackmon, JustinWROklahoma State
6DALLASClaiborne, MorrisDBLouisiana State
7TAMPA BAYBarron, MarkDBAlabama
8MIAMITannehill, RyanQBTexas A&M
9CAROLINAKuechly, LukeLBBoston College
10BUFFALOGilmore, StephonDBSouth Carolina
11KANSAS CITYPoe, DontariNTMemphis
12PHILADELPHIACox, FletcherDTMississippi State
13ARIZONAFloyd, MichaelWRNotre Dame
14ST LOUISBrockers, MichaelDTLouisiana State
15SEATTLEIrvin, BruceDEWest Virginia
16NEW YORK JETSCoples, QuintonDENorth Carolina
17CINCINNATIKirkpatrick, DreDBAlabama
18SAN DIEGOIngram, MelvinLBSouth Carolina
19CHICAGOMcClellin, SheaDEBoise State
20TENNESSEEWright, KendallWRBaylor
21NEW ENGLANDJones, ChandlerDESyracuse
22CLEVELANDWeeden, BrandonQBOklahoma State
23DETROITReiff, RileyTIowa
24PITTSBURGHDeCastro, DavidGStanford
25NEW ENGLANDHightower, Dont'aLBAlabama
26HOUSTONMercilus, WhitneyLBIllinois
27CINCINNATIZeitler, KevinGWisconsin
28GREEN BAYPerry, NickLBSouthern California
29MINNESOTASmith, HarrisonDBNotre Dame
30SAN FRANCISCOJenkins, A.J.WRIllinois
31TAMPA BAYMartin, DougRBBoise State
32NEW YORK GIANTSWilson, DavidRBVirginia Tech

 

There were 19 trades involving first-round selections in the 2012 NFL Draft, the most since at least 1970. The previous high during that span was 15 first-round trades in 1995.

WR Michael Floyd (No. 13, Arizona) left his mark at Notre Dame, establishing school records in receptions (271), receiving yards (3,686) and touchdown catches (37). He becomes the third Notre Dame wide receiver to be selected in the first round since 1967 and the first since Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown (No. 6 overall, L.A. Raiders) in 1988.

Notre Dame Wide Receivers Selected in Round 1

Year Player Team Overall Selection
Source: NFL
1969Jim SeymourLos Angeles Rams10
1988Tim BrownLos Angeles Raiders6
2012Michael FloydArizona Cardinals13

 

SEC Flavor

The SEC had nine players drafted in Round 1 tonight, the most of any conference.

Since 2000, the SEC leads all conferences with 495 total draft choices:

Conference Draft Choices
Source: NFL
SEC495
Big Ten418
PAC-12367
Big XII351
Big East304
ACC304

 

2012 NFL Draft - Trades and Surprise Picks Abound Through NFL Draft