NFL Combine 2012: Luke Kuechly and Players That Need a Huge Combine

Excelling in the "Spandex Olympics" means absolutely nothing, but don’t tell that to NFL GMs. 

Player stock will skyrocket and plummet, not by examination of film, but by the numbers they record at the combine. Here are five first-round prospects that will solidify or destroy that status this upcoming week. 

5. Luke Kuechly

Kuechly is extremely intelligent. The inside linebacker is a leader on and off the football field. On top of that, he can tackle. Kuechly recorded 191 takedowns last year at Boston College.

Physical ability is the only question mark circling the defensive general. At 6’3”, 237 pounds, he’s a bit on the small side and he isn’t a freak athlete to begin with. Running well and gaining a pound or two would make him a Top-15 lock.

4. Kendall Wright

Wright hauled in 108 balls for 1,663 yards and 14 touchdowns last year for the Bears. At 5’10” and 190 pounds, though, he’ll need more than solid statistics to hear his name called in the first half of day one. 

Wright’s 40-time, whether he runs a 4.3 or a 4.4, will be the difference between teams valuing him like a Mike Wallace or a Titus Young. 

3. Quinton Coples

At 6’6” and 285 pounds, Coples is entering the combine with plenty of hype. After recording a disappointing 7.5 sacks in 2011, he must live up to his athletic reputation to maintain a Top-10 grade.

If Coples fails to live up to expectations once again, defensive end prospects like Melvin Ingram and Whitney Mercilus will begin to leapfrog him on draft boards.

2. Vontaze Burfict

Burfict began his 2011 campaign with sky-high expectations, but he fell far short. He recorded just 69 tackles on the year and, with red flags waving away, his stock is at an all-time low. 

At 6’3” and 250 pounds, though, Burfict defines the term "physical freak." He possesses the gifts to be a Top-10 lock, but he must put them on display at the combine or his stock will be in danger of falling further. 

1. Alshon Jeffrey

Jeffrey’s stock is a roller coaster.

After a disappointing regular season catching passes from poor quarterbacks, Jeffery’s stock was suffering. Then, he blew up against Nebraska in the Capitol One Bowl for 148 yards and a touchdown. 

However, just as it looked like the Jacksonville Jaguars could realistically reach for him at No. 7, the NFL Network’s Mike Mayock said that Jeffery wasn’t even worth a first-round pick (via NBC Sports).

Now, though, after playing at 229 pounds during the season, the Carroll County Times’ Aaron Wilson reported this thinning news:

"

Hearing that South Carolina WR Alshon Jeffery has actually lost weight down to 217 to 220 and hopes to run in 4.5 range at combine We'll see

— Aaron Wilson (@RavensInsider) February 19, 2012"

Jeffrey’s ability to show that he possesses any kind of a work ethic will make or break his draft stock.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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