NFL Draft 2013: First-Round Talents Sure to Wait to Be Picked

In every draft class, there are those players who are deemed as too 'high-risk' and suffer a massive fall from the top of the rankings.

This year is no different, with some elite, talented players falling down draft boards due to all sorts of problems. From health to attitude to skill in general, there are endless reasons for a great player to wait a little longer than expected to hear his name called.

Who will remind us of Aaron Rodgers in 2005, as they embarrassingly wait in the green room for their phone to ring with good news? Take a look below.

Jarvis Jones, OLB, Georgia

After a dominating 2012 season, Georgia linebacker Jarvis Jones was pegged as a surefire top-five overall pick in the draft. But a terrible 40-yard dash time of 4.9 seconds (via USA Today) saw him plummet down draft boards as other elite defenders sprung up the board.

Even if Jones turns into a great professional football player, he won't be the first linebacker with a slow 40-yard dash time to excel in the NFL. Brandon Spikes and Terrell Suggs both struggled with NFL combine scores, and they turned it into great careers. 

Despite that trend, teams won't be keen on picking Jones with so many talented players available instead. Most teams in the hunt for linebackers would also be happy with a great defensive end, and there just so happens to be plenty of those at the top of the board.

He won't have to wait too long and will likely be off the board in the top 20, but it's still quite a bit longer of a wait than Jones hoped for.

Barkevious Mingo, OLB, LSU

Yet another scary SEC pass rusher has seen his draft stock sink a bit in recent months, as Barkevious Mingo is now threatened to possibly fall out of the first round. 

A huge reason for Mingo's fall is the emergence of Oregon's Dion Jordan as a transcendent player. Jordan has consumed draft boards in recent months after a stellar showing at the NFL combine and pro day workouts. 

Mingo is undersized for a pass rusher, but much of that can be fixed upon entering a NFL-style workout regimen. Still, teams won't jump at him when players of Jordan's and Ezekiel Ansah's size are available.

If Mingo enters the draft in a different year, perhaps he's the best pass rusher available. But he just so happens to be coming out in 2013, which will hurt his stock tremendously. 

Bjoern Werner, DE, Florida State

Florida State's Bjoern Werner is another defensive player who was once expected to come off the board early, but a poor spring has resulted in a much deeper drop on mock draft boards than anyone could've guessed.

The product of Germany has been heralded as perhaps the best D-end in the class ever since the end of the 2012 season. He compiled 23.5 sacks in just two seasons at Florida State as well as 35 tackles for loss. 

Werner has great quickness and uses that to beat blockers. But he doesn't seem to have the necessary length for the position, which keeps him from beating blockers off the snap. That could deter him from reaching elite ability, when you factor in pass-blocking and swim moves. 

Manti Te'o, LB, Notre Dame

Arguably no other player has fallen more in draft boards from December 2012 to now more than Manti Te'o. 

You can't deny what Te'o would bring to any team. His ability to rack up tackles is the best in this class, as he sniffs out run plays and can greatly help in the trenches during those short-yardage situations.

But his weaknesses have been exposed as of late. He was simply too slow to handle fast running backs and elusive pass-catchers against Alabama, and those play-makers will only be more talented when he gets into the NFL. 

If Te'o could just push this year's draft ahead five months before the BCS National Championship, he may very well be going in the first 10 picks. Unfortunately for Te'o, there has been a bit more bad news than good coming his way since then.

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