NFL Draft 2012: Pegging Players to the Draft's Most Overused Phrases

Want a new drinking game? 

Turn on the NFL Network in the days leading up to or during the NFL draft and take a drink every time you hear the following words or phrases:

High motor. Upside. Explosiveness. Big-time athlete. Measurables.

Your world will be spinning in 10 minutes.

To put a serious take on this, let's look at which players in the 2012 draft class fit each of these overused, often-regurgitated, but sometimes necessary, phrases.

High Motor 

This term is usually applied to defensive linemen. South Carolina's Melvin Ingram is the first guy that comes to mind with a high motor. He possesses great suddenness off the ball and is equally aggressive rushing the passer as he is tracking down opposing running backs. At 6'2'' and 278 pounds, he runs like a tight end and exudes athleticism. 

USC's Nick Perry is another high-motor guy. He has plenty of athletic ability and tends to utilize his quick first step to speed past offensive tackles, always at 100 percent.

Running backs can't really afford to take plays off, but Boise State's Doug Martin seems like a "high-motor" type of guy to me. He runs just about as hard as Alabama's Trent Richardson, is a capable receiver and return man and a real blue-collar player.

Lastly, Penn State's defensive tackle Devon Still is another high-motor individual. At 6'5'' and 310 pounds, he relentlessly attacks interior offensive linemen and often wins battles with surprising power and agility. He goes hard on every play. 

Upside

Ahhh, one of my favorite draft terms. You will hear it about 100 times during draft coverage. No joke.

The best prospect with the most overall upside has to be Robert Griffin III. Sure, we saw how tremendous he was at Balyor, but his skill set is so unique, so special, so potentially transcendent, the best is possibly yet to come for the Heisman Trophy winner. 

Another prospect in the 2012 class oozing with upside is LSU's Michael Brockers. At 6'6'' and 305 pounds, Brockers, only 21, has room to get bigger and stronger and easily can improve as a player. He has the tenacity and natural strength to compete with good interior offensive linemen, and his game should progress in the NFL. 

Explosiveness 

Tired of hearing the word "upside?" Ha. Explosiveness will get thrown out every few minutes. Over/Under has to be set at around 300 for the week.

As you probably expect, there are a ton of guys with explosiveness in this year's class. Trent Richardson is a good start. He runs with such power and speed—I would call him quite the explosive back. 

Alabama's Courtney Upshaw is a safe pick in the first round and gets it done with a good deal of explosiveness when getting after the passer. He doesn't have a ton of counter moves in his repertoire, but he is certainly "explosive." 

Although Arizona State's Vontaze Burfict fights with penalty and overall maturity issues, he's the epitome of an explosive inside linebacker. He's a real thumper who will instantly make his presence known against the run, delivering devastating hits on runners, wideouts and quarterbacks alike. 

Baylor wide receiver Kendall Wright is probably the most explosive pass-catcher in the draft. He has blazing speed and is spectacular in his yards-after-the-catch ability. He will be utilized as a downfield target on Sundays next fall and should burn a lot of cornerbacks. 

Clemson's pass-rushing demon Andre Branch, a probable second-rounder, is about explosive as they come, too. 

Big-time Athlete 

One of Mike Mayock's go-to phrases. Like "explosiveness," you will hear this phrase quite often. And like "explosiveness" the draft analysts will peg "big-time athlete" to a lot of players.

Ingram is special off the edge, as is Perry.

We know about RG3. Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon is a fantastic athlete at 6'1'' and 215 pounds. Rutgers wideout Mohamed Sanu is very fluid on the field at 6'2'' and 210. Can't forget about offensive linemen, either. Stanford's Jonathan Martin and David DeCastro are physical freaks when it comes to blocking for the run and protecting the passer. 

UNC's edge-rusher Quinton Coples has a little bit of Julius Peppers in him and is a smooth athlete on the field at 6'6'' and 285. 

Measurables 

No, measurables is not a word in the English dictionary. But the NFL draft season doesn't care for the English dictionary. These are the guys that simply have physically-imposing, NFL-ready bodies and can measure up to current professional players.

Andrew Luck could have been listed in just about all of these categories, but I'm sure you have heard every tidbit about this guy. At 6'4'' and 235 pounds, he has ideal QB size. He's explosive, has upside and is a big-time athlete, too.

Memphis defensive tackle Dontari Poe has a Vince Wilfork-esque body at 6'5'' and nearly 350 pounds. Something tells me he will demand double teams at the pro ranks.

Ohio State's Mike Adams, at 6'7'' and 325 pounds, has a perfect left tackle body.

Coples fits the bill as an NFL 3-4 or 4-3 defensive end.

Alabama's Dont'a Hightower is listed at 6'4'' and 260 pounds—a mammoth inside linebacker prospect. South Carolina's Alshon Jeffery, at 6'4'' and 225 pounds, can physically outmatch just about any corner or safety in the league.

What other prospects fit these categories? Got any other awesome draft phrases? Give your best answers in the comments section below. 

(Other phrases I came up with: Reach and good value.)

Special thanks to B/R FC's Zach Kruse, John Rozum and Ryan Phillips for their suggestions. 

Follow @ChrisTrapasso