NFL Draft 2016: Projections for Elite Talent Sure to Slide to Later Rounds

An NFL draft’s elite crop of talent cannot all fit into the first round. 

It’s a simple matter of logistics, especially with this year’s event boasting a deflated 31 picks, meaning teams at the top of the second round will have plenty of trade offers overnight once the talent begins its annual trickle-down effect.

Whether it’s injuries, some other concern or simply too much of a good thing in the first round, the following guys will fall to the second round or beyond and provide incredible value for the teams that manage to scoop them up.

Projections for Players Sure to Fall on Draft Day Robert Nkemdiche, DL, Ole Miss

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One of the most hyped collegiate prospects in a long time, Robert Nkemdiche crashed and burned near the end of his tenure at Ole Miss, as an off-field incident and quiet draft process not helping his stock.

In a defense-heavy draft, teams don’t have to gamble on a player who represents such a risk. Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn was quite open with Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press about how his team feels concerning Nkemdiche:

If they have a red flag — and that’s not what we use on our draft card, that’s just a generic term that we spoke about, I think it was at the combine. That’s just things that we have to consider the value of the player compared to the risk involved in taking him. So it’s not like these guys are off the board. You just got to manage the risk and the reward of taking a guy like that.

In that same writeup, Birkett noted that Nkemdiche has openly admitted to being “lazy” on some plays at the college level—and before that, one of the biggest criticisms of his game was simply motivation.

To be fair, Nkemdiche bursts with potential at 6’3″ and 294 pounds and is versatile enough to fit almost any scheme. He’s not going to fall far into the second round, but the NFL has to work through similar prospects without the baggage first.

Look for Nkemdiche to land with a needy team such as the Dallas Cowboys near the top of the second round. If Dallas goes out and gets a player such as, say, Myles Jack in the first, then Nkemdiche, the offenses of the NFL East could have a sudden problem on their …

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