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Boom or Bust Prospects in the 2015 NFL Draft

Look inside to find out which players are boom or bust.

John Owning

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The NFL draft is not an exact science, which is why every single team has a ton of misses. One of the hardest decisions that NFL evaluators have is placing an accurate value on players that have an equal chance to be great or bad. These players are dubbed boom or bust players.

Most boom or bust prospects are players with great talent, but have a myriad of off field issues that can hinder their ability to produce in the NFL. Another type of boom or bust prospects is the player with excellent athleticism, while still being raw from a football standpoint. The last type is players with significant injury concerns, which could hinder their ability to utilize that elite talent.

Without further ado, let’s look at some of the biggest boom or bust prospects in the 2015 NFL draft are.

Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Oklahoma

Dorial Green-Beckham is arguably the most talented wide receiver in this draft class. Standing in at 6-foot-5 and 237 pounds, Green Beckham has the size to post up defensive backs, while also having the movement skills to blow past them. While he isn’t near the freak athlete that Calvin Johnson was, he has that same type of elite ability to win in the vertical and horizontal passing games.

While his elite talent cannot be disputed, Green-Beckham may never realize that potential because of the myriad of character concerns that led to his dismissal at Missouri. With the NFL’s heightened stance on domestic violence, teams will have to take a long and hard look at Green-Beckham and if they think he can realize his potential.

Ultimately, Green-Beckham could be the next Josh Gordon, an elite talent who can’t stay on the field because of off field concerns, or he could be Dez Bryant, a player who matured and realized his immense talent.

Danielle Hunter, Edge, LSU

One of the most intriguing prospects in the draft this year is LSU’s Danielle Hunter.  On the field, Hunter is as raw as it gets, as he hasn’t figured out how to adequately use his hands to get off blocks or how to set up his pass rush in any way. Against the run, he is a little bit better, but he still has some fatal flaws that will make it tough for him to succeed if he doesn’t develop in the NFL.

Despite that rawness, Hunter is one of the most athletic players in the draft. At 6-foot-5 and 252 pounds, Hunter just oozes athleticism as he put up some incredible numbers at the NFL Scouting Combine and pro day. Hunter’s athleticism is so intriguing because if he develops his hand use and body mechanics, he has the potential to be an elite edge defender in the NFL; however, if he doesn’t, he will be another player with wasted athleticism.

Frank Clark, Edge, Michigan

If Frank Clark wasn’t kicked off of Michigan for an alleged assault on a female, he would likely be among the best of the second-tier pass-rushers in this draft. Clark is extremely explosive off the ball and he understands how to bend the edge to sharpen his angle to the quarterback.

Furthermore, at 6-foot-3 and 271 pounds, Clark has the ideal size that most of the edge defenders in this draft don’t have. Clark has the potential to be one of the true steals of the draft, as he likely won’t get selected until late-day two or day three. It isn’t often that a player with Clark’s ability is available that late in the draft and he could really pay huge dividends for whoever selects him. Nevertheless, he could also continue down his torrid path and find himself out of the league after a couple more arrests.

Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia

Todd Gurley is one of the five best players in this draft class. He is an elite running back with an incredible mix of power, elusiveness and vision. He has the ability to wear down defenses with his punishing running style and he can run around defenses with his explosive athleticism and elite long speed. If running back wasn’t so devalued and he was healthy, Gurley would be in the discussion for a top three selection.

The fact of the matter is that Gurley isn’t healthy as he suffered a non contact torn ACL at Georgia, which will give many teams in the NFL pause. Even though Gurley’s rehab is supposed to be going well, the risk of a player re-injuring his ACL increases by 15 percent in the next 24 months, which is extremely scary. When healthy, Gurley has the potential to be the best running back in the entire NFL. However, it is risky to select players with injury concerns at one of the most punishing positions in the NFL.

John Owning is a NFL columnist for Football Insiders. He has years of experience covering the NFL, NFL draft and NCAA football. John's work has been featured on the Bleacher Report and DraftBreakdown.com

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