1. Indianapolis Colts  

Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford:  Peyton Manning is now a Bronco, and the Colts are in full re-building mode.  They have parted ways with many players from previous years and look to start anew with Mr. Luck at QB.  Hopefully they can fit a few pieces in around him to give him a hand replacing a legend.

2. Washington Redskins 

Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor: The Redskins, as we previously surmised, made the bold move up to number two for the opportunity to finally get themselves a young franchise QB.  Having given up their number one picks for the next two years the ‘Skins need to be active in Free Agency and hit on all remaining picks.

3. Minnesota Vikings
Matt Kalill, OT, USC:  Now that the move has been made to get ahead of them, they no longer have to ponder whether Christian will be their QB.  He is the man now, and they need to start building their offensive line in front of him.  The Vikings now have many needs, but this is a solid place to start.

4. Cleveland Browns

Ryan Tannehill, QB, Texas A&M:  It has been said that this player has performed so well in his off season workouts, proday, and combine that people are getting dangerously close to picking him ahead of Griffin and Luck.  All joking aside, Tannehill has shown he will be worthy of this spot to the Browns.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU: Claiborne announced yesterday that he needs wrist surgery.  This might put a crimp in the entire first round from here down.  The Bucs could go with RB Trent Richardson, but I still maintain that this is way too early in this era of the NFL to take a running back. I think Tampa Bay stays with Claiborne.

6. St. Louis Rams
Justin Blackmon, WR, OK State:  The Rams cash in the first pick thy receive from Washington here for the number 1 receiver they need desperately.  Blackmon has some issues, but coach Fischer is the right guy to handle him.  This will instantly make the Ram offense better, and keep them in the running in the weak NFC West.

7. Jacksonville Jaguars
Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford: Another young QB in Blaine Gabbert that needs protection. Gabbert is now the future of this team after Tebow-Mania landed in the No Ring Circus in New York.  Protecting the young man is paramount to any success.

8. Carolina Panthers
Michael Floyd, WR, ND:  The window on Steve Smith is closing and the Panthers would love to get a kid with Floyd’s ability to learn a few things from Smith before he leaves.  The compliment of Floyd to Smith, with Cam at QB could make this a very explosive offense. Floyd has been impressive this off season.

9. Miami Dolphins
Quinton Coples, DE, UNC: The perfect replacement for Jason Taylor.  The Miami offense should be better with a new coordinator, head coach, and free agent QB. The defense gets a big lift with this young man, and a steal if he drops to 9.  Cameron Wake has the other side locked down, and there is nothing better than two pass rushers to help a defense.

10. Buffalo Bills

Devon Still, DL, Penn State: The Bills need defense, and a force in the middle to stop the run and get inside pass rush will help them a great deal.  After finding out their Qb can play and that they have some playmakers on offense, its time to start stopping people.

Last week’s inaugural New York football Giants related look at mock drafts focused on Chad Reuter of NFLDraftScout.com and CBSSports.com and his thoughts about the upcoming 2012 NFL Draft. Yes, it’s only June. Yes, it’s still 2011. No, the NCAA college football season hasn’t started yet. And, yes, the NFL players are still locked out. But there are still 2012 mock drafts out there to report on and I’ll be doing just that until there are no more.

2012 NFL mock drafts are a crazy thing to be talking about this early. We know that. College hasn’t started yet. Top prospects haven’t lived up to their draft statuses yet, breakout players haven’t broken out yet, there aren’t any major injuries that have occurred as of yet, etc. We know that Jim Tressel resigned and won’t be coaching at Ohio State next season, sorry, he won’t be coaching at THE Ohio State, but that’s about all we know when it comes to NCAA football, at least as of now.

The other thing we know is that all these mock drafts that are being released so early will probably be meaningless by the time the actual draft takes place, in whatever shape or form it takes place. That doesn’t make the process of mock drafts any less fun though.

This week’s man on the chopping block is Andrew Perloff of Sports Illustrated and his 2012 NFL mock draft that he wrote up for SI.com on May 4.

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