2012 NFL Draft Order: 8 Players Who Could Fall the Furthest on Draft Day

Not only does the SEC have a major effect on the college football landscape, it also has an effect on the upcoming NFL Draft.

It's amazing how a group of underclassmen can shape the landscape of the NFL.

With the numbers of players coming out to declare for the riches of the professional game, and the NFL's less fortunate needed to fill needs by the truck-load, it appears the two leagues are a match made in football heaven.

The downside to this "marriage" is that quality players who have been steady performers in conference play in other divisions will suffer in their wallets because of the hype caused by these early entrants. Some from the SEC may see this happen.

There are players who will find their dreams of being a first round pick or highly drafted athlete crushed because of other, non-related football issues.

Here is a look at some players who will tumble in the draft and not get the "coverage" they deserved prior to the end of the college football season.

Vontaze Burfict, Linebacker, Arizona State

He has all the talent in the world and without questions about his drive and his attitude.

In a bio of Burfict on cbssports.com, there have been question about his play, his behavior and whether he can translate to the next level.

If Burfict gets it all together, he will be the steal of this draft. And if he goes to a team that can be patient with him, then they will have another Ray Lewis or possible Terrell Suggs for the next decade.

Quinton Coples, Defensive End, North Carolina

He is still the best defensive end on the board, but teams will look at Devon Still and Michael Brockers, both defensive tackles, before they take a look at this North Carolina product.

Coples has all the tools at 6'6" and 285 pounds. He is not as good as Robert Quinn or Julius Peppers, but he is still a quality pass rusher who needs to keep moving forward.

I still think he is a Top-15 talent who will be drafted, but he was a Top-8 talent who will tumble some in this draft.

Alshon Jeffery, Wide Receiver, South Carolina

He was the top receiver to possibly come out in this draft before the beginning of the college season.

At 6"4" and a tall target in the red zone, he had scouts salivating. And then the college football season began.

Does someone with that much talent tumble that far?

I am not sure he tumbles out of the first round, but teams like Chicago, Dallas, San Diego and New England all have a legitimate shot at him now if he tumbles into the second tier of the first round.

Dre Kirkpatrick, Defensive Back, Alabama

According to cbssportsline.com, there have been teams who have contacted Nick Saban about Kirkpatrick's recent arrest.

How does this affect his draft stock? When Warren Sapp was on the board, he tumbled for "suspected" marijuana use.

Kirkpatrick and LSU's Morris Claiborne are the top two talents at the defensive back position. It will be interesting to see who bites and takes him, if still a Top-10 talent. If he tumbles, it will surely be because of the character issues, not performance.

Donte Paige-Moss, Defensive End, North Carolina

He tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the Tar Heels' loss to Missouri in the Independence Bowl on Dec. 26. and still announced he would come out and declare for the NFL Draft.

Big, big mistake.

Paige-Moss needed to redshirt and heal and come back to college and then get ready to be drafted and see a better fate.

His skills are pretty good at 6'4" and 260 pounds and would be a good edge rusher for some team.

Now, someone takes him late in the draft or he completely falls out of the draft and becomes a free agent.

Cordy Glenn, Guard, Georgia

I think he will be the best guard coming out of the draft and looks to still be a first round pick. But drafts have a strange way of playing out. Runs of receivers and defensive backs seem to be the logic of this draft.

And because of that Glenn takes a tumble.

At 6'5" and 348, he is bigger than any offensive linemen rated as a first round talent and could be better than Stanford's David DeCastro, who is slated to be chosen in the Top-12 selections.

Zach Brown, Linebacker, North Carolina

At the beginning of the season, he was a Top-15 prospect. Now, he is projected in the Top-30 to Top-40 range on some draft boards.

Is it his ability, his lack of effort? No, call it it the SEC Effect. The draft is now flooded with the SEC undergraduates and that is causing players to fall down draft boards.

Brown is an amazing talent and will be a great player on the outside as a coverage linebacker or possible run stuffer in a 4-3 defense.

He may not be drafted in the first round, but whoever takes him will have a first-round talent.

Brandon Thompson, Defensive Tackle, Clemson

Thompson was another one of those players who were firmly entrenched in the first round about five or six weeks ago.

Then the Bowl Season took off.

Now, some team will scoop Thompson up in the second round and have a defensive tackle that will be a force in the middle of the defense for the next 8-10 years.

Thompson has built his resume in the last two years for the Tigers and has continued to improve his game and his run-stuffing ability.