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2012 NFL Draft
77th annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible players
The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting",[1] was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City from April 26-28.[2][3][4][5] The Indianapolis Colts, who compiled the league's worst record in the 2011 season with a 2-14 record, had the right to the first selection.[6]
On April 17, Indianapolis general manager Ryan Grigson announced that the team would take Andrew Luck as their first pick, saying it was "the right thing to do" in anticipation of the "media gauntlet" Luck would face in the days leading up to the draft.[7] Luck, being highly regarded as one of the best quarterback prospects in years, had been the subject of the "Suck for Luck" campaigns by fans hoping their teams would end up with the worst record in the 2011 season so they would have the chance to draft Luck. Something rare occurred when the first and last picks in the draft were both quarterbacks and were taken by the same team. Chandler Harnish, chosen with the final pick of the draft by the Colts, made him Mr. Irrelevant for 2012.[8]
Even at a relatively early stage, the strength of the quarterbacks in the 2012 class had been noted. For the first time since the 1970 merger, five rookie quarterbacks would start during opening week - first-round draft picks Luck, Robert Griffin III, Ryan Tannehill, and Brandon Weeden, as well as third-rounder Russell Wilson.[9][10] By season's end, three more rookie quarterbacks would start their first games - third-round draft pick Nick Foles, fourth-rounder Kirk Cousins, and sixth-rounder Ryan Lindley.[11][12][13] Undrafted quarterbacks Austin Davis, Case Keenum, and Kellen Moore, who were each signed to teams following the draft, as well as second-round draft pick Brock Osweiler, would each eventually start at quarterback in one or more NFL games during later seasons. Luck, Griffin, and Wilson would be named to the Pro Bowl following the conclusion of the regular season, while Foles, Cousins, and Tannehill would be recognized as Pro Bowlers later on in their careers.
Wilson, Osweiler, and Foles have each been a part of a Super Bowl winning team, with Nick Foles eventually becoming the MVP of Super Bowl LII.
A record 65 underclassmen announced their intention to forgo their remaining NCAA eligibility and declare themselves eligible to be selected in the draft.[15] Of the 65 eligible underclassmen, 44 (or 67.7%) were drafted.[16]
The selection of Luck, a junior, marked the fourth straight draft where the first overall selection was an underclassman. Since non-seniors were first eligible to be drafted in 1990, fifteen first overall picks (including seven of the last eight) have been players who have entered the draft early.[17] Eight of the first ten players chosen in this draft were non-seniors, which matched the record set in the previous draft. Mark Barron and Ryan Tannehill were the only two seniors among the first ten draftees.
Determination of draft order
The draft order is generally based on each team's record from the previous season, with teams who qualified for the postseason selecting after those which failed to make the playoffs.[18]
A supplemental draft was held on July 12, 2012. For each player selected in the supplemental draft, the team forfeits its pick in that round in the draft of the following season. 8 players were available, but only 1 was selected.[24]
^No. 3: Minnesota -> Cleveland (PD). Minnesota traded this selection to Cleveland for their first (4th), fourth (118th), fifth (139th), and seventh round (211th) selections this year.[source 3]
^No. 5: Tampa Bay -> Jacksonville (D). Tampa Bay traded this selection to Jacksonville for their first (7th) and fourth round (101st) selections this year.[source 4]
No. 6: St. Louis -> Dallas (D). St. Louis traded this selection to Dallas for their first (14th) and second round (45th) selections this year.[source 5]
^No. 12: Seattle -> Philadelphia (D). Seattle traded this selection to Philadelphia for their first (15th), fourth (114th), and sixth round (172nd) selections this year.[source 6]
^No. 17: Oakland -> Cincinnati (PD). Oakland traded this selection and their 2013 second-round selection (37th) to Cincinnati for quarterback Carson Palmer. The 2013 selection would have become Oakland's first-rounder if Oakland had made it to the 2012-13 AFC Championship game.[source 7][source 8]
^No. 21: Cincinnati -> New England (D). Cincinnati traded this selection to New England for their first (27th) and third round (93rd) selections this year.[source 9]
^No. 22: Atlanta -> Cleveland (PD). Atlanta traded this selection, a fourth-round (118th) selection, and their first-, second-, and fourth-round selections in the 2011 NFL Draft (No. 27, after all trades and the clock expiring on their original pick, Baltimore selected Jimmy Smith; No. 59, Cleveland selected Greg Little; and No. 124, Cleveland selected Owen Marecic) to Cleveland for Cleveland's 2011 first-round selection (No. 6, used to select Julio Jones).[source 10]
^No. 25: Denver -> New England (D).
Denver traded this selection to New England for their first (31st) and fourth round (126th) selections this year.[source 9]
No. 27: New Orleans -> New England (PD). New Orleans traded this selection and their 2011 second-round selection (No. 56, New England selected Shane Vereen) to New England for New England's first-round selection in the 2011 Draft (No. 28, New Orleans selected Mark Ingram).[source 11]
^No. 29: Baltimore -> Minnesota (D). Baltimore traded this selection to Minnesota for their second (35th) and fourth round (98th) selections this year.[source 12]
No. 31: Denver -> Tampa Bay (D). Denver traded this selection and their fourth round (126th) selection to Tampa for their second (36th) and fourth round (101st) selections this year.[source 13]
^No. 43: Seattle -> New York Jets (D). Seattle traded this selection to the New York Jets for New York's second (47th), fifth (154th), and seventh round (232nd) selections.[source 14]
No. 45: St. Louis -> Chicago (D). St. Louis traded this selection to Chicago for their second (50th) and fifth round (150th) selections this year.[source 15]
^No. 48: Oakland -> New England (PD). Oakland traded this selection and a 2011 seventh-round selection (No. 219, New England selected Malcolm Williams) to New England for New England's third- and fourth-round selections in 2011 (Nos. 92 and 125, Oakland selected Joseph Barksdale and Taiwan Jones, respectively).[source 16]
No. 51: Philadelphia -> Green Bay (D). Philadelphia traded this selection to Green Bay for their second (59th) and fourth round (123rd) selections.[source 18]
^No. 58: Houson -> Tampa Bay (D). Houston traded this selection and their seventh round (233rd) selection to Tampa Bay for their third (68th) and fourth round (126th) selections.[source 19]
^No. 62: New England -> Green Bay (D). New England traded this selection to Green Bay for their third (90th) and fifth round (163rd) selections.[source 20]
Round three
^No. 67: Cleveland -> Denver (D). Cleveland traded this selection to Denver for their third (87th) and fourth round (120th) selections.[source 21]
^No. 69: Washington -> Buffalo (D). Washington traded this selection to Buffalo for their third (71st) and seventh round (217th) selections.[source 22]
No. 73: Carolina -> Chicago (PD). Carolina traded this selection to Chicago for tight end Greg Olsen.[source 23]
No. 73: Chicago -> Miami (PD). Chicago traded this selection and a 2013 third-round selection (82nd) to Miami for wide receiver Brandon Marshall.[source 24]
No. 73: Miami -> San Diego (D). Miami traded this selection to San Diego for their third (78th) and sixth round (183rd) selections.[source 25]
^No. 76: Philadelphia -> Houston (PD). Philadelphia traded this selection and their fourth-round (99th) selection to Houston for linebacker DeMeco Ryans and a third-round selection (88th).[source 26]
^No. 92: San Francisco -> Indianapolis (D). San Francisco traded this selection to Indianapolis for their fourth round (97th) selection and a fifth round selection in 2013 (157th).[source 28]
No. 97: San Francisco -> Miami (D). San Francisco traded this selection to Miami for their fourth round selection (103rd), a sixth round selection (196th), and a sixth round selection in 2013 (180th).[source 29]
No. 99: Tampa Bay -> Philadelphia (PD). Tampa Bay traded this selection to Philadelphia with a fourth-round pick in 2011 (No. 116, Philadelphia selected Casey Matthews) for a fourth-round pick in 2011 (No. 104, Tampa Bay selected Luke Stocker).[source 30]
No. 103: San Francisco -> Carolina (D). San Francisco traded this selection to Carolina for their sixth round selection (180th) and a third round selection in 2013 (74th).[source 31]
^No. 108: New York Jets -> Denver (PD). The Jets traded this selection and a sixth-round selection (188th) to Denver for quarterback Tim Tebow and a seventh-round selection (232nd).[source 32]
No. 109: Oakland -> Washington (PD). Oakland traded this selection to Washington for quarterback Jason Campbell.[source 33]
No. 109: Washington -> Pittsburgh (D). Washington traded this selection to Pittsburgh for their fourth (119th) and sixth round selections (193rd).[source 34]
^No. 117: Detroit -> San Francisco (D). Detroit traded this selection to San Francisco for their fourth (125th) and sixth round selections (196th).[source 35]
^No. 137: St. Louis -> Denver (PD). St. Louis traded a conditional sixth-round selection to Denver in exchange for wide receiver Brandon Lloyd; the selection was later upgraded to a fifth-rounder after a condition was met in which Lloyd made a minimum of 30 receptions with St. Louis during the 2011 season.[source 37]
^No. 138: Minnesota -> Detroit (D). Minnesota traded this selection and their seventh round selection (223rd) to Detroit for their seventh round selection (219th) and a fourth round selection in 2013 (102nd).[source 38]
^No. 145: Miami -> Tennessee (D). Miami traded this selection to Tennessee for their fifth (155th) and seventh round (227th) selections.[source 39]
^No. 147: Seattle -> Buffalo (PD). Seattle traded this selection and a 2011 fourth-round selection (No. 122, Buffalo selected Chris Hairston) to Buffalo for running back Marshawn Lynch.[source 40]
^No. 148: Oakland -> Detroit (D). Oakland traded this selection to Detroit for their fifth (158th) and seventh-round selections (230th) this year.[source 41]
No. 163: New England -> Green Bay (D). New England traded this selection to Green Bay for their sixth round selection (197th) and two seventh round selections (224th and 235th).[source 43]
^No. 166: New England -> Cincinnati (PD). New England traded this selection and a 2013 sixth-round selection (197th) to Cincinnati for wide receiver Chad Ochocinco.[source 44]
^No. 167: New York Giants -> Cincinnati (PD). The Giants traded this selection to Cincinnati for linebacker Keith Rivers.[source 45]
No. 172: Indianapolis -> Philadelphia (PD). Indianapolis traded this selection to Philadelphia for offensive tackle Winston Justice and a sixth-round selection (187th) .[source 46]
^No. 173: Minnesota -> Washington (PD). Minnesota traded this selection to Washington for quarterback Donovan McNabb.[source 47] The trade also included a condition for the Vikings to add a sixth-round pick in the 2013 draft, but McNabb did not reach the playing time benchmarks that would have triggered the additional compensation.[22]
^No. 175: Cleveland -> Minnesota (PD). Cleveland traded this selection to Minnesota for defensive end Jayme Mitchell.[source 48]
^No. 177: Washington -> Arizona (PD). Washington traded defensive end Vonnie Holliday and this selection to Arizona in exchange for running back Tim Hightower.[source 49]
^No. 179: Miami -> New Orleans (PD). Miami traded this selection to New Orleans for running back Reggie Bush and a sixth-round selection (196th) .[source 50]
No. 187: Indianapolis -> New York Jets (PD). Indianapolis traded this selection to New York Jets for quarterback Drew Stanton and a seventh-round selection (214th).[source 51]
^No. 194: Denver -> Philadelphia (PD). Denver traded this selection to Philadelphia for linebacker Joe Mays. Denver originally sent running back J. J. Arrington to Philadelphia, with the condition that if Arrington did not make Philadelphia's 53-man roster, Denver would instead send the sixth-round selection.[source 52]
^No. 200: New England -> Philadelphia (PD). New England traded this selection to Philadelphia for linebacker Tracy White and a seventh-round selection (223rd).[source 53]
No. 223: New England -> Minnesota (PD). New England traded this selection and wide receiver Randy Moss to Minnesota for a 2011 third-round selection (No. 74, New England selected Ryan Mallett).[source 57]
^No. 225: Oakland -> Seattle (PD). Oakland traded this selection and a conditional mid-round selection in the 2013 NFL Draft to Seattle for linebacker Aaron Curry.[source 59] The 2013 selection became the Raiders fifth-rounder (138th) after Curry lasted barely more than a year before getting cut by the Raiders.[source 60]
^No. 228: Cincinnati -> Jacksonville (PD). Cincinnati traded this selection and cornerback David Jones to Jacksonville for safety Reggie Nelson.[source 61]
^No. 229: Atlanta -> Philadelphia (PD). Atlanta traded this selection to Philadelphia for cornerback Asante Samuel.[source 62]
^No. 238: New England -> Kansas City (PD). New England traded this conditional selection to Kansas City for safety Jarrad Page.[source 63]
Forfeited picks
Three picks in the 2012 draft were forfeited:
^New Orleans forfeited its second-round selection as well as a 2013 second-round selection as part of the punishment for the team's bounty scandal.[20]
^Detroit forfeited its sixth-round selection due to findings of tampering consisting of comments made by defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham about certain Kansas City Chiefs' players.[23]
Selections by conference
Selection totals by college conference (including supplemental draft)[25]
^ abPlayers are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro Bowl at any time in their career.
^Robert Griffin III was the 2011 winner of the Heisman Trophy which is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football.[19]