The NFL Draft features the most talented football players available, and yet often times potential can trump on-field production. A player with limited experience might go higher than a four-year starter because scouts see the former as having an untapped ceiling and the latter having shown what people can expect from him. That’s not always the case, but it happens every year.
Mock drafts factor in the potential consideration, and it results in a host of different results. College production is not entirely objective, but you have some basic metrics for comparison. There are basic metrics for considering potential, but we are talking about something that is inherently intangible.