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2012 NFL Mock Draft: Florida Teams Will Have Options In Top Ten

The NFL Regular Season is over, which means it's time for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to look ahead to a hopefully more promising 2012 season. Improvement can start with the NFL draft in April, where all three teams will hold top ten picks. SB Nation just came out with the first 2012 NFL Mock Draft of the offseason, and they have the Florida teams picking up some interesting players, starting with Alabama cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick going to the Bucs at No. 5.

Who knows what this team will do in the draft. Some think Trent Richardson could be the pick here. They could stand some defensive improvements, and addressing the cornerback spot with a player of Kirkpatrick's ability is the best can they can do.


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It comes as no surprise that the Jaguars might be looking at a wide receiver in the draft, and the guys at SB Nation have them taking Notre Dame's Michael Floyd.

When a team tries to breath new life into Mike Sims-Walker, after coming to the realization they couldn't the year before, it should be obvious that they need a receiver. Floyd gives Gabbert a reliable player to work with and takes some pressure of Maurice Jones-Drew as the team's only playmaker.

Finally the Dolphins, who will be picking either 8th or ninth depending on a coin flip. SB Nation has them taking Stanford guard David DeCastro.

Miami could use help on their offensive line. In the middle, Vernon Carey and Richie Incognito struggled with injuries as well as something called blocking. DeCastro has the makings of a truly elite guard, the kind that get $50 million contracts. With DeCastro, the Phins would even be on the hook for a lot less than that thanks to a budget-friendly new rookie salary schedule. Trading up, perhaps?

For more on the Jacksonville Jaguars, visit Big Cat Country. For more on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, visit Bucs Nation. For more on the Miami Dolphins, visit The Phinsider. For more on all of the Florida teams, stay tuned to SB Nation Tampa Bay.

Photographs by cstreet.us, thelastminute, turtlemom nancy , fesek, kthypryn, justinwright, sue_elias, pointnshoot, and scrapstothefuture used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.