15 Prospects Facing Uphill Battles After the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine

With the 2012 NFL scouting combine wrapping up Tuesday afternoon, 15 prospects have put themselves in a worse position than they were before the workout.

The combine is a very important event because it's where scouts either fall in love with their prospects or decide to move in a different direction.

These are the prospects that did little to gain love from those scouts and will be fighting uphill battles after their performances during the combine.

Vontaze Burfict, LB

Will Vontaze Burfict ever live up to his potential?

This is by far, in my mind, the most intriguing story surrounding the 2012 NFL Draft. Does the good outweigh the bad enough for Burfict to be a first-round pick?

Nobody is questioning Burfict's raw natural talent, but for a guy who's become synonymous for his constant personal fouls, including head butts, he's failed to really sell himself.

Burfict blamed his past coaches for last season's less-than-spectacular performance in the interviews, and then he was unable to finish his workout after straining his hamstring in the 40-yard dash. His times in the 40 were poor as well, and Burfict's attitude continues to haunt him and his stock.

Greg Childs, WR

It's hard to believe that a couple of years ago, Greg Childs was the best wide receiver on the Arkansas Razorbacks.

With receivers like Joe Adams and Jarius Wright, Childs was the one that stood out, but his inability to catch the football on a regular basis and lack of explosion out of his route warranted a bad rating.

Childs was plagued by injuries in the latter part of his college career, and I really believed that he would show up to the combine his old dominant self.

Unfortunately for Childs I was wrong, and his draft stock has declined.

Vinny Curry, DE

Vinny Curry was considered to be one of the best pass rushers in the nation last season.

A pass rusher is supposed to not only have great balance and strength, but he's supposed to have great speed. Curry certainly didn't showcase that speed at the combine.

Curry still managed to get a solid grade, but his five-second 40-time will hurt him, especially with guys like Melvin Ingram and Nick Perry having solid outings.

Case Keenum, QB

This is certainly another great story to keep an eye on in the draft.

After Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck and Ryan Tannehill, it's wide open for the rest of these quarterbacks in the draft. Hoping to benefit from the situation, Case Keenum failed to impress at the workouts.

Keenum's arm strength was almost laughable compared to his peers, and this gives scouts all the more reason to believe that he's simply a product of a high-octane offense.

Don't expect Keenum to be drafted.

Jamaar Jarrett, DE

Jamaar Jarrett has great size to be a dominant defensive end, but does he have the athletic ability required to be great?

As if Jarrett's 4.9 40-yard dash wasn't unimpressive by itself, Jarrett tripped and fell during two of the drills.

Scouts are likely questioning Jarrett's ability to rush the quarterback after seeing his lack of athletic ability over the course of the combine.

Devon Still, DT

With defensive tackles like Dontari Poe, Michael Brockers, Mike Martin and Fletcher Cox tearing it up at the combine, Devon Still's mediocre showing might have placed him in the middle of the pack.

Coming into the combine, Still was thought of to be one of the top defensive tackles in the draft, but following his performance, Still could very possibly slip to a mid-to-late second-round pick.

Still's struggles showed in the 40-yard dash with his best time being at 5.05, and his athletic ability is being rightfully questioned after his balance was shaky during some workouts.

Still has the abilities to be great at the next level, but he's certainly not going to benefit from an extremely strong defensive tackle class.

Marcel Jones, OL

Offensive linemen are known for being big, strong guys, and for Marcel Jones the key word is strong.

During the weightlifting drill, Jones lifted 225 pounds the least amount of times of all the offensive linemen when he only had 13 reps.

Jones has the size to be a great offensive lineman in the NFL, but the strength he exhibited in the workouts simply won't cut in the pros.

Derrick Shelby, DE/OLB

Entering the combine, Derrick Shelby was thought to be versatile player that could rush the quarterback.

Players like Courtney Upshaw and Shelby can be very useful for NFL teams because of their ability to play defensive end and outside linebacker, but Shelby raised some cause for concern with his 40-time.

Shelby ran the 40-yard dash in 4.9 seconds, and that's not particularly impressive considering that one of his weaknesses as a player is inconsistency.

Patrick Witt, QB

Patrick Witt is struggling from limited exposure, so he had to have an impressive showing at the combine.

Unfortunately for Witt, that didn't happen as he was the least accurate quarterback of the bunch. Witt didn't show a lot of poise in his performance, either.

It was like watching a man struggle in quicksand; the more he tried, the deeper he sunk.

Marcus Forston, DT

Many fans might not be familiar with Marcus Forston, but those recruiting junkies know exactly who he is.

Forston didn't live up to the hype that he developed in high school at Miami because of several injuries, but he had an opportunity to develop that same hype at the combine.

With Forston's stiffness throughout the workouts, that didn't happen. With a deep defensive tackle class this year, don't expect Forston to be selected early.

Darron Thomas, QB

I never understood why Darron Thomas left for the 2012 NFL Draft in the first place.

I realize that, with the exception of Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck, this quarterback class is relatively weak, but this reminds me of when Jevan Snead left Ole Miss and didn't even get drafted.

Not only does Thomas suffer from an awkward throwing motion, but his best run in the 40-yard dash was a 4.8. For a guy that's supposed to be a dual-threat quarterback, I certainly expected more speed from the guy.

With all of his technical issues and lack of speed, what does Thomas have to offer NFL teams as a quarterback?

James Rodgers, WR

NFL teams are always weary about drafting prospects who have been injury prone.

Knowing that, James Rodgers had to drop jaws at the combine for a team to take a shot with him, and it's safe to say that he didn't do that.

Rodgers might still be recovering from his knee injury, because his 4.67 40-yard dash time felt a lot less than advertised.

Kendall Wright, WR

Did Kendall Wright's productivity at Baylor result to a lack of competition?

Let's face it, the Big 12 isn't known for its defense, and it has me somewhat skeptical of Kendall Wright's abilities to be a playmaker in the NFL. After all, he did have Robert Griffin III throwing to him.

Wright failed to put my doubts to rest when he was clocked at a 4.55 in the 40-yard dash. That's really surprising considering that he was always able to get behind those safeties in college. Hmm...

Marc Tyler, RB

Marc Tyler did very little at the combine to excite future employers.

Tyler looked uncomfortable in most of the drills, and after his 4.7 40-yard dash, he's done little to generate any buzz.

There aren't a whole lot of teams that are set on drafting a running back as a priority, and if Tyler somehow gets drafted, expect him to be a late pick.

Joe Adams, WR

Can we all agree that Joe Adams' best attribute is his explosiveness?

Adams showed time and time again throughout his college career that he is fast and hard to tackle. But just how fast is he?

Adams was clocked in the 40-yard dash with a 4.5. A 4.5? Really? I still believe this guy can be a playmaker at the next level, but it might be a hard sell after that official time.

Jake Martin is a Featured Columnist for the NFL on Bleacher Report. Follow him on twitter.