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2012 Cincy Jungle Mock Draft - The San Diego Chargers Select...

Feb 27, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Mississippi State defensive lineman Fletcher Cox does footwork drills during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE
Feb 27, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Mississippi State defensive lineman Fletcher Cox does footwork drills during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

With the 18th pick in the 2012 Cincy Jungle Mock Draft, Anthony Knox selected for the San Diego Chargers, who earned their pick by finishing the 2011 season with an 8-8 record.

With the No. 18 overall pick in the 2012 Cincy Jungle Mock Draft, the San Diego Chargers select....

Fletcher Cox, DE, Mississippi State

With the 18th pick in the draft, San Diego had a choice of sorts to make. Many draft pundits had the Bolts taking either offensive or defensive line help, and when going through the options, it appeared obvious that the best help would be in the trenches with this pick. That meant taking a good hard look at Cordy Glenn, the guard from Georgia, Dontari Poe, the defensive tackle from Memphis, or Fletcher Cox, the defensive end/tackle from Mississippi State. When looking a bit deeper at the Chargers' moves ahead of the draft, it seems like AJ Smith plans on sticking to his trend of not selecting offensive line help in the first round. Resigning Cory Gaither and tendering the offer to Brandyn Dombrowski and moving hem to guard makes me feel like they're not looking at round 1 for the o-line, meaning no Glenn.

So that leads to a defensive selection in Round 1. Many Charger fans want to keep this pick close to home, as they're all over Nick Perry from USC, but many of those same fans didn't think a defensive lineman of Cox's level would be there at the 18th pick. Poe becomes an easy oversight when you look at his stats out of Memphis...while a huge guy, he just isn't a tremendous defensive tackle in a 3-4 scheme like the Chargers run, and Cox's smaller stature at 6'4" 298 appears to be a great flexible option as an end in the 3-4. This ability to play anywhere on the DL is the difference, and why Cox was selected by San Diego.

Fletcher Cox Highlights:

Joe Goodberry's Instant Analysis:

Chargers go BPA at a position if need with Fletcher Cox. To me, he's the safest D-lineman in the draft. He's athletic and always hustles. His potential is through the roof. He'll play DE for the Chargers in their 3-4 defense and that's probably his best fit. Good pick and value.
Grade: A
Value: +8

Draft Overview:

# Team Picked By Name/Positon of Pick
1 Indianapolis Alex Neyer Andrew Luck QB
2 Washington David Farrelly Robert Griffin III QB
3 Minnesota Palewook Matt Kalil OT
4 Cleveland Jason Garrison Justin Blackmon WR
5 Tampa Bay Andrew Bernius Morris Claiborne CB
6 St. Louis Jim0ijk Quinton Coples DE
7 Jacksonville AK513 Melvin Ingram DE
8 Miami Dan Lockhart Trent Richardson RB
9 Carolina Jason Blanton Luke Kuechly LB
10 Buffalo Casey Penn Michael Floyd WR
11 Kansas City Kenneth Taylor David DeCastro OG
12 Detroit (projected trade) Andrew Perrotta Stephon Gilmore CB
13 Arizona Dan Wolford Riley Reiff OT
14 Dallas Joshua Foster Michael Brockers DT
15 Philadelphia Travis Parker Mark Barron S
16 New York Jets Kenneth Taylor Courtney Upshaw OLB
17 Cincinnati (from Oakland) Jason Garrison Dre Kirkpatrick CB
18 San Diego Anthony Knox Fletcher Cox DE
19 Chicago Steve Whited
20 Tennessee Jeff Welch
21 Cincinnati Jason Garrison
22 Cleveland (from Atlanta) Jason Garrison
23 Seattle (projected trade) Jared Egner
24 Pittsburgh Jason Garrison
25 Denver Jared Morgan
26 Houston Brett Kollman
27 New England (from New Orleans) Anthony Knox
28 Green Bay Travis Castleman
29 Baltimore Jason Garrison
30 San Francisco Chris Brown
31 New England Anthony Knox
32 New York Giants Matt Leitner