2012 NFL Draft Primer: Mock Drafts and Baylor Football

With the 2012 NFL Draft kicking off tomorrow on ESPN and the NFL Network, I decided to take a look today at where each potential Baylor draftee might be selected based on mock drafts and expert conjecture. Baylor has 5 players likely to receive some consideration in the Draft this weekend with four being lead-pipe locks to be drafted at some point in the seven-round event. The four locks are QB Robert Griffin III, WR Kendall Wright, C Philip Blake, and RB Terrance Ganaway, probably in that order. The less likely, but still possible, pick is mammoth OT Robert T. Griffin, who probably suffers at this point from questions about his size (can he keep it under control) and experience (only played CFB for 2 years).

It turns out that the job was mostly done for me by the fine folks at "This is Bear Country," the official blog of Baylor Football on BaylorBears.com. Below is the chart they published this afternoon of where our top four draftees are slotted in each major mock draft along with a few other mocks they didn't include, such as the ones done by CBSSports.com.

*WalterFootball also had Nicholas Jean-Baptiste drafted in the 6th Round, pick no. 183 to the San Diego Chargers.

A few thoughts:

• RG3 is going to be a Washington Redskin. We've known it for months now and if you haven't come to terms with it yet, you have about 19.5 hours.
• Kendall Wright is mocked most often to the Browns, Bengals, and Texans with a 49ers or two thrown in. We should know relatively quickly if the Browns are an option; who they take at #4 will tell us who they might take later. That means if Oklahoma State WR Justin Blackmon goes #4, Kendall Wright won't go #22. They're not taking two WRs in the first round of the same draft. I think they're going to take Trent Richardson at #4, though, so Wright could be an option later in the round. Blackmon falls to the St. Louis Rams at #6. The Texans are a real threat now that it seems like Wright may fall a bit. Chicago, who was once the favorite for KW, looks to be going in a totally different direction now, but that might be a smokescreen. They were enamored with him around the time of Baylor's Pro Day.
• Somewhere in the process, Terrance Ganaway fell further than I anticipated. I thought he was firmly in 3rd or 4th round territory, but he is mocked most often (if the mocks go that far) in the fifth. That will be a tremendous value pick for someone. I would love for the Cowboys to jump on him in the fourth if he's still there, which he apparently might be.
• Philip Blake is going to go to a power running team that needs a road paver. Someone like the Falcons or the Titans would make perfect sense, though I wish the Cowboys would get him to play center as soon as next year. The Raiders didn't even come to Baylor's Pro Day, so I don't think they're looking that way at all. The Saints prefer better pass blockers than Blake.