If they were selected earlier than they are projected?

Odell Beckham is the consensus pick to be the 1st LSU player taken in the draft. He is projected around the late teens to late 20's in the 1st round.. Beckham getting taken in the top 15 picks would be huge. It would show recruits that LSU doesn't need to run a wide-open spread offense to have elite WRs taken early. It would also confirm the staff's track record of playing kids early and put them on a 3-year path to the NFL.. I think Tyron Johnson has a similar skillset as OBJ, and it would be another good selling point to keep him home

Zach Mettenberger's stock seems to be rising with each passing day. Most projections have him in the 2nd-3rd range, but it would shock me if he gets past the 2nd. If a team in the 2nd were to trade up and snag Mett in the late 1st, it could help greatly in recruiting for coming years. Although it seems LSU is targeting more dual-threat qbs, a pro-style QB coming off an ACL injury suffered in the last regular season game and still being taken in the 1st would be a great recruiting chip

Jeremy Hill is a 1st round talent, that keeps being projected in the 2nd-3rd range due to his history of off the field incidents. If Hill gets taken in the late 1st or early 2nd, it will be a win for Les and the belief that he always runs a RB by committee.. Recent RBs that separate themselves and earn the majority of the carries will have been rewarded early in the draft (Hill and Ridley) and should not be ignored by upcoming RB blue chips

Jarvis Landry's impressive film and improved 40 time at his pro day could allow him to sneak into late 1st or early 2nd. 2 WRs taken early could help with the deep 2015 & 16 WR classes, that may be concerned about the lack of touches they may get with young talent such as Malachi, Quinn, Diarse, Spears, & Peterson ahead of them

Ego Ferguson & Anthony Johnson are 2 DTs that grade out similarly and are projected in the 3rd-4th ranges. If one of them (or both) were to get selected in the 2nd round, it would continue the run of DTs that LSU that has gotten drafted early. Even though both guys play DT, the Dline plays as a unit, and their draft position could be paid attention to by both DT and DE prospects

Craig Loston is projected around rounds 3-5, and is the lone DBU representative in the draft this year. A high draft selection for DBU will reinforce a nickname that even WR recruits claim as an advantage to attending LSU, as they get to practice against the best every day. A slip down the draft boards for Loston and DBU may lose some of its allure

Trai Turner is my pick for the draft prospect that would help the most with an early selection. No matter how much LSU can try to downplay it, an Oline prospect getting taken early is essential, especially in a crucial year for Oline recruiting. Turner's projections has fluctuated from 2nd-5th rounds, and Profootballtalk's mock even had him taken at the 26th overall selection, but their mock is the outlier. Getting selected in the early-mid 2nd round as a redshirt sophomore playing one of the lesser valued positions in all of football would be a huge boost for recruiting this year. It may be a stretch, but it could possibly seal the deal for a recruit who is on the fence such as Tillery

This post was edited on 4/11/14 at 8:28 pm