NFL Draft 2012: Mid-Rounders Who Will Endure Impressive Pro Careers

Limited by the number of selections, Round 1 of the NFL draft doesn't necessarily bring the best prospects to the field.

There's something in every round, and the players expecting to last until Round 3 and beyond have arguably just as much talent. Take Joe Montana, for example: He's widely considered the best quarterback to ever step on the field, however Joe Cool was a third-rounder back in 1979.

Obviously, it's a stretch to say that the following prospects will finish as the best in NFL history at their respective positions. Still, Montana's just one example of not taking any mid-round pick for granted.

George Iloka, Safety, Boise State

A four-year contributor at Boise State, George Iloka racked up 231 tackles and defended 24 total passes during his career. Even more impressive, Iloka comes in at 6'4", 225 pounds and displays excellent agility, top speed, lateral quickness and body control to quickly change directions.

In the pros, Iloka's size-and-athleticism combo allows him to roll down in the box and blanket tight ends, slot receivers and support against the run. His field awareness, however, gives a defense the luxury of sitting him in Cover 1, 2 or 3 to make plays on the ball.

Iloka has the potential to contribute as an every-down player from day one, and provided he develops better tackling technique and quicker reactions to developing plays, he'll emerge as a complete defender against every situation.

Considering that it's not a deep draft at the safety position, Iloka could stand out even more and could get selected much higher than anticipated.

Kirk Cousins, QB, Michigan State

Kirk Cousins will likely ride the pine as a rookie, but learning in year one isn't the worst of scenarios. Cousins is a cognitive quarterback who possesses impressive pre-snap readability to adjust on the fly.

His arm is a lot stronger than given credit for, and the accuracy has only continued to improve. Cousins' mobility is his underrated attribute, because he was protected well at Michigan State. However, his play-action fakes and ability to roll out and throw on the run warrants more recognition.

While at Sparty, Cousins never put up insanely high numbers like Brandon Weeden or Robert Griffin III. He was, if anything, consistently effective and had 64 touchdowns to only 29 picks from 2009-2011.

Without having any overly dominant receivers to target or ground-game-pitting top NFL prospect ball-carries, Cousins orchestrated Michigan State's offense to a T—and it got him a record of 22-5 the past two years.

LaMichael James, RB, Oregon

Despite coming in a bit undersized at 5'8", 195 pounds, LaMichael James provides more power between the tackles than advertised.

He's obviously a great ball-carrier for tosses, sweeps, counters and outside zone, as James possesses excellent acceleration, explosion and top speed to the position. After all, he accounted for over 5,000 rushing yards and 53 touchdowns on the ground.

James is a downhill Brahma Bull who loves to take the rock inside. Although he's impressive at dodging tacklers, he can just as well run defenders over and keep trucking along. In the Ducks' passing game, James caught 51 balls for 686 yards and four touchdowns.

Through development of becoming a better pass-blocker (despite giving great effort) and adding some muscle, James has promise to take the NFL by storm in a few years.

Casey Hayward, CB, Vanderbilt

A solid sized cornerback, Vanderbilt's Casey Hayward finished his career with 46 defended passes (34 between 2010 and 2011), 15 interceptions, two forced fumbles, 198 tackles and 18 tackles for loss.

He's easily one of the most underrated defensive backs in the draft and the SEC. Courtesy of guys like Morris Claiborne, Dre Kirkpatrick, Stephon Gilmore and Brandon Boykin, any Commodore cornerback will go overlooked.

Fortunately, Hayward performed consistently well throughout his career and brings second-to-none instincts, play-recognition skills and ball awareness to the NFL.

Hayward quickly dissects plays, has excellent footwork to reroute receivers without playing press coverage and is a reliable tackler. He'll likely begin as a nickel/dime back in 2012, but with impressive playmaking skills, Hayward can contribute at safety as well.

Provided that he becomes a more explosive player when reacting, Hayward will develop his complete game.

John Rozum on Twitter.