2012 NFL Draft: What to make of Quinton Coples

After the jump, I’ll take a look at why teams might want to be careful with the latest UNC pass rusher.

Pass rushers are at a premium. I get that. In order to take down Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady, a team must be able to put significant pressure on the star quarterback.

As a result, pass rushers are consistently overvalued in the NFL Draft, which is fair. But often times, teams are too anxious to grab the next big thing at defensive end. This year, Quinton Coples is the next big thing.

But is he really?

Sure, at 6-feet-5-inches tall, Quinton Coples is a physical specimen. He is also likely to run very well at the combine. The former Tar Heel has the speed and power combo to excel both inside and out on the defensive line and beat defenders with both types of moves.

In addition to his tremendous physical talent, however, Coples has the two biggest red flags a player can have; motor and passion.

Coples disappeared at times for North Carolina, and I’m not just talking about on the stat sheet, either. There were games I watched this season where Coples showed little or no effort, and it was never more evident than in his team’s bowl game.

Despite all of that , scouts were drooling over him this week at the Senior Bowl, and for good reason. He played hard and was clearly one of the most talented players on the field. There is no doubt that Quinton Coples was going full speed.

But why wouldn’t he? Last week was a big week in the pre-draft process. A lot of money is waiting for Coples at the end of the tunnel if he gives it his all for the next few months in the pre-draft evaluation.

While it’s unfair to fault him for flipping the switch at the right time, Coples is going to need a lot more than one dominant week against spotty competition to erase an entire season’s worth of inconsistent effort.