When someone is at the top, everyone likes to poke at them and do whatever it takes to bring them down. That’s even more true in the scouting community where top prospects are constantly examined as draftniks seek out glaring flaws that will bring down the prospect’s value and you see the prospect start to slide. Once there is a crack in the foundation, the pressure builds over time and the prospect’s stock weakens. More people start focusing on the negatives instead of the positives and suddenly the player goes from one of the best in the country to outside the top-10 rankings at his position.

It happens every year, and we are seeing it again this year with Southern California wide receiver Marqise Lee. Before the 2013 season started, Lee was right up there with Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins as the leaders of the class and potential top-10 picks.

While Watkins has managed to stay alive and only solidified his status, Lee’s game has been picked apart and even as he sits significantly lower on big boards and positional rankings, he is labeled with the “overrated tag”. But is Lee’s fall justified, or are there circumstances that have enhanced the negatives and shined the light away from the positives he was once known for?

Lee was a human highlight reel for the Trojans in 2012 and while USC struggled to win, Lee did everything in his power to keep the game close.

He finished the year with a whopping 118 receptions for 1,721 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns, earning the 2012 Biletnikoff Award for being the most outstanding wide receiver in college football and finishing fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting.

He was just a sophomore and everyone was ready for an encore performance in 2013 even without Matt Barkley. While nobody expected Lee to put up similar numbers to what he did in 2012, expectations were too high in 2013.

The Trojans held a mediocre quarterback battle where Cody Kessler emerged victorious.

But in Lane Kiffin’s offense where the entire game plan revolved around screens and forcing the ball into Lee’s hands as many times as possible. It was a system that was bound to fail and ultimately cost Kiffin his job in late September. The Trojans’ offense has been an utter mess this season due to poor quarterback play, awful play calling and it has hurt Lee’s stock but it plays only a small part in his fall.

The biggest issue scouts and draftniks have with Lee is his hands, even last season with Barkley he just dropped too many passes. Hands and technique really are an issue for Lee and more than a valid reason as to why he slipped from being a preseason top-10 talent to a top-25 prospect.

One issue with Lee’s numerous drops is his technique to catch the football. He opens up his arms and lets the ball hit him in the chest, wrapping his arms around it to secure the ball. The problem with this is, it opens the door for the ball bouncing off his chest or being popped out when he brings it in with his arms. Lee needs to spend more time with coaches using his hands to catch the football.

Coaches have attested to Lee’s commitment especially late in the year to improving as a player and being more team oriented, which should bode well for his willingness to fix his catching technique. I understand why Lee has fallen a bit down the board this year especially given some breakout performances by Brandin Cooks. But Lee’s fall down rankings isn’t just about his hands, it also has to do with a lack of production this past season and injuries, which presents a similar story to a player last year.

One of the real stars from this year’s rookie class has been San Diego Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen who wasn’t even drafted until the third round. Allen has a similar path to Lee; he had a dominant sophomore season at Cal posting 98 receptions for 1,343 yards and six touchdowns.

But due to quarterback play and a knee injury that lingered for the entire year, Allen’s stock as a first-round pick slid. Allen didn’t participate in any drills at the NFL Scouting Combine but red flags popped up when Allen failed a mandatory drug test. Then when he didn’t test well showing a lack of explosiveness at his Pro Day with the knee still ailing, his stock took more hits. Lee has also battled knee and shoulder problems all year and is starting to draw the “injury” red-flag.

But you can clearly see it is something that has negated his explosiveness and big play ability, but he has toughed through it to stay on the field for his team.

I’m not comparing Allen’s skill set to Lee, but when you look at where each player’s stock was before the season to how low it fell after the season thanks to injuries, limited production and other issues, you see clear similarities.

Lee is not the best wide receiver in this class, in fact he is my fourth wide receiver in this class behind Watkins, Mike Evans and Cooks.

But I’ve seen too many people push Lee outside of their first-round group and on the back end of their top-10 wide receiver rankings.

Lee’s rapid descent down the boards has now reached a point where he has become one of the top underrated prospects in this class. He is a special talent and if he continues to improve and can fix his drops, he will be a playmaker and a better version of Jeremy Maclin.