Many mock drafts involve evaluating player whose success in the NFL is largely indeterminable. Many believe that it is pointless to project draft placement, and others feel it is vital to the selection process. I will admit that there are flaws in the current system, but I also think that to understand where teams are weak, some of the information can be revealed in draft evaluations. Regardless, I am not here to debate the importance of mock drafts, but to create my own brand of draft. I call it a “clone draft”.

It is in some ways a mixing of a top 100 list and a mock draft. For some, this may be even more pointless than either, because it is less relevant to the game itself than either of the two. The premise of the draft is completely hypothetical and will never happen in reality, but in my opinion, could be useful. The premises are:

• Every person on the planet has been cloned (with all the same football IQ and ability), and their respective clones have entered the NFL draft.
• The real NFL draft has already happened.
• The teams draft picks are in the order they would be before trades, and no trades can be made.

And without further ado here is my 2012 NFL clone draft. After the jump, that is.

1. Indianapolis Colts: Calvin Johnson Jr. - Young and extremely talented, Andrew Luck could use a guy like megatron to hurl it toward. An obvious pick, in my opinion, that would solidify the Colts’ offense as a force to be reckoned with.
2. St. Luis Rams: Larry Fitzgerald - In a similar way to the pick above, the gateway to the west could use a top-notch target for their young quarterback.
3. Minnesota Vikings: Patrick Willis – The Vikings defense could really use a leader in the middle. With Willis in place, the Purple and Gold could employ the same system that brought superbowls to Tampa and Baltimore, great defense and a solid running game.
4. Cleveland Browns: Aaron Rogers – Cleveland currently has questions at quarterback and adding Aaron Rogers to the mix would fix the problem. Not only is he young and promising, but he could elevate the mediocre receiving core in Cleveland to new heights.
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Darelle Revis – The best corner in the game would look phenomenal across from Ronde Barber and would defend Tampa from Drew Brees’s twice annual shredding.
6. Washington Redskins: Andre Johnson – Robert Griffin thrived when he had a dominant target at Baylor and there’s no reason why he wouldn’t in the NFL. Also, Johnson is used to a rollout-based offense, an offense RG3 is definitely comfortable with.
7. Jacksonville Jaguars: Jared Allen – A much needed improvement to their pass rush, I almost went with a quarterback, but they seem to want a young guy, and the only QBs worth taking this high are too old to be a long-term solution.
8. Miami Dolphins: Peyton Manning – South Beach definitely needs a strong passer under center. Manning is knowledgeable enough to be able to groom Tannehill into a possible top 5 quarterback in the League. I chose Manning Because of his ability to turn average receivers into good ones, and without Marshall, they could really use a good receiver.
9. Carolina Panthers: Troy Polamalu – The Panthers offense was one of the best in the leauge, at least in terms of yardage, but their defense was gouged at times. Polamalu gets picked over Ed Reed because he is likely to retire later.
10. Buffalo Bills: Joe Thomas – The Bills have improved their defense quite a bit this offseason and adding thomas adds time to the passing game, Fitzpatrick, F. Jackson, and Stevie Johnson will all benefit from this acquisition.
11. Kansas City Chiefs: Tom Brady – Ironically Matt Cassel has been in this situation before, KC expresed that they weren’t completely satisfied with him this offseason, and this move would put Cassel in position to learn a bit more from the great QB named “Brady”
12. Seattle Seahawks: Nambdi Asomugha – The seahawks could really use some help in many places, including their draft room (cough Bruce Irvin cough) but Nambdi is a great character that should help their pass defense more than any other player at this point in the draft
13. Arizona Cardinals: Drew Brees – Finally, for the first time since Kurt Warner, Fitz can have a real quarterback helping him out. In a two cardinal, one stone deal, Arizona can aid the growth of Michael Floyd as well as make Fitzgerald look like an all-pro again.
14. Dallas Cowboys: Adrian Peterson – even with the devaluation of runningbacks, and dallas having an adequate run game already, I can’t imagine anyone being able to allow such a phenomenal athlete to fall even further than this. Dallas’s offense will be much improved after this.
15. Philidelphia Eagles: Nick Mangold – Michael Vick is a fragile quarterback because of his playing style; Mangold is the best OL available at this point.
16. New York Jets: Frank Gore – Gore is a consistent guy that holds onto the ball, a year ago this would’ve been CJ2K, but Johnson’s slump last year, and Gore’s blue collar play makes gore the better pick here.
17. Oakland Raiders: Brandon Marshall
18. San Diego Chargers: Terrell Suggs
19. Chicago Bears: Jake Long
20. Tennesee Titans: Ray Lewis
21. Atlanta Falcons: Demarcus Ware
22. Detroit Lions: Chris Johnson
23. Pittsburg Steelers: Carl Nicks
24. Cincinatti Bengals: Champ Bailey
25. Denver Broncos: Steve Smith
26. Houston Texans: Jon Beason
27. New Orleans Saints: Ed Reed
28. Green Bay Packers: Arian Foster
29. Baltimore Ravens: Dwayne Bowe
30. San Francisco 49ers: Ben Roethlesberger
31. New England Patriots: Charles Woodson
32. New York Giants: Joe Haden

part 2: here