Here is my pre-Senior Bowl all-overrated “team.” It’s not exactly a full team because certain positions don’t have a truly overrated prospect… yet. Depending on the media’s reaction to the Senior Bowl and/or Combine, players could drop off the list, or earn their way onto the roster in the coming months.
| QB | Ryan Tannehill | Texas A&M |
| Every year a quarterback or two see their stock inflated due to team needs. Tannehill is this year’s victim. | ||
| RB | LaMichael James | Oregon |
| James is an impressive athlete with speed to burn, but he isn’t an every-down back. | ||
| RB | Chris Rainey | Florida |
| Much like James, Rainey is heralded for his speed, but he will be limited to special teams duty in the NFL. | ||
| WR | Alshon Jeffery | South Carolina |
| There’s no denying Jeffery’s raw ability, but his inconsistency raises a big red flag. | ||
| WR | Nick Toon | Wisconsin |
| Toon was a productive college receiver who benefitted from Russell Wilson’s prescence in 2011. He’s a 3rd or 4th option in the NFL at best. | ||
| TE | Coby Fleener | Stanford |
| Fleener is my top rated tight end, but that’s exactly why he’s being overrated. He’s just the best of a mediocre class. | ||
| OT | Jonathan Martin | Stanford |
| Martin will be a fine pro, but not at left tackle. Anyone who falls for the hype will be moving him to the right side, or to guard, within three years. | ||
| OT | Mike Adams | Ohio State |
| Adams certainly looks the part, but he’s terribly soft and not especially quickon his feet. | ||
| DE | Quinton Coples | North Carolina |
| You can put together a highlight real that makes Coples look like a top-five pick… but you can’t find a single game where he shows it from start to finish. | ||
| DE | Jack Crawford | Penn State |
| Crawford never lived up to expectations at Penn State despite his impressive athleticism. | ||
| DT | Alameda Ta’amu | Washington |
| Ta’amu has the size to play nose tackle, which boosts his stock significantly, but he may not have the stamina to be a three-down lineman. | ||
| LB | Zach Brown | North Carolina |
| Brown is an athlete, but he’s undersized and will get pushed around by NFL linemen. | ||
| LB | Bruce Irvin | West Virginia |
| Irvin flashes elite athleticism at times, but he had to fight for playing time throughout his career due to inconsistent performances. | ||
| LB | Vontaze Burfict | Arizona State |
| Top-10 talent, undraftable character. Not worth the trouble. | ||
| CB | Janoris Jenkins | North Alabama |
| See above. | ||
| CB | Alfonzo Dennard | Nebraska |
| I have a hard time understanding where the 1st-round love for Dennard comes from. He’s a physical corner and his injury prone – a bad combo. | ||
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