NFL Draft: Teams remain busy through remainder of first round

New York, NY, United States (AHN Sports) – Surprises and interesting twists were not confined to the top 10 of the 2012 NFL Draft Thursday night as there was plenty of intrigue throughout the round.

In an effort to address a primary need for a nose tackle, the Kansas City Chiefs took the 346-pound defensive tackle Dontari Poe from Memphis at No. 11 followed by the Eagles’ pick at No. 12- – Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox.

It was regarded as a good trade up for Philadelphia, which surrendered fourth and sixth-round picks to Seattle to move up three spots and land Cox, whose exceptional agility and length are expected to make him a perfect fit for coach Jim Washburn’s Wide Nine scheme.

Notre Dame’s Michael Floyd became the second wide receiver selected in the round. He went at No. 13 to Arizona Cardinals, who will pair him along All-Pro Larry Fitzgerald.

The St. Louis Rams took LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers at No. 14, with the pick they got from Dallas before the Seahawks added a pass rusher in West Virginia’s Bruce Irvin after dropping to No. 15 following the trade with Philadelphia.

The next five picks saw North Carolina defensive end Quinton Coples going to the New York Jets, Alabama cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick heading to the Cincinnati Bengals, South Carolina defensive end Melvin Ingram to the San Diego Chargers, Boise State defensive end Shea McClellin to the Chicago Bears, and wide receiver Kendall Wright of Baylor to the Tennessee Titans.

The Patriots reversed their recent draft course and traded up twice to land Chandler Jones, the defensive end from Syracuse and Alabama linebacker Dont’a Hightower.

With the masterful stroke from coach Bill Belichick, New England traded up with Cincinnati for the No. 21 pick and got Jones, who is expected to be a perfect fit in the Pats 4-3 scheme, but could also play OLB as an edge rusher in the team’s 3-4 look.

The Pats then took No. 25 pick after trading up with the Broncos, to get the versatile 265-pound Hightower.

After trading with the Minnesota Vikings to acquire the third overall pick, the Cleveland Browns appeared to have landed their quarterback of the future as they took 28-year-old Oklahoma State signal-caller Brandon Weeden at 22.

Weeden will battle Colt McCoy for the starting quarterback job in Cleveland’s West Coast offense.

Detroit next removed Iowa offensive tackle Riley Reiff from the boards, Pittsburgh got Stanford guard David DeCastro and the Pats rounded out the top 25.

The Vikings traded up with the Ravens to get Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith at No. 29, while the Bucs moved up for Denver’s 31st pick — running back Doug Martin of Boise State.

The final seven picks were: Illinois defensive end Whitney Mercilus to the Texans (No. 26), Wisconsin offensive guard Kevin Zeitler to the Bengals (No. 27), USC defensive end Nick Perry to the Packers (No. 28), Notre Dame’s Smith, Illinois wide receiver A.J. Jenkins to the 49ers (No. 30), Boise State’s Martin and running back David Wilson of Virginia Tech to the Super Bowl champion Giants.

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