Yardbarker Horiz

2012 NFL Draft Countdown

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Chiefs murky the Buccaneers #5 pick

With less than two weeks until the 2012 NFL Draft, no transaction is without consequences in the NFL.

Consider the Buccaneers upcoming #5 pick.  A couple weeks ago, it seemed the Buccaneers would get to choose between Alabama running back Trent Richardson and LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne.  Then free agency started.

It was not the Buccaneer's head first dive into free agency this season which may have changed their draft   fortunes.  The Kansas City Chiefs signed running back Peyton Hillis away from the Browns, leaving Cleveland with two rookie and two second year running backs, only one of which ran for more than 20 total yards last season.

Richardson would be a solid prospect to add to the Buccaneers lineup.  However, many draft rankings have Richardson as the only running back in the 2012 NFL Draft with Round 1 credentials, and clearly the Browns need another runner.  Richardson is the obvious need, and many predict the Browns will select him, but consider this:  if no other running backs are selected after Richardson, there could still be a solid running back prospect on the board for Cleveland in Round 2.  It's far from a done deal but it does make a lot of sense both from a need and a value perspective.

So it could be that the Kansas City Chiefs, with a free agency pick-up which went down with little fanfare, may have guaranteed the Buccaneers select Morris Claiborne, CB from LSU, with the #5 pick.

It's all related now.