2012 NFL Draft Projections: Big-Name Prospects Who Will Fall in the First Round

There have been rumors, planted stories and all-out smear campaigns prior to this year's draft, and yet certain players' positions atop the draft order are locked in and won't change, no matter what.

Others prospects started out at the top of the order this offseason and have slowly fallen as Thursday's first round creeps closer. By the time the first round draws to a close this week, they are likely to find themselves disappointed after expecting to go much higher.

Here are some of the big names who could fall further than expected down this year's board.

Whitney Mercilus
Position: DE
School: Illinois
Projected Landing Place: Late First Round

The scouts go back and forth on him. Some are sold after his dominant junior season at Illinois, while others are shying away because the last thing they want is to waste a first-round pick on a one-year wonder.

Based on 2011 alone, Mercilus is the fifth- or sixth-best defensive end available, but he's a risky pick given his history. He was a mediocre Big Ten lineman before last season, and during spring football, he says he had an epiphany and attacked the season with a renewed vigor due to a weightlifting accident in which he lost the tip of his left index finger.

He had enough motivation to put up 16 sacks—the best in the nation—along with nine forced fumbles and 22.5 tackles for a loss, but those numbers are so much better than his career marks that it's hard not to wonder whether his junior season was a fluke. That doubt will hurt him on Thursday.

Dre Kirkpatrick
Position: CB
School: Alabama
Projected Landing Place: Late First Round

Kirkpatrick has the talent to be one of the first corners off the board this spring. He just hasn't yet proven he can be a dominant, shutdown type of player, and that will cost him.

He's currently rated the third-best cornerback available, but in a draft that is stocked pretty high with talent at the position, he could see some unfortunate side effects. Look at what happened to Prince Amukamara last year.

Kirkpatrick will be buoyed by the fact that he was a part of the nation's top defense at Alabama last season. He also has solid recognition skills, and at 6'2" and 185 pounds, he's the ideal size for an NFL corner. However, he's gotten knocked for a lack of durability—he had shoulder surgery after high school and again in the summer of 2010—and for below-average ball skills, particularly when it comes to finding the ball over his shoulder.

A team doesn't want a corner who isn't going to get a good jump on the ball. A team wants a playmaker, and Kirkpatrick still has to prove he is one.

Janoris Jenkins
Position: CB
School: North Alabama
Projected Landing Place: Late Second Round

Multiple marijuana arrests have caused Jenkins to fall out of many first-round projections completely. It's also what got him kicked off his Florida team, which is why he ended up at North Alabama.

The character concerns surrounding Jenkins are a shame because he's been deemed by many as a player with the talent to be a first-rounder, but his arrests make him too much of a risk. He showed up at Florida as a hard worker and a model athlete, but after a a fight and an arrest in 2009 and two arrests on drug-related charges soon thereafter, teams are hesitant to pull the trigger on him. Nobody is going to waste a first-round pick on a player who might never step foot on the field.

Jenkins is ranked as the fourth-best corner available, and he has been compared to Asante Samuel because of his quickness and his spectacular cover skills. He's physical, confident and shows great instincts. He's just too much of a wild card to go in the first round.