2008 NFL Draft Combine Notes

Defensive Backs:

Another super fast track day at the combine as the defensive backs took their turns in the position drills and tests.  Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (CB), followed up his performance at the Senior Bowl by running a 4.33 and posting the longest broad jump at 10' 11" in Indy today solidifying his spot in the first round. Leodis McKelvin, who most call the top DB held his own with a 4.38 and Mike Jenkins of USF ran well with an unofficial timing of 4.40. Aqib Talib also held his own tying Rodgers-Cromartie in the broad jump at 10'11", but ran a little slow at 4.47. Overall though Rodgers-Cromartie was noticeably faster, quicker and more explosive than anyone in his workout group, and he was easily the winner on this day.

Antoine Cason had a pretty decent day as well and probably helped his draft position, He ran a 4.49, did 20 reps in the bench press, posted a 35.5-inch vertical leap and a 10'8" broad jump and looked like a very well rounded athlete overall.

One of the biggest surprises was Safety Josh Barrett of Arizona St., who ran a 4.35 at 223 lbs. Overall the group of defensive backs appeared to be one of the deepest in a long time. Texas safety Marcus Griffin went from mid-round prospect to free agent after timing in the 4.8 range on both of his 40s.

Overall the day was one that lived up to the whole theme of this draft which has been speed, and not from just the usual suspects. Now that we have defensive ends running 4.40 40 yard dashes, and Tackles running 4.88 at 300 pounds plus, we are looking at a whole new era in the NFL. Very soon we are going to have to start discussing some rule changes to protect these guys as the sheer athleticism is going to create some very bad injury problems if we are not careful.

This brings an end to our live combine coverage we have seen some great stories at this combine as Chris Long, and Jake Long both met or exceeded expectations, Vernon Gholston just put on a show, and of course Darren McFadden wowed everyone. Better yet were the unexpected surprises like the 4.24 40 turned in by Chris Johnson and the amazing show that brought Colt Brennan back to everyone's minds. It gave me goose bumps watching that show and watching all the other players cheer him on.

We will be coming back at you this coming weekend with our post combine mock draft, and be covering 2008 Pro Days as they happen and all the other news leading up to our live NFL Draft coverage, so stay tuned to the 2008 NFL Draft on Sportznutz.com

February 25, 2008

Defensive Front 7:

Both Chris Long and Vernon Gholston were very impressive. They did it in different ways, the position specific drills were where Long did his best work, showing outstanding body control, fluid hips and sound technique. While his 40-yard dash time of 4.71 time is not exactly burning it up, it is competitive for a 6-foot-3, 272-pound end, especially considering his 10-yard split was among the best at his position. Long's 34-inch vertical and 10-feet-4-inch broad jumps also ranked among the top-three defensive linemen.

While Long is probably the better all-around prospect, Vernon Gholston unquestionably turned in the most spectacular overall combine workout on Monday, not only outshining all the defensive linemen, but the linebackers as well. Gholston ran a 4.64 with a 35-inch vertical to put that in perspective, the fastest tight end ran a 4.55 with a 38' vertical. Gholstons numbers would have placed him in the top 3 tight ends and remember he had the top lift of the entire draft tied with Jake Long. That is one athletic, strong, and fast DE coming around the end at your quarterback. He really solidified himself as the first or second DE depending on your personal preference. Overall either Gholston or Long look to be excellent anchors for a defensive line in the NFL  although we would have to give the overall edge to Gholston watching live today, however from their history we would say flip a coin, you will be just fine with either one.

Two other top names, Sedrick Ellis, and Calais Campbell both looked out of shape and had poor times.

The linebackers left us unimpressed. With Keith Rivers (injury) and Dan Connor (flu) not working out we were left with a bunch of unimpressive late round players. We really saw nothing at all to report on unless you count how bad some of them looked. There were a bunch of late second to early fourth round looking players and a couple that looked like they should have just stayed home. For example, Ali Highsmith probably ran himself right out of the draft with a 4.96. when you are 5'11" you had better have something special in the speed department, he sure did not show it today. Maybe his pro day will be better, if anyone is still watching.

February 24, 2008

Skill day at the combine:

What a day on the track at the combine.  This class of running backs will probably go down in history as the all time best to ever enter the draft. Its easily 8 players deep and possibly 10. We had Chris Johnson with an astonishing 4.24 second 40 time and Darren McFadden solidified his position as the top back with an impressive on field showing running a 4.27 40 with an official time of 4.33 and looked damn good doing it. The rest of the backs were fast as well, with Rashard Mendenhall of Illinois clocking a 4.37 and 4.43 at over 225 lbs. Oregon's Jonathan Stewart was no slouch either though and he came in with a 4.44, which is even more impressive when you factor in his weight of 235 lbs. All three look like Top 15 overall talents, but its hard to overlook that 4.24 time Chris Johnson ran when you combine it with a 10'10" broadjump and a 35 on the vertical he should be moving way up. In fact, Johnson's 4.24 tied the all-time mark registered at the Indianapolis combine and he has easily entered the top 2 rounds and maybe even the latter first round. He is by far the best senior prospect.

Amongst the wide receivers no one really stood out over everyone else, in fact probably the most impressive was quite a surprise as Michigan State wide receiver Devin Thomas who has been  overshadowed throughout the combine by more recognizable names.  Thomas put that to rest as he finished among the fastest wide receivers with a 4.40 time and was dazzling during the wide receiver drills. The fluidity through which the 6-2, 216-pound wideout moved  was matched only by much smaller receivers. Thomas didn't drop a pass, showing spectacular body control to catch passes thrown behind, below and far in front of him.

DeSean Jackson was the fastest at 4.35, but really the average among the top guys was around 4.45 and you aren't really going to see a lot of difference there in pads. The real disappointment was Michigan's Mario Manningham, who only managed to run unofficial times of 4.59 and 4.62.

Limas Sweed, Malcolm Kelly and Early Doucet elected not to participate in drills. Sweed (wrist) and Doucet (hamstring) cited injuries to both the media and NFL teams.

Then there were the quarterbacks. With Boston College's Matt Ryan electing to postpone his workout until his March 18 pro day, other highly-ranked quarterbacks failed to take advantage of the opportunity. Louisville's Brian Brohm solidified himself as one of the draft's most accurate passers, but many of his throws lacked the zip to prove he'd be effective in every NFL scheme. Michigan's Chad Henne and Delaware's Joe Flacco certainly have the arm strength teams are looking for, but neither was consistently accurate.

Really the most impressive quarterback was surprisingly Colt Brennan who up to now ha had a horrible postseason. He was without question the day's most accurate passer. Brennan had to wind up to deliver some of the longer routes, extending his throwing motion and proving his lack of prototypical arm strength. But the Hawaii quarterback proved his ability to throw with touch, precision and just enough zip that in the right offense, he could be a successful NFL quarterback. i will tell you this it was so impressive a session that by the end, nearly all of Brennan's passes were being thrown with a chorus of cheers from his fellow quarterbacks and surrounding wide receivers. That is what you call making an impression.

One small note from yesterday, Boise State OT Ryan Clady suffered a pectorals injury while doing the bench press at the NFL Combine. He is expected to work out fully at his Pro Day, indicating the muscle wasn't torn. If healthy, he could still be a top 15 pick

Top 40 Times

WR  DeSean Jackson   4.35
RB   Chris Johnson      4.24
TE   Dustin Keller        4.55
QB   Josh Johnson       4.55

February 23, 2008

The combine is really in full swing now and there have been some interesting showings and some surprises as usual. Jake Long continued to impress, went through every drill, did great interviews, and posted great numbers. Most impressive was his amazing 37 bench presses at 225, showing just amazing strength when you think about his wingspan. We can't say enough about he has looked and though that is great news for him, it is going to throw a lot of mock drafts for a loop as most have him going at number 5 top KC. His weekend most likely moved him to a top 3 and quite possibly to number one overall, although you don't see a tackle at number one often, he may well be the best overall player in this draft.

The best numbers from this first group though came from a surprising source as Rutgers Jeremy Zuttah who was a candidate for the later rounds may well have got himself a mid round spot with an amazing weekend, how about a 300 lb lineman who runs a 4.99 40 and benches 35 times at 225.

One lineman who didn't really impress was Jeff Otah with his 5.56 40 yd time and only 27 benches. not horrible, but as a 332 pounder he also looks a little soft as well. he is going to need a really good pro day or he will probably drop.

Amongst the Tight ends it was Dustin Keller who was most impressive. Though is a bit undersized at 6’2, and 242 lbs, Keller nearly was on top in almost every measureable. He ran a 4.55 40 with a 38 inch vertical and 26 reps and a amazing 10'11" broad jump that was a full 8' further than anyone else.

Tomorrow is the big day as the skill players take the field. the big QB's aren't going to work much, but the RB races should be fun and the wideouts are always fun to watch.

See you tomorrow night with another update

February 22, 2008

In the first couple of days we would have to say the biggest winner is Jake Long. He is just an amazing physical specimen, he looks like a gigantic linebacker more than an offensive lineman. We will have to see how he does in his drills, but in his interviews, and physical measurements he has been amazingly impressive.

The big news so far, the coin flip where the Falcons won the third pick in the draft. The Raiders, losing the toss, will pick in the fourth slot. The Chiefs will pick fifth.

Darren McFadden, Jonathan Stewart, and Rashard Mendenhall all plan on running the 40 yard dash.

Colt Brennan has put back on the weight he lost due to illness and now weighs in at 207 lbs.

DeSean Jackson looks like another Dante Hall at this point. he is just too tiny to be an effective receiver in the NFL, he could make a name for himself returning kicks and in the slot though.

Matt Ryan weighed in but wont be doing any positional drills here or throwing he is saving it all for his pro day on March 18th

Glenn Dorsey also wont be working out and has a Pro Day scheduled at LSU on March 26

Fred Davis is still recovering from a hamstring and will only participate in the bench press.