1 Indianapolis Colts – Andrew Luck QB Stanford
2 Washington Redskins – Robert Griffin III QB Baylor
3 Minnesota Vikings – Matt Kalil OT USC
4 Cleveland Browns – Trent Richardson RB Alabama
5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Morris Claiborne CB LSU
6 St. Louis Rams Justin – Blackmon WR Oklahoma State
7 Jacksonville Jaguars – Quinton Coples DE North Carolina
8 Miami Dolphins – Ryan Tannehill QB Texas A&M
9 Carolina Panthers – Fletcher Cox DT Mississippi State
10 Buffalo Bills – Luke Kuechly MLB Boston College
11 Kansas City Chiefs – David DeCastro OG Stanford
12 Seattle Seahawks – Melvin Ingram OLB/DE South Carolina
13 Arizona Cardinals – Michael Floyd WR Notre Dame
14 Dallas Cowboys – Dontari Poe DT Memphis
15 Philadelphia Eagles – Michael Brockers DT LSU
16 New York Jets – Andre Branch DE Clemson
17 Cincinnati Bengals – Mark Barron S Alabama
18 San Diego Chargers – Dont’a Hightower ILB Alabama
19 Chicago Bears – Stephon Gilmore CB South Carolina
20 Tennessee Titans – Nick Perry DE USC
21 Cincinnati Bengals – Dre Kirkpatrick CB Alabama
22 Cleveland Browns – Kendall Wright WR Baylor
23 Detroit Lions – Peter Konz C Wisconsin
24 Pittsburgh Steelers – Cordy Glenn OG Georgia
25 Denver Broncos – Devon Still DT Penn State
26 Houston Texans – Whitney Mercilus DE Illinois
27 New England Patriots – Courtney Upshaw OLB Alabama
28 Green Bay Packers – Shea McClellin OLB Boise State
29 Baltimore Ravens – Jonathan Martin OT Stanford
30 San Francisco 49ers – Kevin Zeitler OG Wisconsin
31 New England Patriots – Riley Reiff OT Iowa
32 New York Giants – Coby Fleener TE Stanford

Nick Perry, Shea McClellin, Courtney Upshaw and Whitney Mercilus all still available and I went with a middle linebacker?!?!?! Dont’a Hightower is a beast and is more of a sure thing than any of those other players. Takeo Spikes is not getting any younger and Hightower is versatile enough to play outside and inside. He will get more opportunities on the field this year and get to learn under Takeo.  As I share in our roundtable later today, I like Hightower more than most should.

Jan 9, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker Dont

An Alabama linebacker made a visit with the Bolts and it wasn’t Courtney Upshaw. It was the man in the middle and the leader of the Alabama defense, Dont’a Hightower (Alex Marvez).

There are a few people that prefer Hightower over Upshaw (me included). Here is the scouting report on Hightower from NFL Mocks:

Pros:

Cons:

The biggest concern is probably whether or not he can cover well enough to be a three down linebacker in the  N.F.L.

Medical Concerns are shrinking but still there (bad knee injury in 2009), Hightower was apprehensive following his knee injury in 2010 and his production suffered. This year he has returned to form and exceeded,  many expectations. 2011 Butkus award finalist and possibly the most valuable linebacker in the draft. Has great size and never comes off the field on defense. The most improvement he has made thus far is his mobility; Dont’a has been able to improve his lateral movement down the line to chase down plays from the backside and cover backs and tight ends he couldn’t otherwise handle in 2010.

If we do draft this guy, you better get your police academy quotes ready! “Of all the guys who I thought were gonna make it, Hightower was the one. I mean, if all the cops looked like him there’d be no crime at all.”

I can see this happening in the first round.

Jan 9, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker Dont

Pro Football Weekly draft analyst Nolan Nawrocki shared his thoughts on what the Chargers should do with the 18th pick in the draft. He mentioned players like Courtney Upshaw, Whitney Mercilus and Chandler Jones in his article, but concluded with Dont’a Hightower as the best fit for the Bolts:

But honestly, if I had my choice of anyone in the draft, it would be Dont’a Hightower from Alabama. He’s done it before, I think he’s very safe, he’s got the leadership presence you want, he can kick inside if you need him there. He’s very versatile, very tough, very underrated, and he’s not being widely considered as a true rush linebacker because he didn’t play it all the time at Alabama, but I think he’s better than Upshaw and far safer than any of the other prospects mentioned. If I were San Diego and I had a chance to land him — which I’m not so sure they will — he’d be the one that I would be most interested in. – Pro Football Weekly

Hightower played inside linebacker during his career in Alabama. He was the leader of the defense and has the versatility to play outside or inside.

I honestly wouldn’t mind drafting him over Upshaw. We can move him all over the defense and still ask him to get after the quarterback. The guy loves to hit!

Upshaw and Hightower are there at 18, who would you rather have?