NFL draft: Off the clock and under review

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.

BALTIMORE

Heady move: Bailed out of the first and got a steal in the second in Alabama linebacker Courtney Upshaw.

Head scratcher: It might be splitting hairs, but the Ravens didn’t get a top-shelf receiver with Anquan Boldin finding it increasingly difficult to get open.

BUFFALO

Heady move: South Carolina’s Stephon Gilmore upgrades a secondary whose two starting corners turn 32 this season.

Head scratcher: T.J. Graham is light (188 pounds) and light on catches, but the North Carolina State receiver adds speed on the outside for an offense that can already attack the middle.

CAROLINA

Heady move: Adding the sure-tackling Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly is vital with Panthers linebackers Jon Beason and Thomas Davis coming off major leg injuries.

Head scratcher: Fourth-rounder Joe Adams is an outstanding returner but had 11 fumbles at Arkansas.

CHICAGO

Heady move: Bears identified the receiver they wanted — South Carolina’s Alshon Jeffery — traded up, and got him. That was decisive.

Head scratcher: Time for Chicago’s annual drafting of a safety. This time, the Bears used a third-round pick on Oregon State’s Brandon Hardin, who missed the entire 2011 season because of a shoulder injury.

CINCINNATI

Heady move: Very shrewd of the Bengals to trade down in the first, pick up an extra third-rounder, and still get the guard they wanted in Wisconsin’s Kevin Zeitler.

Head scratcher: Two defensive tackles in three picks might have been overkill for a franchise that’s already pretty deep at the position and is light on pass-rushing defensive ends.

CLEVELAND

Heady move: By jumping up from the fourth to third spots just before the draft, the Browns ensured Tampa Bay couldn’t leapfrog them to get Alabama’s Trent Richardson. As a result, Cleveland got the running back it sorely needed.

Head scratcher: After assuring Colt McCoy they wouldn’t take a quarterback in the first round, the Browns used No. 22 on Oklahoma State’s Brandon Weeden.

DALLAS

Heady move: Impressive by the Cowboys to trade all the way up to No. 6 to get LSU’s Morris Claiborne, the best corner in the draft. The last two years, the Cowboys had the worst pass defense in team history.

Head scratcher: The Cowboys had a great draft, but did they do enough to ramp up the pressure on opposing quarterbacks? DeMarcus Ware is their only proven pass rusher.

DENVER

Heady move: Trading out of the first round and taking Cincinnati defensive tackle Derek Wolfe could really pay off. He can line up inside or outside and punch holes in a pocket.

Head scratcher: Yes, the Broncos needed a backup for Peyton Manning, but Arizona State’s Brock Osweiler is a second-round project who — if all goes as planned — probably won’t see the field, and might not even take meaningful snaps in practice.

DETROIT

Heady move: Tackle Jeff Backus will be 35 this season, so the Lions made a smart move in securing their next left tackle in Iowa’s Riley Reiff. Matthew Stafford has taken a beating.

Head scratcher: Detroit’s most pressing need was at cornerback, and the Lions didn’t take one until the third round. By the time the club picked at 23, the best defensive backs were gone.

GREEN BAY

Heady move: Know thyself. The Packers, who have seldom traded up under GM Ted Thompson, did so three times to take defensive players they had identified: Michigan State’s Jerel Worthy, Vanderbilt’s Casey Hayward and N.C. State’s Terrell Manning.

Head scratcher: By focusing on defense, the Packers let a lot of quality centers and (backup) quarterbacks slip past — both positions of need.

HOUSTON

Heady move: Whitney Mercilus of Illinois could wind up being the best pass rusher in this draft class. He’s certainly a welcome addition to the Texans, who lost Mario Williams to Buffalo.

Head scratcher: Texas A&M’s Randy Bullock, Houston’s fifth-round pick, has already made team history. He’s the first kicker the franchise has drafted.

INDIANAPOLIS

Heady move: Goodbye, Peyton Manning and Dallas Clark. Hello, Andrew Luck and Coby Fleener. Reuniting that Stanford quarterback and tight end was a wise decision. That familiarity will pay off.

Head scratcher: With all the needs they have, the Colts didn’t need to use consecutive picks on tight ends. But that’s what they did, taking Fleener in the second and Clemson’s Dwayne Allen in the third. Then again, Stanford frequently used multiple tight ends.

JACKSONVILLE

Heady move: The Jaguars got aggressive at the top of the first round, trading up two spots to grab Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon. At last, they have a receiving target for Blaine Gabbert.

Head scratcher: Used a third-round pick on Cal punter Bryan Anger. Then again, considering the Jaguars had the league’s worst offense last year, the punter could see a lot of action.

KANSAS CITY

Heady move: Using the 11th pick on Memphis defensive tackle Dontari Poe was a risk because his tape doesn’t match his freakish workout numbers. But the Chiefs were bold and decisive, then giddy when they got him. Poe will be a star if he’s as good as Chiefs Coach Romeo Crennel believes he is.

Head scratcher: The Chiefs could have gotten an inside linebacker in the third round. Instead, they took a raw, project tackle in Oklahoma’s Donald Stephenson.

MIAMI

Heady move: The Dolphins couldn’t get their quarterback in free agency, so they had to go through the draft. Texas A&M’s Ryan Tannehill is a gamble — he only had one full season at the position — but he’s a gamble the Dolphins had to take.

Head scratcher: Despite trading Brandon Marshall and having a pressing need at the position, Miami didn’t take a receiver until selecting Michigan State’s B.J. Cunningham in the sixth round.

MINNESOTA

Heady move: Although there were rumblings immediately before the draft that the Vikings would take Claiborne, the club traded down one spot, got three late picks, and still took the player they wanted in USC tackle Matt Kalil.

Head scratcher: In the fourth round, the Vikings drafted two receivers: Jarius Wright and Greg Childs. Not only did those players go to Arkansas together, but also the same high school.

NEW ENGLAND

Heady move: The Patriots hadn’t traded up in the first round since moving up one spot to get Ty Warren in 2003. This year, they traded up twice to get two defensive standouts: Syracuse’s Chandler Jones and Alabama’sDont’a Hightower.

Head scratcher: New England’s second-round pick, Illinois safety Tavon Wilson, was an out-of-the-blue prospect who didn’t attend the combine. A lot of observers saw him as a reach. Those opinions hold no sway with Bill Belichick.

NEW ORLEANS

Heady move: At the end of the third round, with their first pick, the Saints took defensive tackle Akiem Hicks from the University of Regina in Canada. He’s massive and could be a find, someone who adds some much-needed athleticism to that defensive front.

Head scratcher: Wisconsin’s Nick Toon joins what was already a logjam at receiver, even with Robert Meachem gone.

N.Y. GIANTS

Heady move: The Giants were considering five players for their first pick at the end of the first round. They wound up getting two of those five: Virginia Tech running back David Wilson in the first, and LSU receiver Rueben Randle in the second.

Head scratcher: The tackles picked in the fourth and sixth rounds, Auburn’s Brandon Mosley and Alabama-Birmingham’s Matt McCants, are both projects. That’s not great for a team that lost its right tackle in free agency.

N.Y. JETS

Heady move: Circling back in the second round and picking up a talented receiver in Georgia Tech’s Stephen Hill was a wise move for the Jets. He’s raw and coming from an option offense, but he has potential to be outstanding.

Head scratcher: Using the 16th pick on North Carolina’s Quinton Coples isn’t necessarily a bad move (it could be a great one), but the defensive end had a problem in college with taking plays off.

OAKLAND

Heady move: Ninety-four picks passed before the Raiders finally got their chance. Utah’s Tony Bergstrom is billed as an excellent zone-blocking offensive lineman, and while that’s a meat-and-potatoes choice, it’s a good one.

Head scratcher: Because their picks came so late, the Raiders didn’t have the luxury of risking much. A fourth-round pick on linebacker Miles Burris, who is a good special-teamer, might have been a bit of an early reach.

PHILADELPHIA

Heady move: The Eagles got a steal in the first round, trading up three spots to land Mississippi State defensive lineman Fletcher Cox, and they didn’t have to give up any second-rounders to pull off the deal.

Head scratcher: Interesting running back the Eagles picked up in the seventh round. Bryce Brown left both the Tennessee and Kansas State programs.

PITTSBURGH

Heady move: Hard to imagine a lineman better suited to the Steelers than Stanford’s David DeCastro, a player so intense he doesn’t even high-five teammates after a big play. He adds toughness to that line.

Head scratcher: The Steelers addressed a lot of needs, but they didn’t pick up a cornerback, a position where they’re very thin.

ST. LOUIS

Heady move: Starting with the Washington trade, the Rams did a masterful job of stockpiling picks, essential for a franchise that needs help in most spots.

Head scratcher: The Rams rolled the dice on two talented corners who are both character risks: Janoris Jenkins of North Alabama, and Trumaine Johnson of Montana.

SAN DIEGO

Heady move: The Chargers are ecstatic to get South Carolina’s Melvin Ingram, a terrific pass rusher who was widely projected as a top-10 pick. Then, the team came back in the second and got Connecticut defensive tackle Kendall Reyes, another standout.

Head scratcher: San Diego had a chance to add a cornerback in the middle rounds so likely will address that in the coming weeks.

SAN FRANCISCO

Heady move: Oregon’s LaMichael James ran so well against Jim Harbaugh’s Stanford Cardinal that Harbaugh jumped at the chance to welcome the speedy running back to the 49ers.

Head scratcher: Illinois receiverA.J. Jenkins was a curveball near the end of the first round. Many evaluators gave Hill and Randle better ratings, but clearly Harbaugh has no regrets.

SEATTLE

Heady move: Pete Carroll has been searching for the answer at quarterback for a while. Even though the Seahawks signed free agent Matt Flynn, the addition of Wisconsin’s Russell Wilson is smart.

Head scratcher: The Seahawks were responsible for the biggest surprise of the draft, selecting West Virginia defensive end Bruce Irvin with the 15th pick. He’s the definition of a boom/bust prospect.

TAMPA BAY

Heady move: After trading away their second-round pick to get running back Doug Martin, the Buccaneers traded back into the second and took Nebraska’s Lavonte David. He satisfies their long-time need for a weakside linebacker.

Head scratcher: Tampa Bay waited until the sixth round to take a cornerback; the team could be in real trouble at that spot.

TENNESSEE

Heady move: Conventional wisdom said the Titans would take a pass rusher. Instead, they grabbed Baylor receiver Kendall Wright, who should pay dividends right away.

Head scratcher: Fifth-round pick Taylor Thompson of SMU is listed as a tight end, but he played defensive end throughout college and has never caught a pass in a game.

WASHINGTON

Heady move: The Redskins made a bold move in trading into the No. 2 spot to take Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III, who has the skills and personality to be an NFL superstar.

Head scratcher: Curious decision to take Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins in the fourth, immediately piling unnecessary pressure on Griffin.

sam.farmer@latimes.com