2012 NFL Draft: Most Overrated Defensive Players in Draft

Overrated defensive prospects are as much a given as underrated ones. Identifying who is who is the key to scouting. The 2012 draft is considered deep at a few positions, and while there may truly be a stud or two in the group, you can bet there will be a few clunkers.

Here are three players, as of now, destined for the first round, who are overrated:

Luke Kuechly, LB Boston College

By some accounts, Kuechly is the top prospect at LB, but I disagree. Kuechly looks like the classic case of a collegiate inside linebacker, with inflated tackle numbers because of system.

Positives:

Kuechly was the nation’s leading tackler for a horrible Boston College team with 190. He has a great football IQ, and instincts for the ball that enable him to be near the play's result.

Negatives:

Of all his tackles, only 12 of them were tackles for loss, he had only two QB hurries and three passes defended. If you watch Kuechly, you’ll see him making a ton of tackles, but most of them are downfield. 

The stats show he doesn’t get into the backfield, and he doesn’t make impact plays. How can a player with great instincts lack the ability to make big plays in the offensive backfield?

Kuechly is not a good athlete. His 4.7 forty time prevents him from getting to the spot to make the big play, so instead he ends up cleaning up, as opposed to preventing the big play.

Kuechly is a smart, hard-working LB, but he reminds me of Pat Fitzgerald, as a player for Northwestern and Hunter Hillenmeyer from Vanderbilt. Both of those players had huge tackle numbers in their collegiate careers, only to have non-distinct careers in the NFL.

Devon Still, DT Penn State

Still is considered the best DT prospect in the draft, but I’m not sold. He’s huge at 6’5”, 315 pounds. His frame would suggest that he could add even more bulk to become a premier run stuffer in the NFL, similar to Kelvin Williams of the Minnesota Vikings.

Positives:

The height is elite for a DT and his length could certainly cause issues for QBs looking for passing windows over the middle. He is strong as an ox. Once Still gets a hold of a ball carrier, they are headed for the turf.

Negatives:

Still suffered a torn ACL in his freshman season at Penn State. Big guys with a history of injury to their lower body scare me. The pounding and grind is only going to increase in the NFL, as could his weight as a run-stuffer. 

I would have concerns about the overall health of the knee moving forward.

Also, Still is not great in pursuit. His meager 4.5 sacks as a senior would attest to that. In the NFL, he won’t always be able to engulf ball carriers running right into the gut of the defense. Still lacks the secondary motor past, as well as the burst to shoot gaps and make plays in the NFL. 

Alfonzo Dennard, CB Nebraska

Dennard is projected as a late first-round, early second-round prospect at CB, but I believe he is miscast. 

Positives:

Dennard is an ultra competitive CB who loves to be physical with receivers. He is a decent and willing tackler at his position. He is smart and has a great attitude for the game.

Negatives:

Dennard is a little short, and he does not have great speed. At times, he is too aggressive and it pulls him out of position. In his four-year college career, Dennard only had four INTs, and all those came in his junior season.

Because of his build (a solid 205 pounds) and lack of speed, Dennard is a prime candidate to be switched to safety. As a cornerback, he isn’t big enough to offset his athletic limitations.