Scouting the 2012 N.F.L. Draft, Memphis's Dontari Poe There were plenty of winners and losers at the scouting combine, but perhaps no player helped his stock more than Memphis defensive tackle Dontari Poe. The numbers are staggering: 6-4, 346 pounds, a 4.98 40-yard dash, and 44 bench press reps. He has a muscular physique despite weighing as much as two DeSean Jacksons, and he looked incredibly athletic in position drills. I had to take a look. Scouting Report There isn't much public film on Poe, and what is available isn't suitable to post here because of the accompanying lyrics. You can search for Poe on YouTube. Most players who weigh nearly 350 pounds need to lose weight. Poe is the rare exception; he carries that weight extremely well. His quickness and explosiveness are rare. He shows a natural bend and supreme athleticism whenever he's on the field. Poe's work ethic and desire are question marks. On one hand, he has obviously been in the weight room, and he seems to enjoy playing football. On the other, Poe seems to give up at times. It is difficult to tell whether this is a conditioning issue, or a sign of something more serious. You would think Poe would be nothing but a power player in the middle of the field, but that isn't true. While he has the ability to destroy smaller interior linemen, he doesn't always do it. At times, Poe seems to brace for impact before being blocked. He doesn't garner consistent pressure against either the run or pass, which isn't a good sign. Other times, however, he blows through blockers and cannot be stopped. He's an inconsistent player with the potential for dominating play. What surprised me most when watching Poe is that he has a bit of a finesse aspect to his game. He's very nimble and can maneuver his body well to make it difficult for linemen to block him. He actually side-steps blockers better than he bull-rushes them. N.F.L. defensive coordinators who watch Poe must be drooling over the potential he has to use his athleticism if he can more appropriately use his bull rush. Poe reminds me of Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle/defensive end Haloti Ngata. That's high praise, but Poe has that sort of ability. Despite his size, he's versatile enough (like Ngata) to play defensive end in a 3-4 scheme. Poe has experience at all positions along the line. In terms of consistency and current production, though, Poe doesn't come close to comparing with Ngata. Poe is easy to chop at the line. Despite his athleticism, I didn't see him get away from one chop block. He takes a lot of wasted steps and doesn't display particularly good technique. At this point, he's a raw player who has succeeded because of his athleticism, not because he's a master technician. He also has poor play recognition, often losing the ball-carrier in traffic. Poe should have dominated inferior competition at Memphis, but he didn't. He racked up one sack and 22 tackles in all of 2011, including five games in which he posted just a single tackle. He's the ultimate boom-or-bust prospect - loaded with potential, but failing to capitalize on it in college. Projection Poe is more difficult to project than just about any prospect in this draft. When I watched him against Akransas State, he looked like a mid-round prospect in the first half, then a Pro Bowl-type player near the end of the game. Poe could go in the top 12 selections or drop out of the first round altogether. I wouldn't draft Poe in the first round. Early draft selections should be reserved for safe players with high floors. Poe's ceiling is very high, but it comes as the cost of a very low floor. Nonetheless, some team with one of the first 32 selections will probably fall in love with Poe's athleticism and upside. Most Likely Destinations Denver, Green Bay, Houston, Kansas City, New England, Pittsburgh, Washington Previous Scouting Reports Michael Brockers, DT/DE, LSU Devon Still, DT/DE, Penn State Courtney Upshaw, DE/OLB, Alabama David DeCastro, G, Stanford Melvin Ingram, DE/OLB, South Carolina Quinton Coples, DE, UNC Janoris Jenkins, CB, Florida/North Alabama Mark Barron, SS, Alabama Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU Whitney Mercilus, DE/OLB, Illinois Cordy Glenn, G, Georgia Chase Minnifield, CB, Virginia Jonathan Bales is the founder of TheDCTimes.com and will help analyze draft prospects for The Fifth Down in his Scouting the Draft preview series.