NFL Draft 2012: Players Who'll Be Drastically Overdrafted

Every year in the NFL, teams make drastic reaches for players that fit a need on their roster.

Think Blaine Gabbert. Think Russell Okung. Think Tyson Jackson.

There are a few players in the 2012 NFL draft that are headed for the same distinction.

Luke Kuechly

Kuechly is one of the greatest linebackers to ever play college football. He is highly productive, and during his time at Boston College, he set numerous records.

Most mock drafts have him going in the middle of the first round. I don't even have him in my top 40 players.

The problem with Kuechly is that many of his tackles come well past the line of scrimmage. He struggles to shed blocks up front, so he hangs back and reads the play. 

In the NFL, he won't be able to get away with that, and he will get consumed by massive pulling guards that eat guys like him for breakfast.

Dontari Poe

Poe is a boom-or-bust prospect. 

I don't think Poe will last past the Kansas City Chiefs, who own the 11th-overall selection in this year's draft. He will likely be taken by the Carolina Panthers at nine.

With Poe, you are drafting purely on potential, though the potential couldn't be better.

His physical abilities are about as ideal as you could hope for, but he's never been able to put it together on the field with any kind of consistency.

The proper placement for him in the draft should be somewhere in the early 20s, but teams will fall in love with his potential and overdraft him.

Ryan Tannehill

NFL Network's Mike Mayock made headlines recently when he said, "Cleveland has to take Ryan Tannehill" with the fourth-overall pick of the 2012 NFL draft.

This has made the Minnesota Vikings' No. 3 overall pick worth investigating for a few teams, according to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio.

The furthest Tannehill will fall is certainly to Miami, who owns the eighth-overall pick. 

He is starting to look like the next Mark Sanchez, to me. 

Sanchez, like Tannehill, only started for one season in college. Both men vaulted up draft boards after teams watched them work out. 

I'm not trying to say Tannehill is going to end up as a complete bust, but the potential for that to happen is most certainly there.

No matter who picks him, Tannehill is going to be taken too soon.

Follow @JesseReed78