re: Draft Prospect: Ezekiel Ansah

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the first round is where you expect a star, 2nd and 3rd round starters, 4-7 round potential starters with mostly backups.

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they're a little more detailed than that. I think you could find several tiers of player quality in just the 1st Rd. Here's some typical grading scales-

A: Rare athletic ability and rare production in college. Has minimum height, weight, and speed grades of 8.0 Examples: John Elway and Eric Dickerson. Round 1

B: Rare athletic ability, but limited college production due to system. Has minimum height, weight & speed grades of 8.0. Example: Irving Fryar.Round 1.

C: Rare athletic ability and rare production in college. Height/weight grade is lower than 8.0 but higher than 6.0. Examples: Barry Sanders (height) and Terry Glenn (weight). Round 1.

D: Outstanding athletic ability and outstanding production in college. Meets minimum height, weight & speed requirements for the position. Examples: Tony Boselli and Fred Taylor. Round 1.

E: Inconsistent players who do not play up to their talent level. Rounds 3-7.

F: Limited athletic ability and good college production. Over-achieving type. Meets the minimum height and weight requirements, but usually lacks speed and burst. Rounds 2-7.

G: Very good athletic ability and very good college production. Does not meet the minimum height requirement for his position. Examples: Sam Mills and Antoine Winfield. Rounds 1-7.

H: Player who is switching to a new position that he did not play in college. Rounds 3-7.

I: Player who meets the height, weight & speed requirements of his position. Players that play to the limit of their athletic ability. The “middle class” of the NFL. Most NFL players come from this grouping. Rounds 1-7.

J: Very good athletic ability and very good college production. Does not meet the minimum weight requirement for his position. Examples: Terry Glenn and DeSean Jackson. Rounds 1-7.

M: Player who meets the height, weight & speed requirements of his position. He either lacks the instincts for the position of has trouble learning. Rounds 3-7.

Z: Major character question marks limit players draft status. Only can be drafted in the seventh round or signed as an undrafted free agent.

NFP NUMERICAL GRADING SCALE

8.5-9.0: Pro bowl player, a true difference maker. Top-10 selection.

8.0-8.4: Highly productive starting player. First round selection.

7.0-7.9: Very good starting player. Second round selection.

6.5-6.9: Very good starting player. Third round selection.

6.0-6.4: Solid starter/very productive backup. Third round selection.

5.5-5.9: Very good backup and very good special teams player. Fourth round selection.

5.0-5.4: Quality backup and good special teams player. Fifth round selection.

4.5-4.9: Backup player/special teams player and project players. Sixth round selection.

4.0-4.4: Backup player and special teams player and project development players. Seventh round selection and high priority free agents.

3.9: Priority free agent.

3.7-3.8: Players with one or more limitations. Backup/special teams-type player. Solid free agent.

3.6: Not recommended as draftable or should only be considered as an adequate free agent signing.

HERE is an application. Only two players score above 8.5 and one of those is returning to school. Very few players can project as a star. I would go so far as to say not even a majority of 1st Rders usually project as starters. There can be all kinds of potential and upside but not what you can peg as surefire.
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In debating Ansah as a potential/upside/project type pick I would put Sam Montgomery as the perfect opposite sort of safer surefire pick but without as high of a ceiling. Sam could be picked before or after Ansah. Which one of these would you prefer?