NFL Combine
 

Add any notes on the combine you want to the thread.

If the NFLnetwork talks about Tebow one more time I am going to scream. There coverage is horrible. Guys are running the drills and they do not tell you who the guy is. They are to busy talking about what coach xyz had for breakfast.

Surprises, Petrus lifting 45 times.

Mike Johnson looked solid in his face up drill, but his forty was a little slow IMO.

What have you guys noticed?

weren't the 40 times a little slow last year too?

Trent Williams moved ahead of Bulaga on my draft board. The kid from Maryland should go ahead and buy his Raiders jersey.

Charles Davis said yesterday that Bruce Campbell would be the next workout wonder, but 'caveat emptor'.

If you look at Bulaga he just looks like an OL. The bottom or his neck where it meets his shoulders was 2 inches wider than his head. Made a triangle, LOL.

It's amazing how fit so many of these OLineman are. I mean they are 300+ and gutless as compared to their rotund counterparts back in the
day who had flabby rolls hanging over their waistbands.

How about that guy Cameron, I think it was. A former TE, he ran a 4.76 forty at 300 + lbs! WOW!!

Still awaiting the "Official" numbers. Before DraftScout was bought by CBS, they would post all of the numbers. This is what I'm looking for from OL...

OG---------------------------------------------OT
6’4”--------------------------------------------6’5”
310lbs----------------------------------------315lbs
5.10 – Forty--------------------------------5.18 – Forty
1.77 – 10 yd-------------------------------1.79 – 10 yd
4.65 – Shuttle-----------------------------4.68 – Shuttle
7.55 – Cone Drill--------------------------7.60 – Cone Drill
27” – Vertical------------------------------25” – Vertical
9’0” – Long Jump--------------------------8’10” – Long Jump
25 – Bench Press--------------------------24 – Bench Press
2.90 - Twenty-----------------------------2.93 - Twenty


Rodger Saffold may be a 2nd round pick by the time the draft rolls around.

Yep, have to agree on that one.

The kid from Fordham, Skelton impressed today. He has a rocket arm, he needs work but would be worth a project pick. If the Texans take a project type QB, then I hope they take a guy with a true NFL arm, not some weak arm hack like Alex Brink.

Toby Gerhart showed he has the speed to be a tailback in the NFL. Blount ran slower then I had expected.

The forty times this year appear to all be better than last years group.

Ryan Mathews is looking more and more like the guy we target. Montario Hardesty also had a huge day, and Tate is still a solid fall back.

The Texans are going to have to go RB before the 2nd pick if they want one of the top 5 guys.

Toby Gerhart is still my man.

Ryan Matthews was impressive in Indy, but is he really that much different than what we already have in Arian Foster ?
If we go with one of the name backs Gerhardt would also be my choice. He's big and runs heavy so he's the inside guy we don't have but his 40 time today
wasn't bad at all - he's not a tortoise. The 4.5s aren't bad at all.

Who are the top 5 guys?

Spiller, Dwyer, Best, Matthews, and Gerhart?

That leaves, Dixon, Hardesty, and Tate (all 3 from the SEC). :eek:

Spiller, Matthews, Best, Gerhart, Tate/ Hardesty would be my top 5.

Not a Dwyer fan.

I have an incomplete on Dixon.

After today Gerhart, Tate and Hardesty have made a case for being 2nd rounders, they all have solid tape and today they showed better speed than expected.

Not sure Best is not to much a dancer for Kubiak.

Matthews seems to be the most likely to be a Texan. CJ Spiller would make the offense super scary, he can be a factor in the pass game and not many safeties could cover him one on one.

I thought I'd make a list of guys that the Texans will probably draft who aren't on my board....

FS Taylor Mays - USC
RB Jonathan Dwyer - Ga Tech
OL Bruce Campbell - Maryland
CB Dominique Franks - Oklahoma
CB Kareem Jackson - Alabama
FS Nate Allen - USF
CB Perrish Cox - Ok State
OL Jared Veldheer - Hillside
RB Joe McKnight - USC
CB Jerome Murphy - USF
OG Mitch Petrus - Arkansas
FS Kam Chancellor - Va Tech
OL Shelley Smith - Colorado State
OL Selvish Capers - WVa
SS T.J. Ward - Oregon
OL Zane Beadles - Utah
OL Shaun Lauvao - Az State
RB Andre Anderson - Tulane

Since they generally don't draft off of my board, I thought this might be a useful exercise. :)

Mayoc says he thinks this is the strongest Draft he's seen in 8 to 10 years with talent across the Board with the exception of QB, happily not an area of need for us.

I wonder about this assessment every year. If we can't grade a draft until 3 or 4 years down the road, then how can we say that a draft class is the "strongest" we've seen in 8 years? Just sayin' that every year, we look at these kids and think we are looking at the next class of Pro Bowlers.

Hate to say it, but I think he's right. It's pretty deep in all but a few positions.

Ok, Spiller just may be the "next Chris Johnson" and everyone is looking for that guy. I'm not completely certain that Ryan Matthews is the next Thomas Jones or Steven Jackson, which is what I'm looking for.

I'm a big fan of Ben Tate and Montario Hardesty, and now I am thinking that the 'fantasy land' that we've been living in that these guys are 4th round picks has been brought to reality. So, I'll be interested in seeing if the 'consensus' boards change drastically after the Combine. Will Tate and Hardesty be 2nd round picks now? The Bench, vertical, jump, and shuttle times should exhibit that they have explosion and agility.

That 4.3 that Tate nailed while packing 220 lbs definitely takes him off the Board in the third round at the latest.
And somebody maybe you RP said wait 'till the midrounds to grab a NT in the person of Cam Thomas - well that's another fantasy we can forget about.
Mayoc said this guy had not so good tape during the regular season but he went lights out at Senior Bowl week which puts him in the second round,
especially with so many 3-4 teams looking for nose-guys.

I'm going to put my hopes in East Carolina. Joseph Linval, Jay Ross, or Wilson could get drafted late and help our DL. Linval had an impressive showing on the Bench with very long arms. I'm going to come up with a Formula that ranks Benching.....

Top rated corner in this Draft and a consensus top 10 guy just ran a clunker - 4.57 ! That's unofficial and ususally the official time is slower. Ouch !
He'll get another 40 to improve on that very disappointing time, but if this holds we will see if he remains the top CB ? Might be a real barometer about
how important 40 times are ?

Hadden then went to the hip flip drill and flopped. He was all over the place on his flip. He just cost himself a lot of money, IMO.

As for all the guys now getting 2nd round grades, if you do the math there is more than 32 guys with 2nd round grades, guys will be available in the the 3rd that are rated by Mayock as 2nd rounders.

As for sleepers, guys like Cam Thomas, Rodger Saffold are known by scouts and graded much better than can do.

BTW Thomas is a huge question mark is what Mayock said due to not being there on tape, then exploding at the Senior Bowl, he looks like a guy who turns it on when the money is on the line only.

A guy who raised his standing is Brandon Ghee. Another guy I liked here is Larry Asante, and I saw somewhere the Texans where interested in him.

A guy I have dropped due to an interview I heard from him is Perrish Cox, he had to much attitude about his suspensions. He said he was hanging with his boys one time and the other time he was partying with a girl, you should understand that? Yep I understand you are being taken off my list.

Taylor Mays has put himself back on my list at 20. I am going with his interview in Mobile where he said he was not coached to go for the ball they wanted him laying the big hit. 232 running 4.4. I think we can use that to our advantage. Put him back with Cushing his old roommate. Heck IMO he would make one hell of a WILL.

Top 10 official 40-yard dash times at this year’s combine:

4.28: Jacoby Ford, WR, Clemson
4.34: Trindon Holliday, return specialist, Louisiana State
4.35: Jahvid Best, RB, California
4.37: C.J. Spiller, RB, Clemson
4.40: Dorin Dickerson, TE, Pittsburgh
4.41: Taylor Price, WR, Ohio
4:41: Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Southern Methodist
4.42: Golden Tate, WR, Notre Dame
4.43: Brandon Banks, WR, Kansas State
4.43: Taylor Mays, S, Southern California
4.43: Ben Tate, RB, Auburn
4.43: Kyle Williams, WR, Arizona State
http://blogs.nfl.com/2010/03/02/not-...-sets-db-pace/
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Here's the official 40 times for this years Indy Combine. "Official" is the operative term here because the NFL.Network had everybody excited when
they had Mays unofficially running a 4.24, but apparently their guy with the stop-watch didn't click the button until Mays was a few yards down the line.
So anyway these times count. Now don't be surprised if somebody like Mays runs a sub 4.3 at his PRO-Day - just don't believe it.
FWIW, not a single corner ran under 4.4 and the 5th fastest time was by some TE from Pitt by the name of Dorin Dickerson.

Yeah, after seeing Haden run a 4.6, I'm wondering if he's available at #20. Then I wonder if we should take him if he's available.

Taylor Mays should be off the board when we pick, but Earl Thomas may slide as the 3rd best FS. Is a CB more important than FS?

Devin McCourty looked like a legit 1st round pick and a great bargain in the 2nd round. Brandon Ghee is a 2nd round pick after today. Taylor Mays shouldn't be available when we draft. Myron Lewis may still be a bargain on day 3.

Did anybody see A.J. Jefferson from Fresno State? Mayock should get some kickback from his agent.

"Is a CB more important than FS?" - that's not a serious question is it ?
Re Mays, he runs a 4.43 and you're excited ? Really ? Did you see him run his position drills, if so you know he was utterly spastic.
McCourty was impressive.
But disappointed the BSU CB couldn't run today.

The loud 'THUMP' you heard was Joe Haden falling out of the top ten and maybe out of the first round. I don't know what happened to his speed that was proclaimed prior to the Combine but it wasn't there today.

Yes, it was a serious question. Earl Thomas could play all over the field, while Devin McCourty could possibly cover a #1 WR.

I saw Mays run the fastest time out of ANY DB at the Combine, so yes that's a bit exciting. Does he need work to become as good as LaRon Landry? Yeah, probably so. Would he make OUR defense better? That's the important question. Will coaching make Mays a better NFL player than he was in college? Could he be a better LB than Thomas Davis and be a hybrid SS/WILL? These are questions that make me put him on my draft board. Am I moving him to the top of the list? Nope.

I hadn't considered McCourty as a First round pick, but I'm getting my head wrapped around it. Similarly to when I thought Duane Brown was a third round pick until we selected him in the 1st. I'd feel better if I knew McCourty had a 36" Vertical.

I'm with Deion Sanders on the question of filling safety positons - just move a slow corner over there.

A very serious question.

Jets, Cowboys, Ravens, 49ers, Patriots.

Those are the top 5 NFL defenses by points allowed.

The Jets have a stud CB in Revis.

The Cowboys have two above average CBs in Jenkins and Newman, but their defense is all about pass rush.

The Ravens do it with Ed Reed playing 20 yards deep and range that makes any deep ball look like a punt he should be fair catching. Then they swarm underneath knowing he is behind them.

The 49ers are not particularly strong in the secondary, but are solid in the middle with pro bowlers at DT and MLB that effectively shut down the running game.

The Patriots are likewise strong on the 3-4 DL, but also have a pro bowler at FS.



Looking at all this I don't think you can definitively say that either FS or CB are more important to a team. I think it depends largely on the scheme you run. And sometimes the scheme depends on the talent (like adjustments Rex Ryan made between Baltimore and NY to take advantage of guys like Reed and Revis).

So the questions are "what's more important to the Texans defense?", and then the next question is "With that in mind, what does the talent available dictate?"

If your saying the "CB vs Safety" issue and the relative importance of the two positions on a team is a function of the system/schemes the team runs, that definitely makes sense to me and therefor I agree.
For example a team like ours which up to now has operated its DBackfield out of scheme(s) that places relatively high emphasis on "man" coverge obviously places a higher value on corners as compared to teams that use less "man".

Hey fellows, let's remember that there was talk that Revis wasn't all that fast coming into the draft, so who knows?

I didn't watch enough Florida games to say either way, but if Haden didn't look slow on film in the SEC, then I am not overly concerned about his 40 time.

Me either. He will run on a favorable track during his Pro Day, time faster and suddenly be en vogue again. If this guy is there at 20, unless they rate Kyle Wilson as a better system fit, then it seems a no brainer to me. He clearly was affected by that slow forty time and struggled in his drills afterward as well. And there is the whole matter of how accurate the combine forty times are in general, but a 4.6 is slow for a corner. Now is he a Champ Bailey, Revis type? I don't know, but he should be a good CB and has good instincts for the position. Revis reportedly ran a 4.39 forty at this Pro Day (did not run in Indy), but again those results could have to do with a favorable environment. It will be interesting to see how Haden compares.

If they timed in Pads and he was slower then everyone else it would concern me more. At this point, I would be totally unconcerned about his speed, and very concerned about his work ethic and preparation. That is one thing the combine says loud and clear. It puts all these guys in an equal evaluation and shows teams how serious they are about being pro football players by showing how prepared they are for the various tests and drills.

There was talk of that but he dispelled that by running a 4.39 and a 4.40 at his pro day.

Joe Haden may be the next FS. :)

My point exaclty. Maybe Haden will run a sub 4.5 at his pro day like Revis did. I would still pick him if he falls to #20.

I'm with Deon on this too. Safety is the most overrated position in Pro Football. Overrated by fans, that is. Not by GM's. Go look at the last 5 to ten years of the draft and see how many CB's were drafted in round one compared to safeties.

17 to 8 over the last 5 years
19 to 7 in the 5 years prior to that
Combined 36 to 15 over the past 10 years