Remarkable athleticism was displayed...
Thursday 26 February 2015 08:44, UK
The NFL Combine has finished, which means that for one year we won’t have to see college football players in lycra hop, skip and jump to try and impress the assortment of NFL scouts watching on.
As is every year, there were winners and losers, and here are your Top 10 biggest winners from last week’s shindig in Indianapolis.
For those who saw a lot of Beasley in his days playing for Clemson – where he totaled 90 tackles (52 of them for a loss), 33 sacks and seven forced fumbles, we knew that he was one of the most destructive defensive forces in college football. After Beasley put up monster numbers, including 4.53 seconds on the 40-yard dash, 35 reps on the bench press, and a 41-inch vertical jump, it’s safe to say that he didn’t do his stock any harm in the least.
We didn’t know who Byron Jones was before the Combine. We do now after he aced the broad jump record of 11.7 ft with a 12’3” effort, and then went just shy of the vertical jump record of 44’5”. Think what he could have done if he didn’t have shoulder surgery last October.
After snarky pictures about his gain in size were posted on social media, Winston went to the NFL Combine with yet another question mark over his head about his commitment. But after his time in Indy, the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner is the consensus No.1 pick again after a fantastic throwing sessions and acing his interviews. Having said that, how deeply did teams delve into his character issues?
This season’s Heisman winner came to the Combine and showed how fast he was, leaving all QBs in the dust with a 4.52 second 40-yard dash. His vertical leap of 36 inches and broad jump of 10’1” was much better than Winston’s. Throwing-wise, he was good, too. What could hurt Mariota on NFL draft day is whether he’s going to blossom in any system that’s not Philadelphia’s.
Thought about as a possible No.1 pick throughout this season, Williams stamped his presence on the Combine on Sunday with a 4.97 second dash, and 8’10” broad jump, and got through the drills without looking troubled. Last season, Williams recorded 80 tackles and seven sacks for the Trojans. One thing’s for certain though: Williams should be the first defensive player taken in the draft.
After seeing White’s performance in Indy, a lot of media folks are saying ‘Kevin White should be the No.1 receiver taken in the draft’. His 40-yard dash came in at 4.35 seconds and his excellent efforts in the workout took him ahead of Alabama’s Amari Cooper in a lot of people’s mock drafts. Cooper, by the way, clocked a 4.43 seconds, and his hands are as good.
Dupree’s 4.56 second 40-yard dash, a 42-inch vertical jump and 11’5” broad jump dropped jaws at the Combine this year, with most people believing that he’ll be a certain first-rounder after the weekend’s efforts. And all this was with a groin injury that stopped him doing any of the drills that Indy had on offer.
Dupree’s career numbers in college were pretty impressive too, with 247 total tackles including 37 for a loss. And 23-1/two sacks, too. This year he had career-best numbers in tackles, tackles for loss, and sacks, and even managed an interception too.
Despite having back-to-back great years at Michigan State (nearly 3,000 yards and 40 TDs over two years) and showing fantastic speed, Langford was always going to be overshadowed by the Melvin Gordons and Todd Gurleys of this world, but in the NFL Combine he shone. His blazing speed insured that his time of 4.42 seconds in the 40 definitely raised eyebrows. He’ll be a nice second or third round steal in the draft. Which means he’s probably going to the Patriots.
Conley’s 45-inch vertical and 11.7 broad jump, got everyone on the NFL Network and social media jabbering away this weekend, which is strange because a lot of people outside the SEC probably wouldn’t have heard of him. He was always seen as a reliable receiver at Georgia (hence why he caught 20 TDs for Georgia in his career and had nearly 2,000 yards receiving), but not a ‘big-time’ one. He’ll be a second-day pick, and will remain smiling. As he always seems to.
After his Michigan State counterpart posted some blazing speeds earlier in the long week, Waynes blew it up on Monday, posting a 4.31 second 40 speed. The speed not only cemented him into people’s minds as the top corner to come out of college, but also made him $100,000 richer after he signed an endorsement deal with Adidas before running. Good work, that.
