Draft rewind: New quarterback battle at top of 2012 redraft
Draft rewind: New quarterback battle at top of 2012 redraft
Quarterbacks were the most sought after prizes in the 2012 draft. Four quarterbacks were chosen in the first round originally, including the top two picks. The main suspense concerned who the Colts would draft first, Stanford’s Andrew Luck or Baylor star Robert Griffin III. In the redraft, however, a new passer joined the conversation, one who was not as highly touted as Luck or Griffin coming out of college, but who has surpassed all expectations in the NFL.
No. 1 (Colts) Actual pick – Andrew Luck, QB Redraft – Russell Wilson, QB
Wilson dropped to the third round due to his size (5’11”), but he has proven all the naysayers wrong. Wilson has led the Seahawks to 13 playoff games and a pair of Super Bowls, including a win over the Broncos in his second season. The five-time Pro Bowler has warranted his “DangeRuss” nickname by throwing for more than 28,000 yards and 200 touchdowns, and also running for nearly 4,000 yards and 20 scores. Luck was the face of the Colts during his career, but injuries forced him to retire just before the start of the 2019 season, so he dropped out of the top spot.
No. 2 (Redskins) Actual pick – Robert Griffin III, QB Redraft – Andrew Luck, QB
Washington acquired this highly coveted pick, but gave up a first- and second-rounder in 2012, plus first-rounders in each of the next two drafts. While he did not lead the Colts to the same playoff success as Wilson has had in Seattle, Luck threw for 23,671 yards and 171 touchdowns, including a league-leading 40 in 2014. The four-time Pro Bowler missed all of 2017 after shoulder surgery, but he rebounded to win the Comeback Player of the Year Award. However, the stress of football took a toll on his body. Luck’s litany of injuries included torn rib cartilage, calf and ankle injuries, at least one concussion, a torn labrum in his right shoulder, a partially torn abdomen and a lacerated kidney.
No. 3 (Browns) Actual pick – Trent Richardson, RB Redraft – Chandler Jones, DE/OLB
The Browns sent picks 4, 118, 139 and 211 to the Vikings to move up one spot. Richardson’s success at Alabama simply did not translate to the professional game. He ran for 950 yards and 11 touchdowns as a rookie in Cleveland, but has not come close to that production since. He played just three seasons in the NFL, failed to stick in two other seasons and also spent a year in Canada. He had 12 touchdowns in 2018 to lead the ill-fated Alliance of American Football, which ceased operations during its first season. Instead, the Browns could have had a pass rusher extraordinaire in Jones, who is a two-time Pro Bowler with a draft-best 84 sacks, and a champion with the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX. He was an All-Pro with Arizona in 2017 after leading the NFL with 17 sacks, and he currently has a league-high 12½ this season.
No. 4 (Vikings) Actual pick – Matt Kalil, T Redraft – Kirk Cousins, QB
After getting several picks to move down one spot, Minnesota selected Kalil, who was affected by hip and knee injuries and is not currently attached to an NFL team. Cousins has had two eventful seasons in Minnesota since coming over from Washington. He was the less-publicized of the two quarterbacks the Redskins drafted in 2012, but eventually replaced Griffin as the starter and has thrown for more than 4,000 yards in each of the past four seasons. His best year was 2016, when he threw for a career-high 4,917 yards and made his only Pro Bowl (so far).
No. 5 (Jaguars) Actual pick – Justin Blackmon, WR Redraft – T. Y. Hilton, WR
Jacksonville sent picks 7 and 101 to Tampa Bay to move up. Blackmon finished his Oklahoma State career with two straight 1,500-yard seasons, but he did not reach that total in his NFL career, thanks to drugs and alcohol. He was arrested for DUI twice and also once for drug possession, and he was suspended twice in 2013 for Substance Abuse Policy violations. Blackmon is still on Jacksonville’s reserve list, but he has never been reinstated by the league. Hilton is a four-time Pro Bowler who the Colts drafted late in the third round. He has more than 8,000 career receiving yards, including five seasons with 1,000 or more and a league-leading 1,448 in 2016. Hilton was Luck’s favorite target during the Colts’ run to the 2014 AFC Championship Game.
No. 6 (Cowboys) Actual pick – Morris Claiborne, CB Redraft – Stephon Gilmore, CB
Washington sent this pick, which they acquired in the trade for the second selection, to Dallas for 14 and 45. Claiborne has played in 84 games over eight seasons, but injuries (patellar tendon in 2014 and groin two years later) limited his play, and he only has seven interceptions. Gilmore has amassed 21 picks, including five in 2016. He made the Pro Bowl that year as well as last year, when he also was an All-Pro and a member of the Patriots team that won Super Bowl LIII.
No. 7 (Buccaneers) Actual pick – Mark Barron, S Redraft – Harrison Smith, S
Barron is one of the hardest hitters in the league, and his 516 solo tackles are the most among defensive backs taken in this draft. Smith, another hard hitter, is a four-time Pro Bowler and was an All-Pro in 2017, when he matched his career-high (set in 2014) with five interceptions.
No. 8 (Dolphins) Actual pick – Ryan Tannehill, QB Redraft – Nick Foles, QB
Tannehill was a two-time 4,000-yard passer, but he has a losing record as a starter and never led Miami to the playoffs. On the flip side, even though he was a Pro Bowler with the Eagles in 2013, Foles has never even passed for 3,000 yards in a season. However, he filled in admirably for the injured Carson Wentz in 2017 and ’18, leading Philadelphia to the playoffs twice, including the franchise’s first championship in a Super Bowl LII win over New England.
No. 9 (Panthers) Actual pick – Luke Kuechly, LB Redraft – Kuechly
Kuechly has been a tackle machine since entering the NFL. He needs 10 tackles this season to reach 100 for the eighth straight year. Kuechly has made the Pro Bowl in each of the past six seasons, and he is also a five-time All-Pro. His 1,067 tackles include leading the league twice, and he also picked off 18 career passes. Kuechly had 10 tackles and a sack in Super Bowl 50, but the Panthers lost to the Broncos.
No. 10 (Bills) Actual pick – Stephon Gilmore, CB Redraft – Josh Norman, CB
With Gilmore already taken, the Bills select the brash and cocky Norman, who the Panthers originally took early in the fifth round. Norman has 14 career interceptions, including four in 2015, when he earned his only Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors to date. However, he is best known for covering the other team’s best receivers, and his ability to get inside the head of Odell Beckham Jr. led to a flustered OBJ earning a one-game suspension for hitting Norman in the head.
No. 11 (Chiefs) Actual pick – Dontari Poe, DT Redraft – Fletcher Cox, DT
Cox has 47 career sacks, fifth-most among drafted players and most at the position. He is a four-time Pro Bowler and an All-Pro last year, when he registered a career-high 10½ sacks. He started in Philadelphia’s victory in Super Bowl LII.
No. 12 (Eagles) Actual pick – Fletcher Cox, DT Redraft – Dontari Poe, DT
Philadelphia gave up first-, fourth- and sixth-round picks to move up from 15 to 12. Poe is a two-time Pro Bowler who has 20½ career sacks with the Chiefs, Falcons, and Panthers.
No. 13 (Cardinals) Actual pick – Michael Floyd, WR Redraft – Alshon Jeffery, WR
Floyd was a member of the Patriots team that came back to win Super Bowl LI over the Falcons in overtime, but he was inactive for the game and has had an inconsistent role as a receiver the past three seasons. He had 1,041 yards in 2013, but hasn’t come close to that mark since. Jeffery, who was selected 45th by the Bears, is a 2013 Pro Bowler and a champion with the Eagles in Super Bowl LII. He has 6,534 yards, two 1,000-yard seasons and 44 touchdowns.
No. 14 (Rams) Actual pick – Michael Brockers, DT Redraft – Malik Jackson, DT
Brockers has been a solid starter, amassing 21½ sacks and 323 tackles in 117 games with the Rams. Jackson has spent more time as a reserve, but his 32½ sacks include eight in his 2017 Pro Bowl season with the Jaguars. He had five tackles in Denver’s Super Bowl 50 win over Carolina.
No. 15 (Seahawks) Actual pick – Bruce Irvin, DE/LB Redraft – Bobby Wagner, LB
Irvin has 47 sacks and played in two Super Bowls with Seattle, but has played for three teams over the past two years. Wagner, who the Seahawks drafted with pick 47, has 1,078 tackles, edging Kuechly for the most among players from this draft. He is well on the way to his eighth straight 100-tackle season, and he led the NFL with 168 in 2016. Wagner is a five-time Pro Bowler, a four-time All-Pro and a two-time Super Bowl participant.
No. 16 (Jets) Actual pick – Quinton Coples, DE Redraft – Melvin Ingram, DE
Coples never lived up to expectations in New York. He only played 62 games in the NFL and hasn’t been seen in the league since 2015. Ingram is a two-time Pro Bowler who has 47½ career sacks, including two seasons with double-digit totals. He has formed a dominant defensive end duo with Joey Bosa with the Chargers.
No. 17 (Bengals) Actual pick – Dre Kirkpatrick, CB Redraft – Casey Hayward, CB
The Raiders needed a quarterback badly, so they sent picks 17 and 37 to the Bengals for Carson Palmer. Kilpatrick has 10 interceptions in 99 career games in Cincinnati, but he is currently on Injured Reserve after hyperextending his knee. Hayward has 22 picks, including six as a rookie with the Packers and a career-high and league-leading seven with the Chargers in 2016. The two-time Pro Bowler was originally drafted late in the second round.
No. 18 (Chargers) Actual pick – Melvin Ingram, LB/DE Redraft – Olivier Vernon, LB/DE
With Ingram off the board, the Chargers select another versatile pass rusher in Vernon, who was a Pro Bowler last season with the Giants before being traded to the Browns. His career total of 54 sacks includes 11½ with Miami in 2013.
No. 19 (Bears) Actual pick – Shea McClellin, DE Redraft – Akiem Hicks, DE
McClellin had a promising start to his career (starting opposite Julius Peppers at defensive end in Chicago), but lingering effects from concussions held him to 66 games and 8½ sacks. Hicks, who was originally drafted late in the third round by the Saints, has 33½ career sacks. He earned his lone Pro Bowl selection last year and started his first 52 games with the Bears before suffering an elbow injury earlier this season.
No. 20 (Titans) Actual pick – Kendall Wright, WR Redraft – Marvin Jones, WR
Wright had 1,079 yards in 2013, but never came close to that total again and hasn’t played in the NFL since 2017. Jones was selected by the Bengals at the end of the fifth round and has never made the Pro Bowl, but his 4,923 yards and 41 touchdowns are both third among players from this draft. After missing all of 2014 with ankle and foot injuries, Jones had his best year with Cincinnati before moving on to Detroit. He had a career-high 1,101 yards in 2017 and leads the NFL so far this season with eight receiving touchdowns.
No. 21 (Patriots) Actual pick – Chandler Jones, DE Redraft – Lavonte David, LB
New England sent picks 27 and 93 to Cincinnati to move to this spot. With Jones long gone, the Patriots settle on David, another tackle machine whose 690 solo stops lead all drafted players. The late second-round pick by Tampa Bay has 959 overall tackles and has hit 100 or more six times. He is a 2013 All-Pro and a 2015 Pro Bowler who has 22½ sacks and 11 interceptions.
No. 22 (Browns) Actual pick – Brandon Weeden, QB Redraft – Robert Griffin III, QB
This pick was originally held by Atlanta, but was traded in 2011 for the pick that ended up being Julio Jones. Cleveland swung and missed (again) on Weeden, who had a 5-15 record as a starter. He threw for 3,385 yards as a rookie, a total that was more than his other four seasons combined. After three seasons in Washington, Griffin ended up in Cleveland, where he went 1-4. He is currently backing up Lamar Jackson in Baltimore. Griffin was named Offensive Rookie of the Year and was selected to the Pro Bowler after throwing for 3,200 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2012.
No. 23 (Lions) Actual pick – Riley Reiff, T Redraft – Matt Kalil, T
Reiff is a solid starter who has played 116 games with the Lions and Vikings, but Kalil had a better upside. Despite his injuries, Kalil made the Pro Bowl as a rookie and started all 66 games he was on an active roster. He played every offensive snap in four seasons.
No. 24 (Steelers) Actual pick – David DeCastro, G Redraft – DeCastro
DeCastro is a four-time Pro Bowler and a two-time All-Pro with the Steelers. Since losing time as a rookie due to a torn knee ligament, DeCastro has started 102 games and has played every offensive snap for Pittsburgh in four seasons, including this year so far.
No. 25 (Patriots) Actual pick – Dont’a Hightower, LB Redraft – Hightower
The Patriots sent picks 31 and 126 to the Broncos to move up to this spot. Hightower is a member of three Patriots championship teams and a 2016 Pro Bowler. He would have played in a fourth Super Bowl had he not torn his pectoral muscle in 2017, but he has appeared in six AFC Championship Games. Hightower has 23 sacks and 507 tackles.
No. 26 (Texans) Actual pick – Whitney Mercilus, DE Redraft – Mercilus
Mercilus has yet to appear in a Pro Bowl, but he ranks third in Texans’ team history with 48 sacks (including 12 in 2015) and second with 13 forced fumbles. Like Hightower, he suffered a torn pec, causing him to miss 11 games in 2017.
No. 27 (Bengals) Actual pick – Kevin Zeitler, G Redraft – Brandon Brooks, G
New Orleans included this pick in the 2011 Draft trade that became Mark Ingram, then New England sent the selection to Cincinnati. Zeitler was a stalwart at right guard in Cincinnati for five seasons before moving to the rival Browns. He was traded to the Giants before the season for fellow 2012 draftee Olivier Vernon. Brooks was drafted in the third round by the Texans. He has appeared in 106 games, made the past two Pro Bowls and started for the Eagles in Super Bowl LII.
No. 28 (Packers) Actual pick – Nick Perry, LB Redraft – Doug Martin, RB
Perry notched 32 career sacks, including 11 in 2016, but has not signed with another team after the Packers released him in March. In 2012, Green Bay was using a running back committee that included Alex Green, Cedric Benson and James Starks, and Martin would have been an improvement. He made the Pro Bowl as a rookie after rushing for a career-high 1,454 yards and 11 touchdowns. In 2015, he earned his only All-Pro selection, thanks to a 1,402-yard season.
No. 29 (Vikings) Actual pick – Harrison Smith, S Redraft – Tashaun Gipson, S
Minnesota traded picks 35 and 98 to move back into the first round, but Smith is already taken in this scenario. Gipson is the lone undrafted player selected in this redraft. He has 22 career interceptions, including a career-high six in his 2014 Pro Bowl season. Gipson also has 423 tackles over eight years with the Browns, Jaguars, and Texans.
No. 30 (49ers) Actual pick – A. J. Jenkins, WR Redraft – Mohamed Sanu, WR
Just because you are drafted in the first round doesn’t mean you are destined to have a successful NFL career. Look no further than Jenkins, who did not catch his first pass until his second season and was out of the NFL by 2015. Meanwhile, Sanu, who was drafted by the Bengals in the third round, has more than 4,000 yards receiving and 26 touchdowns with Cincinnati, Atlanta and now New England. He had two catches for 25 yards for the Falcons in a Super Bowl LII loss to the Patriots.
No. 31 (Buccaneers) Actual pick – Doug Martin, RB Redraft – Alfred Morris, RB
Denver traded this newly acquired selection (along with choice 126) to Tampa Bay for picks 36 and 101. Martin is already off the board, but Morris is a suitable replacement, since his 5,935 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns both are the most among drafted players. Morris, who was drafted by the Redskins early in the sixth round, ran for 1,000 or more yards in each of his first three seasons, which included two Pro Bowl selections. He set career highs as a rookie with 1,613 yards and 13 touchdowns.
No. 32 (Giants) Actual pick – David Wilson, RB Redraft – Lamar Miller, RB
Wilson’s promising career was ended after just 21 games due to spinal stenosis, which resulted in neck surgery in 2014. Miller was drafted early in Round 4, and his successful career includes two 1,000-yard seasons and a Pro Bowl last year. He tore his ACL in the third preseason game and will miss the entire 2019 season.
Other draft picks to make Pro Bowl that weren’t in the redraft: Janoris Jenkins, CB (39th by the Rams, Pro Bowl in 2016 with the Giants); Zach Brown, LB (52nd by the Titans, Pro Bowl in 2016 with the Bills); Kelechi Osemele, G (60th by the Ravens, Pro Bowler in 2016 and ’17 with the Raiders); Mike Daniels, DT (132nd by the Packers, Pro Bowl in 2017); Greg Zuerlein, K (171st by the Rams, Pro Bowl in 2017); Blair Walsh, K (175th by the Vikings, Pro Bowl as a rookie); Justin Bethel, S (177th by the Cardinals, Pro Bowls in 2013-15 on special teams); Justin Tucker, K (undrafted, signed by the Ravens, Pro Bowls in 2013 and ’16); Vontaze Burfict, LB (undrafted, signed by the Bengals, Pro Bowl in 2013); Michael Thomas, S (undrafted, signed by the 49ers, Pro Bowl in 2018 with the Giants on special teams); Johnny Hekker, P (undrafted, signed by the Rams, Pro Bowler in 2013, and ’15-’17).
Next: Plenty of uncertainty in fixing the unorthodox 2013 Draft.
-By: Kevin Rakas
Writer