NFL Draft 2012: Zach Brown and Unheralded First-Round Picks Who Will Be Stars

Now that the Super Bowl is behind us, it’s time to look forward and see which young stars will fall to which teams.

With so much focus on the draft, it’s hard for players to stay off the radar anymore. Players like Zach Brown and Janoris Jenkins have not made many teams’ charts for one reason or another.

All of the following players are looking to be taken in the first round, but their talent will have them playing in Pro Bowls sooner rather than later.

Zach Brown

While this draft is deep with stellar linebackers that could come right into the NFL and start, there may be no better prospect than Zach Brown from North Carolina.

After an amazing Senior Bowl, Brown has proven to scouts he has the ability to step right onto an NFL field and start. Add in the fact that he still has plenty of room to grow into his body, and you have a future Pro Bowl player on your hands.

With the Philadelphia Eagles picking at No. 15, the team may have no choice but to address its biggest need at linebacker. With a stellar outside linebacker like Brown helping in the run game and in coverage, the Dream Team may actually make the playoffs this season.

Janoris Jenkins

Despite drug arrests in Florida that got him removed from the school, Janoris Jenkins could be the best pure cornerback in the 2012 NFL draft. It’s just that he has so much baggage.

The solution to that problem is the New England Patriots. Bill Belichick knows how to handle troubled players, and seeing Jenkins at the Senior Bowl will be enough to have Patriots scouts telling their head coach that Jenkins is worth the trouble.

With the 30th-ranked secondary spending the offseason getting better through free agency and with another year of experience, the addition of a player like Jenkins to the defense will be a huge difference-maker next season.

Melvin Ingram

There may be no better pure 3-4 defensive end in this draft then Melvin Ingram out of South Carolina. While he is a bit undersized (6’2” and 276 pounds), Ingram has the size, speed and strength to get underneath offensive linemen and get to the quarterback.

With an incredible showing at the Senior Bowl, Ingram showed the scouts that had him falling in the first round that he deserves the honor. Forget his size, this kid is pure talent.

Many experts have him falling into the later first round, and I see his perfect fit coming with Rex Ryan and the New York Jets at No. 16. Ryan runs the 3-4 defense that Ingram works so well in and he has the kind of motor that the Jets can turn into a machine.

Check back for more on the National Football League as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s NFL page to get your fill of all things football.

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