As expected, the two elite college quarterbacks were selected 1 and 2 in the 2012 NFL Draft. The Indianapolis Colts selected Andrew Luck

as the first player and the Washington Redskins selected Robert Griffin III with the second pick. Here are the results 32 picks of the first round.

Stay tuned for future updates on the 2012 NFL Draft

Everyone knows that the first two picks of the 2012 NFL draft are locked up but what will happen with the next pick?

The Minnesota Vikings have the 3rd pick in the NFL draft.  Their GM Rick Spielman says the Vikings are open to the possibility of trading their first round pick. He even suggested they would be willing to listen to trade offers while the Vikings are on the clock on April 26.

It’s a no-brainer that the Colts will take Andrew Luck with the first pick and the Redskins will select Robert Griffin III with the second, but anything is possible when it comes to the 3rd pick, owned by the Vikings.

“I think those picks will go relatively quickly,” Spielman joked. “But I’m sure there will be some conversations before that pick if we’re going to (make a trade).”

Spielman said he doesn’t need to have a trade in place in advance of the draft.

“There are times we have been in (the war room) and we’ve done deals on the clock,” Spielman said, noting his flexibility to make such a deal if the right offer comes up. “It’s an unknown, but you’re prepared for both ways. We’ll be ready and we’ll have a good idea of what we think the value of that third pick is.”

The Vikings strategy for the NFL draft seems to be to fill a hole at left tackle.  USC’s Matt Kalil would fit the bill but the Vikings may be holding out hope that another NFL team is willing to make a trade offer the Vikings just couldn’t refuse.  If that’s the case, Minnesota’s strategy could be trade the third pick and settle for a quality player a little lower in the draft.

“If we want to get out of that pick, we’ll (determine) what it will take to get out of that pick,” Spielman said. “Plus you have to be careful of how far you would want to go back (down in the draft). You have to know what you’re looking at, depending on how far you go back. Are you getting yourself out of the (range of) the supposedly blue-chip type of players?”

Spielman expects that the Vikings will finalize their draft day strategy once the organization and board meetings met in the next week or two.

If you know anything about the NFL draft, expect the unexpected.

Everyone is expecting the Indianapolis Colts to pick Andrew Luck with the first pick in the 2012 NFL draft. But the Colts owner, Jim Irsay, extended an offer to Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin II for a private workout with the Colts.

“A Luck private workout 2day..we want 2b as thorough n disciplined n process of #1 pick..we wanted 2do private with RG3,but his agent said no,” Irsay wrote on Twitter.

According to NFL sources, Robert Griffin III (RG3), declined the request. But why? Is he content with being second fiddle, being the 2nd overall pick and 2nd QB drafted in the 2012 NFL draft? Does it mean he has no interest in playing for Colts? Is he content with being picked by the Redskins? Are there other mitigating circumstances that led to him declining the workout invite?

The answer to all these questions is probably – Yes!

If you look at the big picture, the NFL draft order (Colts 1, Redskins 2) and the expected draft order picks (Luck 1 and Griffin 2) make perfect sense. Andrew Luck could become a Peyton Manning clone. His game preparation, work ethic and thirst for football knowledge matches that of his idol, Peyton Manning himself. The Colts and Luck will be perfect together. It could very well be a replay of Peyton Manning years.

“Peyton was my hero growing up. He was my football hero,” Luck said of the prospect of replacing Manning in Indianapolis. “That’s who I modeled myself after in high school, middle school, whatever it was. You never truly replace a guy like that. And who knows what happens? So many different things can happen.”

Griffin, while being a great athletic and an excellent QB, doesn’t seem to be the best fit for the Colts. However, his QB style complements that of what the Redskins could be looking for – a QB with all the tools plus the ability to run or gun from outside the pocket.

It’s obvious that RG3 is a secure and confident individual. Based on his discussions with John Gruden during the ESPN’s Gruden’s QB Camp, you could see that Griffin seemed truthful when he said he was absolutely ok with being the second pick in the draft. He qualified this by saying he would still be someone’s number one pick.

There could be other mitigating circumstances why RG3 declined the Colts invite. One of those is to prevent an injury that could effect his pick in the draft.

Anyway, the decline by RG3 shouldn’t have any consequences on the expected order in the draft. The Colts and Luck are a perfect match. Both the Redskins and Griffin will be happy together.

So yes, you can be sure the Colts will pick Andrew Luck with the first pick of the 2012 NFL draft. RG3 is ok with being right behind!