NFL Draft 2011: Why Is Da'Quan Bowers' Draft Stock Falling?

In terms of talent, Da'Quan Bowers is surely a top five pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.

Less than two months ago, he was actually on top of a lot of draft boards.

Recently, Bowers stock has plummeted. In recent weeks I have seen him as low as 15th on some boards.

I can't understand why.

I hear only the same two reasons over and over again, and neither of them would steer me away from such a talented prospect.

The first, of course, are the health concerns.

Bowers skipped the NFL scouting combine in late February because he wanted to be able to properly prepare for a workout. He hadn't been able to prepare due to a slight tear in his meniscus that required surgery.

Bowers has announced he will work out for scouts at Clemson for his Pro Day on April 1st.

Despite this, Bowers stock has still been falling, and I can't figure out why.

A torn meniscus is actually a very common injury, and the one Bowers sustained was not very severe.

In the last year alone, quarterback Dennis Dixon, cornerback Chris Cook, nose tackle Kris Jenkins and quarterback Drew Brees have suffered from the injury.

The other concern about Bowers is that he only had significant production this most recent year at Clemson.

This is true.

In 2008, Bowers had only one sack. In 2009, he had three sacks.

Then, this most recent year, Bowers had a breakout year with 16 sacks.

I guess I can understand the usual concern, but it doesn't seem to fit with this particular situation.

In August of last year, Bowers' father unexpectedly passed away.

Bowers reacted by maturing both on and off the football field. He was a 20-year-old kid who suddenly had to act like a man.

Bowers is a high-character individual, who responded to a tragic situation the best way he could.

I haven't heard many other concerns about Bowers. The two that I mentioned above shouldn't stop teams from pulling the trigger on this kid.

Rivals.com says Bowers is the, "closest thing to Reggie White and Bruce Smith we've seen."

That's quite a statement. When you think about it that way, is a meniscus really that big of a deal?