When offensive players, particularly running backs and quarterbacks, enter the NFL as rookies, the sudden jump in the complexity and speed of defenses tends to make their adjustment from the college to pro level incredibly daunting. QBs face complicated coverage schemes and quick linebackers and safeties taking away inside passing lanes; skill position players suddenly can no longer just run around the guy covering them.

Defensive players, on the other hand, can often step in and make significant contributions from Day 1, getting by on their athleticism while learning the NFL game. Some, like the Detroit Lions’ phenom defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, immediately become some of the best at their respective positions.

There may not be an immediate All-Pro defender in the 2011 draft pool, but it is still stacked – and deep – on that side of the ball. (Eleven of the top 15 prospects on Scouts, Inc.’s board are on defence.)

Here’s a few that should have big impacts preventing football scores at the pro level early in the career.

Marcell Dareus, DT, Alabama

An unusually fast player for his size and position, Dareus is considered by many draft experts to be the best player in the class. His limited starting experience raises a few eyebrows, especially given the conditioning required to make it through a full 16-game NFL season, but there is little doubt that Dareus will be wreaking havoc on NFL offensive lines very soon.

Von Miller, OLB, Texas A&M

Effective edge rushers are vital in today’s pass-happy league, and Miller appears to be the best in this draft. He has elite speed off the edge and has the flexibility to get around big offensive tackles. He might need some time to become effective in complex zone defenses and in obvious run situations, but a team looking for a pass-rush specialist, particularly a team that runs a 3-4 defence, would do well to pick up Miller.

Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU

Peterson is a remarkable athlete, and, at almost 6-foot-1 and 220 lbs., atypically big for a quick defensive back. His strength and quickness make him a terror in man-to-man coverage, and he adds even more value as a return man on special teams. (He returned two kicks for scores in 2010.) He might not have the recognition skills for zone coverage that the next prospect possesses, but he has the look of a total shutdown cornerback in the pros, which is an invaluable and rare commodity.

Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska

Amukamara isn’t quite the big-play prospect that Peterson is, but his route recognition and awareness is off the charts. He didn’t put up impressive INT numbers in college, but that owes more to the fact that offensive coordinators and QBs rarely even bothered testing him. A hard-worker with good speed and size, Amukamara shouldn’t come off the board more than two or three spots later than Peterson.

Nick Fairley, DT, Auburn

A bit of a boom-or-bust prospect, Fairley’s draft stock has gradually sunk since he was named MVP of the 2011 BCS National Championship game. He has incredible pass-rush skills for a guy who plays in the middle of the line, and spends a ton of time in opponents’ backfields.

However, scouts are concerned that Fairley might not have the work ethic to make it in the NFL, given that he would show up late for meetings and initially didn’t qualify academically to play at Auburn. But if Fairley can keep his head on straight and works hard, he could have a Warren Sapp-like impact on the D-line.

Even those who are online betting on Kentucky Derby odds will have one eye on the NFL draft, and the quarterbacks, as usual, are getting a lot of attention. We expect Auburn’s Cam Newton and Missouri’s Blaine Gabbert to be the first two quarterbacks to go in the draft in New York City, but the biggest questions seem to be surrounding Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett, who may be the most physically gifted when it comes to throwing the ball, but he may be doomed to the second round because of the “character issues” that seem to pop up at every draft.

Mallett has told NFL execs that he has had problems with drugs in the past, although Arkansas says he’s been clean during his time there. Mallett just seems to be more aloof than anything, but he ruined any small chance that he had at being the top overall pick in the draft as he cancelled a meeting with Carolina, the team with the No.1 selection. He reportedly had dinner with the team on one night, and then skipped out on meetings the next day by claiming he was sick, but he was also out late the next night in Charlotte, which definitely raises some red flags.

Carolina was probably going to pick Newton anyway, but they were doing their due diligence on Mallett, who has all the physical talents in the world, but he may not be ready to be the leader of a football team that has down in the dumps as of late. Mallett has first-round talent, but with this latest indiscretion, we would wager on him dropping to the second round at our favorite betting website.

Each year there’s a group of NFL Draft prospects who carry obvious red flags about their ability to adjust to NFL life both on and off the field. Inevitably, some GM will overlook the warning signs and get burned.

Here’s just a few top prospects for the 2011 draft who come with a sizable risk.

Robert Quinn, DE, North Carolina

Quinn is big, fast, and powerful, and was a force on the Tar Heels D-line in 2009. However he was out of football in 2010 after being suspended by the NCAA for lying to investigators about over $5,000 worth of jewelry and travel accommodations he allegedly received. Some players can bounce back after time away from football (Michael Vick), some don’t (Maurice Clarett). GMs are hoping Quinn falls into the former camp.

Oh, and he has a brain tumor. Teams might want to keep that in mind, if you’ll pardon the pun.

Da’Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson

Like Quinn, Bowers is a physical specimen at a premium position, and he’s coming off a 15.5-sack season for the Tigers. He’s a versatile player who matches up well against both the run and the pass and worked hard to drop 25 pounds heading into his final college season, and was rewarded with the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as college football’s best defensive player

But thanks to a faulty knee, Bowers remains a risky prospect. He missed a pair of games in 2009 with a strained ligament, and went under the knife in January to repair a partially torn meniscus, which forced him to miss the NFL Draft Combine.

Lingering knee injuries can hamper a player’s entire career, and Bowers’ durability definitely makes him a risky prospect.

Ryan Mallett, QB, Arkansas

Mallett has an absolute cannon of an arm and has had success in pro-style offenses in college, making him one of the best pure pocket passers in this class. However, serious questions have been raised about his maturity following an arrest for public intoxication in spring 2009, and he reportedly admitted his drug use to teams in private interviews.

While the fact he was willing to be honest about his past should be seen as a positive, what happens when a player with a reputation as a “big party guy” gets his first six-figure paycheque? Former New York Jets QB Erik Ainge, a collegiate star at Tennessee, recently washed out of the NFL due to drug problems, and substance abuse plagued former Raiders QB Todd Marinovich – like Mallett, a tall, strong-armed passer – was a bust for the same reasons.

If Mallett can keep his nose clean, he could be a star. If not, he could cost a GM his job.

Cam Newton, QB, Auburn

If you ask some scouts, GMs, and draft experts, Cam Newton is the best prospect in this class, a championship-winning signal-caller who accounted for 50 scores in the 2010 season. Ask others, and they’ll tell you he’s a bust waiting to happen.

Newton has tantalizing potential – as a fast, powerful runner with a rocket arm, he’s reminiscent of Daunte Culpepper. Of course, whether or not that’s a good thing is up for debate. He’s not the most accurate passer, and many have questioned his awareness in the pocket.

And perhaps most worrisome is his attitude. He seems to have the LeBron James “Global Icon” DNA – a sense that he’s entitled to become a superstar. He’s also been entangled in a number of controversies, from academic cheating to laptop theft to a recruiting investigation that might cost him his Heisman.

Even MLB baseball betting players have one eye on the ongoing NFL lockout saga as football always looms over the online wagering scene, whether they are in offseason, and especially if there is a threat that there won’t be a season in the fall. However, things are looking up, or at least better, as the two sides are back at the bargaining table after a month of no discussions.

The two sides met for 16 days in Washington D.C., but as of March 11th they still couldn’t come to an agreement and then talks just stopped. Word was leaked out that the players attempted to set something up with the owners, who declined to go back to the table, but then a judge ordered that the two resume talks in Minneapolis, where representatives and attorneys for the two sides met on Thursday. Judge Arthur Boylan will be the mediator in this set of discussions, and with the lockout at 33 days, no one knows what to expect.

Business seems to be going on as usual in the NFL as the draft is still being planned for later this month in New York City, teams are meeting with prospects, and the preseason schedule has been released. But there should be a cautious optimism about the talks because it didn’t seem like neither side really wanted to discuss things. The fact that a judge had to order them back to the table is a sign that these two sides are far apart in what they’re willing to concede, so until we have an idea of what is going to happen in the fall, be careful of NFL odds at your favorite sports betting sites.

Spring usually means online MLB betting, but college football betting players will have their eyes on the spring games as teams start to see who they can build around. There’s a huge task at Texas for coach Mack Brown as the Longhorns missed the postseason for the first time since 1997, and they may look to the younger brother of their former start pivot.

Case McCoy was the best player in Texas’ spring game, and while he isn’t even as big as older brother Colt, who is a legend in Austin, McCoy is going into his sophomore year, which means he has time to fill out. Most of his work in the spring game came against the first-team defense with the second-string offense, which is a good sign for McCoy (or a bad sign for the defense, however you want to look at it). McCoy is battling with last year’s starter, Garrett Gilbert, who took over for Colt, and he has a chance as Gilbert had a problem with turnovers in 2010, and that was a major reason that the Longhorns finished 5-7.

There will be a lot of pressure on McCoy if he does win the starting job because he’s going to play in the shadow of Colt, who finished with the all-time NCAA record for wins as a starting quarterback. The Longhorns also have a new offensive coordinator in Bryan Harsin, who left Boise State, so there’s a new offense to learn. But McCoy is off to a good start, and could play a major part in Texas improving their sports betting odds next season.

Even online March Madness betting players have been keeping an eye on the lockout situation in the NFL, but there have been a couple of players who have made news for off-field problems. Tampa Bay cornerback Aqib Talib came into the NFL with “character issues”, and he could be in major trouble after his latest escapade.

Talib turned himself into police after an altercation with his sister’s boyfriend ended in a gun being fired and allegedly more, and now he is being charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Talib was suspended for the first game of last season for beating up a taxi driver, so he could be in line for discipline by commissioner Roger Goodell when the lockout is resolved.

This could be a huge loss for the Buccaneers as Talib is emerging as one of the best cover corners in the NFL, racking up six interceptions, and he is a physical guy who won’t be pushed around by receivers, making him the perfect cornerback in Tampa Bay’s scheme. The Bucs can expect Talib to be disciplined by the league when football resumes, even if he isn’t convicted of a crime as Goodell has made his name on cleaning up the league, and that is going to hurt the Bucs coming off a great season. Many were expecting Tampa Bay to be a dangerous underdog in the league, and this will put a lot of pressure on their pass defense, which hurts their odds at your best online sportsbook.