2012 NFL Draft
Boom Or Bust
- The Most Underrated Prospects
- The Most Overrated Prospects
- The Boom or Bust Prospects
- The Unknowns You Must Know
- The Late Round Fliers To Take
- The Freaks of Nature
- The Big Names, Late Picks
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A lot of big chances have to be taken in every draft. Sometimes a team has to swing for the fences, and sometimes they strike out in a big way. These are ten of the biggest calls in the draft. There's superstar potential with each prospect, but they also have warning signs and could be draft killers.
10. DE Jonathan Massaquoi, Troy 6-2, 264
Really, really fast and agile for his size, he’s great on the move and great in pursuit. More of a beefed up linebacker than a true end, he’s a pass rushing specialist who’ll come in on third downs, but that’ll be it. It’s not like he’s a bad run defender; he just doesn’t seem to care too much about making the tough, physical stop. A purely finesse player, he could stand to drop about ten pounds and play around 255. Any team that drafts him has to know what it’s getting. Massaquoi will do one thing and one thing only, and if he doesn’t stand out right away he’ll be an extremely easy cut. However, if he’s in the right situation and has the right coach, watch out.
CFN Projection: Fourth Round
9.
OG Cordy Glenn, Georgia (OT) 6-6, 345
While he played tackle in college he’s considered to be a lock to move inside and work as a guard at the next level. Don’t be so fast to assume he’ll stick at guard after showing off the feet in offseason workouts to be someone’s right tackle if needed. However, he’s huge and built to be a dominant force at guard for a long, long time. Relatively athletic for his size, he moves with the quicker defenders without a problem, and he can bury his man when he engages. The key will be the training table. He needs to be best friends with the strength and conditioning coach to keep his weight in check, and he needs to bring the attitude play-in-and-play-out. Keeping the fire lit will be a must, and he could stand to lose at least 15 pounds of bad weight, but he’s a tremendous talent who can be tried out in a variety of ways.
CFN Projection: First Round
8. OT Riley Reiff, Iowa (Jr.) 6-6, 313
Upside, upside, upside. With a nice frame and more bulk added, to go along with good athleticism and great feet, he has turned into the hot prospect who flew up draft boards all off-season. He still needs to get a bit bigger, stronger, and better, and he’ll do all the dirty work needed to become special. With tight end smoothness and good functional strength, he’s a pure left tackle who can start out on the right side before eventually being an anchor. However, he’s more of a top prospect than a proven performer with a big need to hone his technique and to become more of a mauler. He’s not a finesse blocker, but he doesn’t stand out as blocker who’ll destroy the man in front of him. With his size and pass blocking potential, he’s going to be in a Pro Bowl at some point, but it might take a year or three to get where he needs to be.
CFN Projection: First Round
7. S George Iloka, Boise State (FS) 6-4, 225 Proj. 3
Very tall, he’s an interesting prospect mainly because of his skill set. He might not have run well in post-season workouts, but he’s extremely quick for his size and he’s football fast with the ability to always be around the ball. In the pros, though, he’ll have to be more of an impact player and has to show he can take advantage of every opportunity. While he’ll have big problems against speed receivers, he’ll be fine against the bigger, slower targets and tight ends; he’s the good prospect for the new wave of New England Patriot-style offense. However, he’s not the best tackler and is merely average against the run with too many whiffs. With his athleticism and his potential, some defensive coordinator will be very, very excited to get him.
CFN Projection: Third Round
6.
TE Coby Fleener, Stanford 6-6, 252
Very tall, very big, and a very good receiver, he’s not Jimmy Graham athletically but he has the same sort of body type and knows how to dominate smaller defensive backs. With great hands, he doesn’t drop the ball and is a good fighter when the ball is in the air. He didn’t need to bail out Andrew Luck too often, but he helped the cause coming up with several big plays highlighted by a huge game in the 2011 Orange Bowl. However, he only had a few big games last year despite scoring ten times. The potential is there to be a stat-sheet filler and become a pure receiver, but forget about blocking. While he’ll try, he doesn’t get enough of a push and he’s not going to do too much for the ground game. Yes, he’s an athletic receiver, but he’s not an elite athlete and is more of a football player than a workout warrior.
CFN Projection: Second Round
5. DT Devon Still, Penn State 6-5, 307
With the right frame and the right size he’s a central casting 3-technique tackle with the ability to fly through the gap and get into the backfield in a hurry. A great technician, he has the finer points down and he’s not going to need a whole bunch of work; he’ll be ready to roll right out of the box. However, he was an overrated collegian, named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year even though he completely and totally disappeared in key games down the stretch, and didn’t have the motor always running. When he was on, though, he was the best player on the field, and in the right system he could be fantastic, but he’s not an anchor. There’s no bust potential, but in a draft class full of potentially special tackles, he’s in the middle of the pack.
CFN Projection: First Round
4.
RB LaMichael James, Oregon (Jr.) 5-8, 194
A devastating producer, he tore off a sub-4.4 in offseason workouts to go along with all the elite quickness and athleticism expected. However, he’s really, really small and won’t come up with any power whatsoever. No one will expect him to blast through the line, though, and he could carve out a very nice career as a Darren Sproles type who can be a top third down playmaker and a change of pace back. No one will touch him in the open field and he’ll hit enough home runs to get everyone out of their seats when he gets on the move. But is he a function of the Chip Kelly offense? Maybe, and he was erased by the good defenses that were able to key on him, but that doesn’t take away from his raw skills. He might not be able to last a full 16-game season, and there will always be question marks about his character after a few big controversies, but some offensive coordinator is going to love the different ways to play around with the options.
CFN Projection: Second Round
3.
DE Whitney Mercilus, Illinois (Jr.) 6-3, 254
A tremendous pure pass rusher, he was dominant throughout last year even when teams tried to figure him out and key on him. Even when the Illini went into the tank as a team, he kept fighting and kept pushing. A great closer, when he has a ball-carrier or a quarterback locked in, it’s over, and he’s rarely a half step late. There’s no fear about effort; he brings the push every snap and is a good leader. However, he might be a specialist. He’s not going to hold up against the power running teams and he’s only built for the outside in 4-3. The other major problem is his history with just one phenomenal year. There were always hints he could become special, but it didn’t all kick in until 2011. He might not be ready out of the box for anything other than getting into the backfield, but he might Jason Pierre-Paul-like, needing to spend a year or so figuring it out before blowing up.
CFN Projection: Second Round
2. CB Janoris Jenkins, North Alabama 5-10, 193
Take away the character issues and he’d be a sure-thing top 20 pick. While he’s not huge, he’s big enough to get by and doesn’t have a problem against the bigger receivers. Lightning fast, he has the 4.4 wheels in workouts and he plays just as fast on the field with the ability to close on a receiver in a heartbeat. He’s a willing tackler, he’s great at tracking the ball, and he proved himself time and again when he was at Florida. But all of the positives are wiped away by the major warning signs that’ll make him undraftable on some boards. Along with his major-league attitude, he had a slew of off-the-field problems including an arrest for marijuana possession that got him the boot from Florida. He was banged up, and with his style he’ll always be hovering around the injury report. Will the concerns outweigh his incredible talent? On the right team he’s a No. 1 corner and a Pro Bowl talent.
CFN Projection: Second Round
1. QB Ryan Tannehill, Texas A&M 6-4, 221
Easily the biggest X factor in the draft, outside of way-too-small 9” hands he has all the tools and all the abilities of a prototype NFL starter. The arm is good enough to put the ball all over the field; there’s a nice touch on his deep passes; and he’s a great leader who had the respect of his teammates and coaches. Throw in the wide receiver athleticism – he started out his career as one of the team’s top targets while waiting his turn – and he has it all. However, his draft status is almost all built around projection. He can’t be the starter from Day One if someone wants to win right away, and he’s going to need at least two years of lump taking before there’s a payoff, if there’s a payoff.
Every year there’s a player who gets moved up the draft boards because he should be good, but it’s almost as if scouts are trying to make him a better prospect than he really is. Yes, he provided a spark in 2010 and saved the season, but he threw way too many interceptions last year and wasn’t ever accurate enough or consistent enough. The stats were great, but he was almost never clutch for a team that collapsed in fourth quarter after fourth quarter. He’s a huge risk who’ll set a franchise back years if he doesn’t pan out, but quarterbacks with his upside are hard to find.
CFN Projection: Top Ten Overall
- The Most Underrated Prospects
- The Most Overrated Prospects
- The Boom or Bust Prospects
- The Unknowns You Must Know
- The Late Round Fliers To Take
- The Freaks of Nature
- The Big Names, Late Picks