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DB's in a Track Meet • When the defensive backs take the field to run their forties there are always bound to be some impressive times turned in and this year was no different. The story of the day might have been Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie of Tennessee St., who followed up his outstanding performance at the Senior Bowl by running a 4.33 in Indy. Make no mistake about it "D.R.C." is a first round pick. There was a tie for the fastest time among the DB's, with Justin King of Penn State and Tyvon Branch of UCONN posting 4.31 marks and Orlando Scandrick of Boise St. was just behind them with a 4.32. Leodis McKelvin, the top rated corner in this draft on most people's boards, held his own with a 4.38 and Mike Jenkins of South Florida was solid as well with an unofficial timing of 4.40. Everyone was waiting to see how Aqib Talib of Kansas ran and he did what he needed to do with times in the high-4.4 range, which should secure him a spot in the Top 20 overall picks. At safety Kenny Phillips of Miami (FL) ran a little slower than expected and his mid-4.5 clocking could potentially push him into the latter part of round one while DaJuan Morgan of North Carolina State came through with times in the low-4.5 range. The big story at safety though was Josh Barrett of Arizona St., who blazed a 4.35 at over 220 lbs. He may be this year's Workout Warrior. Linbackers - Ho-Hum • With neither Keith Rivers of USC (still recovering from an injury) or Dan Connor of Penn St. (flu) working out the linebacker workouts were a little anticlimactic. The big news from the session was the terrible forty times put in by Ali Highsmith of L.S.U., who only managed to run a 4.96 and 5.02. For a guy who is undersized and hangs his hat on speed and athleticism that could be disastrous. The fastest times of the day were Gary Guyton of Georgia Tech's 4.47 and Wesley Woodyard of Kentucky's 4.51 while Vandy's Jonathan Goff surprised with his 4.63 clocking. Curtis Lofton of Oklahoma (4.77), Erin Henderson of Maryland (4.73) and Philip Wheeler of Georgia Tech (4.73) all ran solid, respectable times and did not really help or hurt themselves in Indianapolis. DL Stars Shine • The defensive linemen took the field Monday morning and both Chris Long of UVA and Vernon Gholston of Ohio St. were every bit as impressive as expected. Gholston ran a 4.64 with a 35-inch vertical while Long was just behind him with a 4.71 forty and 34-inch vertical. Both Gholston and Long looked excellent in the drills as well and showcased their athleticism. Marcus Howard of Georgia (4.47), Quentin Groves of Auburn (4.52) and Cliff Avril of Purdue (4.56) were the fastest ends in Indy while Dre Moore of Maryland (4.88) and Red Bryant of Texas A&M (4.98) posted the best marks for the tackles. Among the disappointments were Sedrick Ellis of USC, who ran in the mid-5.2 range, and Calais Campbell of Miami (FL) who came in with an unofficial 5.03 clocking. The Hog Runs Wild! • The NFL Network's Mike Mayock doesn't have Darren McFadden as his top rated runner and doesn't feel he is worth a Top 20 pick and while that was a pretty shaky limb to be out on before the Combine it might look even worse now that "D-Mac" just scorched an unofficial 4.27 forty. In all fairness Mayock's top running back also did very well for himself, 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. In other news Felix Jones of Arkansas ran okay (4.44) but considering his size that was not quite what was expected of him, especially considering guys like Mendenhall and Stewart ran similar times but weigh 25-35 pounds more than Darren McFadden's sidekick. Ray Rice of Rutgers ran a 4.44 in his first attempt and even though he tweaked a hammy and didn't run again that was probably enough to secure him a spot in round two. Jamaal Charles (4.36) of Texas and Chris Johnson of East Carolina (4.29) also ran well, as expected, but Mike Hart of Michigan was extremely disappointing and only managed to clock in with a high-4.6 time on both of his attempts. The head-scratcher of the day might be Central Florida's Kevin Smith, who ran a much better than expected 4.43 on his first attempt but only logged a 4.56 the second time around. We will need to find out where the truth lies there... Not So Super Mario... • Perhaps the most disappointing forty time at the 2008 Scouting Combine so far was turned in by Michigan wideout Mario Manningham, who only managed to run unofficial times of 4.59 and 4.62 this morning. He was expected to easily crack the 4.4 mark. Ouch. This could really hurt him. See How They Run • Some more news on the wideouts. Limas Sweed of Texas (4.47), Devin Thomas of Michigan St. (4.34) and Jerome Simpson of Coastal Carolina (4.47) all turned in impressive times in the forty. On the flip-side Adarius Bowman of Oklahoma St. (4.69) and Davone Bess of Hawaii (4.69) were two of the bigger disappointments. Overall the receivers have been faster than expected though. Finally Some Speed! • After seeing the offensive linemen and tight ends run yesterday we were finally treated to some speed. Keeping in mind that these times are still unofficial here some notables from this morning's first group of wide receivers and quarterbacks. The fastest time of the '08 Combine so far was turned in by Dexter Jackson of Appalachian St., who scorched a 4.27, a mark that will be tough to beat. DeSean Jackson of Cal and Andre Caldwell of Florida both checked in with excellent 4.31 times and Missouri's William Franklin was right behind them at 4.32. Houston's Donnie Avery ran a very respectable 4.40 but that was quite what most were expecting out of him while James Hardy of Indiana definitely surpassed expectations with his 4.47 clocking. As usual there wasn't much to get excited about when it comes to the quarterbacks running the forty but Josh Johnson of San Diego was the lone exception and he impressed by running a 4.44, which should keep his stock on the rise. Kevin O'Connell of San Diego also surprised with a 4.60 clocking. On the negative side Boston College's Matt Ryan was slower than anticipated, only managing a time in the 4.9 range. There's No Vernon Davis This Year • The last group to take the field today was the tight ends and the big story was Notre Dame's John Carlson only managing to run in the 4.9 range. Nobody expected Carlson to be a burner but that's at least a good .10 seconds slower than anticipated, although Zach Miller ran a similar time at the Combine a year ago and he still ended up being a high second round pick. On the plus side Carlson did look really good in the positional drills. On the other side of the coin Purdue's Dustin Keller looked extremely impressive, running in the low 4.5's while also logging an outstanding vertical. USC's Fred Davis did not feel he was ready to run the forty but he did do the positional drills and struggled catching the ball, which is not good for a guy who essentially hangs his hat on that skill. Tennessee's Brad Cottam and California's Craig Stevens also helped themselves today. The Big Uglies are Running • The offensive lineman took the field this morning to do drills and run some forties. Jake Long looked great at the weigh-in and in the bench press (37 reps) but we may have seen the first chink in his armor when he only ran 5.17 and 5.22 (unofficially), which isn't terrible but certainly not great either. For comparisons sake Joe Thomas ran a 4.92 forty in Indy last year. I was really considering bumping his grade up to that 5-Star / Elite level but this will most likely temper my enthusiasm... The next best offensive lineman on the board, Ryan Clady of Boise St., did not work out. Of the other top prospects Chris Williams of Vanderbilt clocked an unofficial 5.07 which was one of the better times among the offensive lineman while Jeff Otah of Pittsburgh only managed to run in the mid-5.5's and may have hurt himself a bit. Both Mike Pollak of Arizona St. and Jeremy Zuttah of Rutgers clocked in with sub-5.00 times, the best of the day for the offensive linemen. We've Got a Race • Both Darren McFadden, Rashard Mendenhall and Jonathan Stewart have all confirmed that they plan to run this weekend. I cannot WAIT to see that on Sunday!!! Stewart checked in at 235 lbs. and Mendenhall was 225 lbs. McFadden was 211 lbs. and he will do the 40, broad jump and vert. The First Weigh-In Fireworks • For the most part we haven't had much big news come out of the weigh-in's but that changed this morning. Everyone knew that Cal WR DeSean Jackson didn't have the bulk you look for but he came in at only 167 lbs., which is 5 lbs. less than he was listed at in college. Making matters even worse though is that Jackson was only 5-9 3/4, over two inches shorter than anticipated. In the interest of perspective Ted Ginn, who Jackson has often been compared to, came in at a little over 5-11 and 178 lbs. a year ago in Indy. Needless to say this is not going to reflect well on his draft stock and so far he is in the lead to be this year's biggest Combine loser. He might not be my #1 wideout next week. On a positive note Hawaii QB Colt Brennan tipped the scales at 208 lbs. this morning, up from 185 lbs. at the Senior Bowl. That is a 23lb. jump in a little over a month! Who Wants to Compete? • Among the players who won't work out this week are André Woodson (choice), Malcolm Kelly (injury) Fred Davis (injury) and Early Doucet (injury). As expected Matt Ryan of Boston College will wait for his Pro Day to throw but does plan to run in Indy. Louisville's Brian Brohm and Delaware's Joe Flacco will do everything so this should be a great opportunity for both quarterbacks to vie for that #2 ranking at their position. Woodson on the other hand is making a mistake in my opinion. There's a Reason He's #1 • Just saw some footage of Michigan OT Jake Long weighing in and one word comes to mind: IMPRESSIVE. Long came in at 6-7 and 313 lbs. and he carries the weight extremely well, almost to the point where he doesn't look like an offensive lineman. I'm not 100% sure but I think I might have even seen a six-pack... There have been rumors swirling for quite a while now that Long is going to work out a lot better than people think and if that winds up being the case those who've been questioning his ability to play left tackle in the NFL might have to reevaluate their opinions. It Is Officially On! • The 2008 National Invitational Camp (a.k.a. the NFL Scouting Combine) is underway in Indy. I'm not going to lie to you, things are pretty slow the first couple of days but be sure to stay tuned throughout the weekend because I'll be posting some of the most notable storylines and results on this page. In the meantime here is a list of all of the prospects who received invites this year: |
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