2012 NFL Draft: 5 First-Round Prospects That Will Be Overvalued in April

The NFL draft is quickly approaching, but there are a few potential first-round picks that are on pace to be selected way too early.

During this period of All-Star games and workouts, many prospects start moving up and down draft boards for various reasons. The problems happen when scouts forget what happened during the athlete's college career. 

Not every top pick will become an impact player.

These young men might not be complete busts, but they will not live up to the potential of their draft position.

Dont'a Hightower, MLB, Alabama

Dont'a Hightower was the anchor of the best defense in the nation this season and one of the best units in recent history.

While the linebacker made few mistakes this past season, it is difficult to judge how Hightower will perform without the surrounding support.

There was so much talent on the defense for Alabama that everyone needed to be accounted for, and other players were able to take on extra blockers. Hightower was free to roam sideline to sideline and make plays.

Depending on where he is drafted, Hightower might be forced to do a lot more work to make plays. So far, he has not shown he is capable of playing at that level.

Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina

In his sophomore season, Alshon Jeffery looked like one of the best receivers in the country. He finished the year with 88 receptions for 1,517 yards and was strong enough to beat any defensive back to the ball.

A year later, Jeffery was only able to get 762 yards on 49 catches. While a lot of this decrease in production is due to quarterback issues, in many games, the receiver was just invisible.

In college, Jeffery was able to use his athleticism to get to jump-balls. However, at the NFL level, he will struggle to create separation from bigger and faster defenders.

A lot will have to go right in order for Jeffery to live up to his top-10 projection.

Ryan Tannehill, QB, Texas A&M

The appeal of Ryan Tannehill is his potential.

At Texas A&M, he spent two full seasons as a receiver before moving to quarterback during his junior year. With one solid season under his belt, he has the ability to turn himself into a very good player.

Unfortunately, he is far too unproven to warrant his probable first-round selection.

The only reason Tannehill is this high on boards is due to lack of depth at the position. He was the biggest winner when both Matt Barkley and Landry Jones decided to return to school, and it will lead to him being overvalued by some desperate team on draft day.

Whitney Mercilus, DE, Illinois

Whitney Mercilus had a dominant season in 2011 by leading the nation with 16 sacks. 

However, this was the first season he had any production at this level.

Mercilus still needs to prove that he can come out and be aggressive on every play and that last year was not a fluke.

He could be a solid pass-rusher if he can maintain consistency, but teams might put too much stock into his numbers from this past season and forget about the rest of the package.

Mike Adams, OT, Ohio State

There are three very solid offensive tackle prospects in this draft: Matt Kalil of USC, Jonathan Martin of Stanford and Riley Reiff of Iowa.

After that, there is a bit of a drop-off, but that will not stop teams from selecting Mike Adams in the first round.

He has very good size, but he is not quick enough to handle talented pass-rushers in the NFL. It is likely he will become a right tackle, which is much less valuable than those protecting the blindside.

Considering that he was not even selected first-team All-Big Ten, there is little reason to believe he should be taken this early in April.