Nfl Draft

Stanford's Andrew Luck and Baylor's Robert Griffin III appear poised to be only the fourth pair of quarterbacks to go 1-2 in the NFL draft in the last 20 years. Both have had stellar college careers, but only one seems destined to have the same kind of success in the NFL ... if history repeats itself. In all three cases during the last two decades, one member of the quarterback duo selected in the top two of the draft has gone on to enjoy a lengthy and successful pro career; the other has been more or less a bust.

ARIZONA Heady move: Fourth-rounder Bobby Massie of Mississippi can play right tackle, and some scouts had him going in the second. Head scratcher: In taking Oklahoma's Jamell Fleming in the third, the Cardinals picked up their ninth corner. ATLANTA Heady move: The Falcons have a 35-year-old center and need help on the interior of the offensive line, so getting Wisconsin's Peter Konz in the second was huge. Head scratcher: Took Southern Mississippi's Lamar Holmes in the third, a player Mel Kiper rated as the 29th tackle.

Bubba Smith, a former All-Pro football player turned actor and commercial pitchman who delighted TV viewers by wrenching off the tops of "easy-opening cans" of beer, was found dead Wednesday at his Los Angeles home. He was 66. FOR THE RECORD: An earlier version of the photo caption with this article misidentified Jim Kiick of the Miami Dolphis as Jim Klick. The cause of death has not been determined, the L.A. County coroner's office said. A caretaker found Smith at his Baldwin Hills home, police said.

  Morris Claiborne of Louisiana State was generally regarded as the top cornerback in the NFL draft, and the Dallas Cowboys certainly needed help in that department. But even so, their trade to move up from 14th in the first round to sixth to get the talented LSU corner shocked Claiborne. "I didn't see it coming in a million years. I had no idea," the Dallas Morning News reported Claiborne as saying after the pick. "We didn't talk at all. That's why it was so shocking to me when I got the phone call.

The NFL draft will be held from Thursday to Saturday in New York. Times' NFL writer Sam Farmer examines the needs for each team by division. Today, the North divisions: AFC North Cincinnati is looking for a premier pass rusher, and the Bengals can get a good one with the 21st pick. South Florida's Jason Pierre-Paul is a possibility, although a lot of evaluators think he could go earlier. Michigan's Brandon Graham is another interesting prospect. The Bengals also could use a tight end who can block and stretch the field.

If Friday belonged to Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford -- who agreed to a six-year deal with the Detroit Lions with almost $42 million guaranteed -- then today belongs to USC's Mark Sanchez. OK, so there are lots of prospects on the verge of realizing their dreams, but a lot of eyes are on Sanchez. Where he goes in the early part of the NFL draft could affect the rest of the first round. Does he go No. 2 to St. Louis -- as he does in this mock draft -- or fourth to Seattle?

Not much is predictable about the NFL these days, but this move was telegraphed: The Carolina Panthers opened the 2011 draft by selecting Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, addressing their No. 1 need by taking the Heisman Trophy winner. That marks the second consecutive year the Panthers have chosen a quarterback with their top pick, having selected Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen in the second round a year ago. The Clausen experiment hasn't panned out so far ? Carolina finished 2-14, leading to the firing of coach John Fox ?

No. 7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: S Mark Barron, Alabama - Some scouts say Barron reminds them of a young Ronnie Lott. He didn't work out at the combine, having just undergone double hernia surgery, but his stock has been climbing for weeks. He considers himself NFL-ready . “We played in a very difficult defense, first of all,” he said at the combine. “We did a lot of different schemes. My role was, as far as communicating, I had a lot to do with that on the back end. And I felt like sometimes, I brought some energy to it with the hits I make and things of that nature.

Former USC defensive lineman Armond Armstead, who was not cleared to play last season by USC, was weighed and measured at USC's Pro Day on Tuesday but was not allowed to work out. The 6-foot-5, 285-pound Armstead said he would go through drills for NFL scouts on April 9 at a location to be determined. He has hired an agent and hopes to be selected in the April draft. “Hopefully, I'll be meeting with a lot of teams and doing a lot of workouts for the teams so they can see what I can do,” he said.

Michael Moore, a wide receiver for the UCLA football team and highly regarded center fielder for the Bruin baseball team, has made himself eligible for the NFL draft and will forgo his final two seasons of football eligibility. Moore said he told Bruin Coach Terry Donahue of his intentions last Tuesday and sent the petition to the NFL last Friday. Moore, 6-4, 210 pounds, is considered one of the top baseball prospects in the nation, and some have projected him as the No.

NEW YORK - Coby Fleener's first NFL route was a comeback pattern. The Stanford tight end will be reunited in Indianapolis with Andrew Luck, his college quarterback. "I just sent him a text message that had a lot of exclamation points in it," Fleener said Friday, minutes after the Colts made him the second pick of the NFL draft's second round - 33 selections and 23 hours after Indianapolis used the No. 1 overall pick on Luck. For Fleener, a first-rounder in most mock drafts, the disappointment of slipping into the second day was quickly washed away when his cellphone finally rang in the green room at Radio City Music Hall.

1. Indianapolis Colts: QB Andrew Luck, Stanford - The last time the Colts had the No. 1 pick in the draft was 1998, when they selected Peyton Manning. Luck spent his early childhood in London, England, and Frankfurt, Germany, where his father, Oliver, was the GM of two World League of American Football teams prior to becoming league president. Oliver went to high school in Houston, where he was co-valedictorian of his class. Comment: Because the Colts are rebuilding, that should buy Luck some time.

NEW YORK - The NFL, a league that has long embraced its tradition, tried something new Thursday night. A no-huddle draft. The picks were coming so fast and furious, at one point Commissioner Roger Goodell had a backlog of three picks in his suit pocket. And the first is usually the slowest, most contemplative round. The league might need an auctioneer Friday for Rounds 2 and 3. The first round ended in three hours, a tidy made-for-prime-time span. Amazingly, that was an hour slower than the fastest opening round on record, in 1972, when there were six fewer franchises.

2. Washington Redskins: QB Robert Griffin III, Baylor - Jim Harbaugh recruited both Griffin and Andrew Luck to Stanford. Griffin declined the scholarship offer because he reasoned there would be a logjam at quarterback. He is the only player from Baylor to win the Heisman Trophy. As a high school track star in Texas, he broke state records in both the 110- and 300-meter hurdles. Comment: The Redskins run a bootleg offense - - roll right, roll left - - and Mike Shanahan says Griffin is the best he's coached at doing that since Steve Young.  MORE Photos: 2012 NFL draft picks First round of draft is a rush to judgment NFL considers suspending Pro Bowl after 2013     Robert Griffin III selected second by the Redskins    

NEW YORK -- The Cleveland Browns have made the first trade of the NFL draft, swapping positions with Minnesota at the top of the first round. The Browns will pick third, presumably to take Alabama running back Trent Richardson, and the Vikings have moved back one spot to fourth. Minnesota collected picks in the fourth, fifth and seventh rounds. Minnesota can still pick up USC tackle Matt Kalil at No. 4, or possibly LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne. The Browns likely made the move so Tampa Bay, which picks fifth, could leapfrog them for Richardson.

No. 7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: S Mark Barron, Alabama - Some scouts say Barron reminds them of a young Ronnie Lott. He didn't work out at the combine, having just undergone double hernia surgery, but his stock has been climbing for weeks. He considers himself NFL-ready . “We played in a very difficult defense, first of all,” he said at the combine. “We did a lot of different schemes. My role was, as far as communicating, I had a lot to do with that on the back end. And I felt like sometimes, I brought some energy to it with the hits I make and things of that nature.

NEW YORK -- The Cleveland Browns have made the first trade of the NFL draft, swapping positions with Minnesota at the top of the first round. The Browns will pick third, presumably to take Alabama running back Trent Richardson, and the Vikings have moved back one spot to fourth. Minnesota collected picks in the fourth, fifth and seventh rounds. Minnesota can still pick up USC tackle Matt Kalil at No. 4, or possibly LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne. The Browns likely made the move so Tampa Bay, which picks fifth, could leapfrog them for Richardson.

NEW YORK — We won't get fooled again. Unlike a year ago, when an early run on quarterbacks caught most NFL draft prognosticators flat-footed, most have now resigned themselves to the notion that the QB count might reach four before the first round is done Thursday night. And the first two passers are already penned in. Stanford's Andrew Luck will be the No. 1 pick, by Indianapolis, and Washington will take Baylor's Robert Griffin III second. It will be the first time quarterbacks have gone 1-2 in the draft since 1999.

There are two elite quarterbacks in this week's NFL draft -- Stanford's Andrew Luck and Baylor's Robert Griffin -- and they will be claimed by Indianapolis and Washington at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. With more than one team still in the market for a franchise quarterback, attention will turn to Texas A&M's Ryan Tannehill, who seems to have become the consensus third-best QB in this year's class. Tannehill played receiver for his first two years with the Aggies before becoming starting quarterback midway through his junior season.