Underclassmen Dominate NFL Draft
By Chris Malumphy
The top six players selected in the 2012 NFL Draft, and 11 of the top 14 picks, were underclassmen. Overall, 65 underclassmen were declared eligible to be drafted and 45 were drafted. Thirty-four of those players were drafted in the first three rounds including 19 of the 32 players selected in the first round.
2012 Drafted Underclassmen | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Team | Position | Round | Pick | Player | College |
Andrew Luck | Colts | QB | 1 | 1 | 1 | Stanford |
Robert Griffin III | Redskins | QB | 1 | 2 | 2 | Baylor |
Trent Richardson | Browns | RB | 1 | 3 | 3 | Alabama |
Matt Kalil | Vikings | T | 1 | 4 | 4 | USC |
Justin Blackmon | Jaguars | WR | 1 | 5 | 5 | Oklahoma State |
Morris Claiborne | Cowboys | DB | 1 | 6 | 6 | LSU |
Luke Kuechly | Panthers | LB | 1 | 9 | 9 | Boston College |
Stephon Gilmore | Bills | DB | 1 | 10 | 10 | South Carolina |
Dontari Poe | Chiefs | DT | 1 | 11 | 11 | Memphis |
Fletcher Cox | Eagles | DT | 1 | 12 | 12 | Mississippi State |
Michael Brockers | Rams | DT | 1 | 14 | 14 | LSU |
Dre Kirkpatrick | Bengals | DB | 1 | 17 | 17 | Alabama |
Chandler Jones | Patriots | DE | 1 | 21 | 21 | Syracuse |
Riley Reiff | Lions | T | 1 | 23 | 23 | Iowa |
David DeCastro | Steelers | G | 1 | 24 | 24 | Stanford |
Dont'a Hightower | Patriots | LB | 1 | 25 | 25 | Alabama |
Whitney Mercilus | Texans | DE | 1 | 26 | 26 | Illinois |
Nick Perry | Packers | DE | 1 | 28 | 28 | USC |
David Wilson | Giants | RB | 1 | 32 | 32 | Virginia Tech |
Jonathan Martin | Dolphins | T | 2 | 10 | 42 | Stanford |
Stephen Hill | Jets | WR | 2 | 11 | 43 | Georgia Tech |
Alshon Jeffery | Bears | WR | 2 | 13 | 45 | South Carolina |
Jerel Worthy | Packers | DT | 2 | 19 | 51 | Michigan State |
Peter Konz | Falcons | C | 2 | 23 | 55 | Wisconsin |
Brock Osweiler | Broncos | QB | 2 | 25 | 57 | Arizona State |
LaMichael James | 49ers | RB | 2 | 29 | 61 | Oregon |
Rueben Randle | Giants | WR | 2 | 31 | 63 | LSU |
Dwayne Allen | Colts | TE | 3 | 1 | 64 | Clemson |
Josh Robinson | Vikings | DB | 3 | 3 | 66 | Central Florida |
Ronnie Hillman | Broncos | RB | 3 | 4 | 67 | San Diego State |
Olivier Vernon | Dolphins | DE | 3 | 9 | 72 | Miami (FL) |
Mohamed Sanu | Bengals | WR | 3 | 20 | 83 | Rutgers |
Bernard Pierce | Ravens | RB | 3 | 21 | 84 | Temple |
Jayron Hosley | Giants | DB | 3 | 31 | 94 | Virginia Tech |
Chris Givens | Rams | WR | 4 | 1 | 96 | Wake Forest |
Lamar Miller | Dolphins | RB | 4 | 2 | 97 | Miami (FL) |
Robert Turbin | Seahawks | RB | 4 | 11 | 106 | Utah State |
Bobby Massie | Cardinals | T | 4 | 17 | 112 | Mississippi |
Orson Charles | Bengals | TE | 4 | 21 | 116 | Georgia |
Ronnell Lewis | Lions | LB | 4 | 30 | 125 | Oklahoma |
Terrell Manning | Packers | LB | 5 | 28 | 163 | North Carolina State |
Tommy Streeter | Ravens | WR | 6 | 28 | 198 | Miami (FL) |
Brandon Washington | Eagles | G | 6 | 30 | 200 | Miami (FL) |
Bryce Brown | Eagles | RB | 7 | 22 | 229 | Kansas State |
Edwin Baker | Chargers | RB | 7 | 43 | 250 | Michigan State |