Thanks to our friends at Stampede Blue for getting to this first.
The top 18 picks in the 2012 National Football League Draft are all set. To borrow an old line from Steven Wright, it doesn't look something like this. . .it looks exactly like this.
1) Indianapolis Colts (2-14)
2) St. Louis Rams (2-14)
3) Minnesota Vikings (3-13)
4) Cleveland Browns (4-12)
5) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-12)
6) Washington Redskins (5-11)
7) Jacksonville Jaguars (5-11)
8/9) Carolina Panthers (6-10)*
8/9) Miami Dolphins (6-10)*
10) Buffalo Bills (6-10)
11/12) Seattle Seahawks (7-9)**
11/12) Kansas City Chiefs (7-9)**
13) Arizona Cardinals (8-8)
14) Dallas Cowboys (8-8)
15) Philadelphia Eagles (8-8)
16) New York Jets (8-8)
17) Oakland Raiders (8-8) (This pick will go to the Cincinnati Bengals as part of the Carson Palmer trade)
18) San Diego Chargers (8-8)
19) Chicago Bears (8-8)
20) Tennessee Titans (9-7)
* - Pick will be decided by a coin flip between Carolina and Miami
** - Pick will be decided by a coin flip between Arizona and Kansas City
Picks 21 through 32 are based on playoff seedings. The four teams that lose in the wild card round will select 21-24, the four teams that lose in the divisional round select 25-28, the two teams that lose in the conference championship games pick at 29 and 30, the Super Bowl loser selects at 31, and the Super Bowl winner picks 32nd. Of those teams in the playoffs, two of them are playing for the draft positioning of other teams, however. . .the New Orleans Saints' first-round pick goes to the New England Patriots, and the Atlanta Falcons' first-round choice this year belongs to the Cleveland Browns.
Two main scenarios I see for the Vikings at this point?
1) Andrew Luck goes #1 to. . .well, somebody (probably Indianapolis), Matt Kalil goes #2 to St. Louis, and the Vikings auction off the third pick to whoever wants to move up and draft Robert Griffin III
2) Luck goes first, someone else trades up to St. Louis' spot to take Griffin III, and the Vikings take Kalil to plug into the left tackle spot for the next decade
Personally, I'd be happy with either one. . .but there's going to be plenty of time to talk about that.