NFL Draft 2012: 8 Raw Prospects Who Will Need to Be Coached Up

Vontaze Burfict didn't do himself any favors by leaving Arizona State early.

And now it will fall on the NFL to either turn this guy into gold or let him rot on a practice squad.

Every year there are plenty of non-seniors available for teams to pick in the draft. And every year, a handful (or more) of these kids would be better served returning to school to hone their craft.

So, why do they come out early?

Some guys are delusional, ignoring the advice of others, and are eager to make it rain.

Some of them are surrounded by posse members who are trying to cash in on their leader's success, ignorant of the fact they would make more money if they waited another year.

Oftentimes, these prospects come from poor families and declare early simply to support relatives.

Finally, there are some guys who know they are athletic freaks and, despite their raw skills, will probably be selected fairly early in the draft.

These raw prospects have all the tools, they just need the NFL to teach them their uses.

Vontaze Burfict, Arizona State

Vontaze Burfict's biggest assets are his passion for football and his natural understanding of how the game works.

His talent is undeniable, but his work ethic is under fire after an embarrassing showing at the NFL combine.

Despite improving his numbers slightly at Arizona State's pro day, Burfict showed every NFL team that he is far from a finished product.

Too often he lets emotion get the best of him on the field, resulting in numerous and costly personal fouls.

As far as his actual play, Burfict needs to improve against the run. He frequently gets held up by inferior blockers and struggles to navigate the field laterally when in pursuit. His overall field vision isn't elite, and that's something on which he needs to improve.

His tackling was solid at the collegiate level, but he relies heavily on his NFL-type stature to blow up opposing players. At the next level he will need to work tirelessly on his tackling form, as NFL running backs don't suffer the "hitstick" shots that Burfict was doling out in the Pac-12.

Brock Osweiler, Arizona State

Arizona State's two most talented players jumped ship after the school fired head coach Dennis Erickson.

And neither of them are ready for the NFL.

Despite recent reports that Brock Osweiler is entering first-round pick territory, he made the wrong decision by coming out.

His throwing motion is all wrong, his footwork is terrible, and his decision-making is questionable at best.

There's no doubt Osweiler could someday evolve into an NFL starting quarterback, but as of now, there's just no way he could compete at the NFL level.

Upon hearing the first-round projection for Osweiler, longtime NFL personnel man Charley Casserly had this to say.

"

“I’m not sure what that means, to be honest with you. I haven’t studied this guy yet but I interviewed nine teams about him. Eight of them had him rated in the fourth round. The workout doesn’t change the rating on the tape. The other team had him rated in the second. Issues about the guy concerning decision making, accuracy, takes too many sacks, questionable instincts. All of those things, to me, are things you see on tape, not in the workout. I’m going to take what those teams said and stick with that.”

"

Tell us how you really feel, Charley.

Ryan Tannehill, Texas A&M

When Ryan Tannehill started hearing about being a top-10 pick, he must have thought it was a joke.

He lacks so many qualities that elite NFL quarterbacks share that it's hard to see what NFL scouts really do.

While he is extremely accurate in the short-to-intermediate game, Tannehill throws a mediocre deep ball, and that's a generous description.

He either lacks the arm strength to squeeze the ball into tight spaces or he's simply afraid to and he often senses pressure that isn't there and skips out of the pocket unnecessarily.

In fairness, he has some definite upside.

He is a fantastic athlete with good size. He can advance the ball upfield with his legs, or simply extend plays long enough for his receivers to break free. He has excellent accuracy on the run.

This guy is a project quarterback that will be drafted as a franchise quarterback. He will be thrust into a starting role far too soon, and will probably suffer terrible backlash as a result.

If the team that grabs him can't coach him up in a hurry, they will regret this pick in a couple years.

Michael Brockers, Louisiana State

In 2011, LSU appeared to be lining up the T-800 model at defensive tackle.

In his first year as a starter, Michael Brockers was one of the best players on arguably the best defense in the country.

But when he got to the NFL Scouting Combine, he let us all down.

Brockers looked slow and stiff at the combine. His measurables were so-so and he didn't stand out at the level scouts were expecting.

He's a dominating run-stuffer, using freakish power to overwhelm offensive linemen. He is adept in leveraging his weight and almost always gets lower than the opposition.

But he relied entirely on his power in college.

The former Tiger has absolutely nothing in the way of pass-rushing and possesses no developed moves to suggest he is close. Since running the ball has taken a backseat to passing in today's NFL, that's exactly the opposite of the desired skills.

As only a one-year starter, Brockers has plenty of room to elevate his game. But he's going to need help getting there.

Otherwise, we may just see him smashing into interior linemen and wondering why they aren't flying backwards.

Alshon Jeffery, South Carolina

After the 2010 season, Alshon Jeffery looked like a surefire top-10 pick.

The guy amassed 88 catches for 1,517 yards and nine touchdowns, all while playing against Super Excellent Competition (SEC for short).

But in 2011, Jeffery simply never showed up.

Inconsistent quarterback play was a factor, but the receiver revealed some major flaws, too.

He relied far too much on his size to make plays. He ran lazy routes, often failing to adjust to the coverage and his quarterback's need for help. He also struggles against press coverage, despite his massive frame.

Jeffery lacks quick feet, allowing corners to get up into his body and knock him off his routes.

Lastly, he was deployed primarily in vertical routes at SC, and questions have been raised about his ability to run a complex route tree.

If you want a huge red-zone target, Jeffery is your man. If you want a balanced receiver with a variety of strengths, draft somebody else, or go with Jeffery and expect a couple years of growing pains.

Dontari Poe, Memphis

Dontari Poe is the definition of raw.

This guy showed up at the NFL Scouting Combine weighing 346 pounds, but ran the 40-yard dash faster than presumed athletic freak Vontaze Burfict. He had almost 100 pounds on Burfict.

But despite his immense showing at the event, Poe didn't even manage an all-conference selection last season.

And he played in Conference-USA.

Poe simply appears not understand how to use his size to his advantage, and he needs help learning before he becomes the next Jimmy Kennedy.

Stephen Hill, Georgia Tech

The funny thing is, it's hard to tell whether Stephen Hill is a raw talent or not; he hasn't played enough for us to know.

As a member of Georgia Tech, he was rarely thrown the ball.

Per his NFL Scouting Combine performance, Hill should have dominated the ACC. However, GT's option-based offense left little room for a wide receiver to fill up the stat sheet.

When Hill did make plays, he found himself wide open a good deal of the time. Because Tech ran it so often and so well, play-action passes got Hill clear of many opposing defenses, as evidenced by his astronomical 29.3 yards per catch last season.

If only he would've caught more than 28 passes.

It's safe to say that Hill's route tree knowledge is rudimentary, at best. It's also a fair bet that he will need some work on learning to create separation at the next level, as well as learning how to adjust to blitzes and varying coverages.

Josh Robinson, Central Florida

Josh Robinson was one of the gems at the NFL Scouting Combine.

He posted a 4.33 40-yard dash, the fastest by any player. He led all defensive backs in broad jump (11' 1") and the three-cone drill (6.55), while posting the third best vertical jump (38.5").

Needless to say, he improved his draft stock.

But the tape doesn't lie, and Robinson has some issues that need addressing.

He has a tendency to raise too high in his backpedal, slowing him down considerably. He often gives receivers a free release when trying to play press coverage. His ball skills are average at best. Despite breaking up 36 passes in college, he recorded only 10 interceptions.

And most concerning of all, he reacts to routes far more often than he uses his instincts to anticipate them before they happen. He allows too many inside releases and needs to work on his inside leverage.

Robinson relied heavily on his athleticism to recover after poor plays at the collegiate level. That won't fly in the NFL, where everybody is fast.