2012 NFL Draft: 10 Likely First-Round Picks That Weren't Highly Touted Recruits

Tonight the first round of the 77th annual NFL Player Selection Meeting will take place in New York. It's also more commonly called the NFL draft, as we all know it.

As someone who's worked in two NFL scouting departments, I can certainly vouch for how exhausting the whole process is for each organization, and not just in the personnel department. However, the evaluations and rankings are what we all tend to focus on, and we now have a pretty good idea of the top players that will be selected tonight.

To put a college football recruiting spin on it, here are 10 players projected to go in the first round tonight that were not highly touted recruits coming out of high school.

10. Chandler Jones, DE (Syracuse)

Jones is a 6'5", 266-pound DE from the 'Cuse expected to hear his name called early. He has left-end size with right-end athleticism.

However, go back to 2008 and you see that Jones was a lowly 2-star recruit from New York. In fact, he was projected to be a TE prospect.

Today he'll complete the transformation from 2-star recruit to first-round pick.

9. Kevin Zeitler, OG (Wisconsin)

Last year Wisconsin signed Dan Voltz, who was one of the top 100 players in the class. Zeitler probably looks at Voltz and thinks, "In my day, I had to earn my status."

Zeitler is a 6'4", 314-pound OG that has great toughness, good strength as a run-blocker and fight as a pass-protector.

In 2008 he was just some 3-star OG prospect.

8. Ryan Tannehill, QB (Texas A&M)

In 2007, when you saw Tannehill play, you knew he was athletic and could throw. You just weren't sure what to do with him and his 6'4", 195-pound frame.

Tannehill knew.

He signed with Texas A&M and was moved to receiver, but he always knew he was a QB. Tannehill sat in on the QB meetings waiting for his shot. When he did, he wowed with arm strength, athleticism, accuracy and instincts.

Tannehill is going to be a first-round pick and may be the most intriguing prospect in the draft.

7. Shea McClellin, OLB (Boise State)

Idaho isn't a hotbed state for recruits, but it will produce a player or two every few years. McClellin clearly was overlooked because of his location and was rated just 2-star status in 2007.

He stood 6'3", 228 pounds and signed with Boise State. Today he's a 6'4" OLB/DE prospect that weighs nearly 270 pounds.

McClellin looks like a great fit for a 3-4 defense as a strong-side OLB.

6. Kendall Reyes, DT (UConn)

New Hampshire is even less of a hotbed state for recruiting than Idaho, but Reyes calls it home. In 2007 he was a 6'4", 220-pound OLB prospect.

Today the UConn Husky goes 6'4", 300 pounds and is a pure power player. He seems to be a great fit as a DT or as a DE in a 3-4 scheme.

Not bad for a 2-star recruit that wasn't even ranked.

5. David DeCastro, OG (Stanford)

DeCastro was a 3-star OG prospect in 2008 and didn't even get an offer from Oregon or USC. All he did was become an All-American and develop himself into the best OG prospect to come into the draft since Steve Hutchinson.

DeCastro may be the draft's top OL prospect due to his easy pull and trap movement, quick feet, strength and nasty demeanor.

4. Luke Kuechly, LB (Boston College)

An Ohio native from the class of 2009, Kuechly was a 3-star LB prospect in high school and ranked just 44th at his position.

Wow. Kuechly may be a top-five pick tonight.

This dude developed into a pure and sheer tackling machine. Today, he's the best LB in the draft (Lavonte David is also a great one), an All-American and has grown to be 6'3", 242 pounds.

3. Doug Martin, RB (Boise State)

Martin is going to be either a late first-rounder tonight or an early second-round pick tomorrow. In 2007 he signed with Boise State as a mere 2-star RB from California.

He stood 5'10", 188 pounds and nobody really talked much about him. All Martin did was work himself into a 5'10", 225-pound bell cow back with good run strength, instincts, vision and solid speed.

2.Dontari Poe, DT (Memphis)

2008 was the year Memphis signed a big 6'3", 315-pound DT prospect from Tennessee that evaluators didn't think much of. In fact, they only gave the kid a 2-star rating and wrote him off.

Well, today Dontari Poe stands 6'4", weighs 345 pounds and is as athletic as a safety. He scares teams a bit due to lack of production, but with the right DL coach, Poe has Pro Bowl potential.

1. Justin Blackmon, WR (Oklahoma State)

In 2008 Blackmon was ranked as the 91st WR in his class. Not overall, but just in the WR rankings.

He was a 6'1", 190-pounder that you saw had strong hands and a large catch radius, but he was playing against inferior competition, so you questioned his speed.

Blackmon just went to Oklahoma State, caught over 250 balls, won two straight Biletnikoff awards and grew to be 6'1", 210 pounds with excellent strength and RAC ability.