One of the most exciting offseason weekends concluded this afternoon as the NFL Scouting Combine drew to a close. While many scouts debate how much a player’s performance at the Combine will or should effective their draft stock, there is assuredly movement on every team’s draft board following this intense scouting weekend.
Let’s quickly recap a few of the highlights at some positions of need for the Ravens.
Running Backs
This group is deep. Rehabbing his torn ACL, Georgia-product Todd Gurley only bench pressed, while Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon looked the part of a first-round draft pick: his 4.52 second 40-yard dash wasn’t eye-popping, but he displayed elite suddenness and excellent footwork during his shuttle workouts and running back drills.
After Gordon and Gurley there is a drop-off in talent, but there are about seven or eight other talented backs who could be selected by the end of round 3, and the Ravens could be a contender to pick one. Jeremy Langford (Michigan State) clocked the fastest 40-time at 4.42 seconds, while Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah is generating buzz after delivering an extremely well-rounded performance and is in the discussion to be third running back off the board.
Wide Receivers
West Virginia’s Kevin White stole the show with a lightning fast 4.35 forty time. At 6’3” 215 lbs. he is a rare blend of size, speed, benching 23 reps and displaying great hands. White may have jumped Amari Cooper from Alabama as this year’s top receiver—no easy feat considering Cooper is a polished wideout who had a very strong Combine himself.
Deep threats Devin Smith from Ohio State and Auburn-product Sammie Coates did not run as fast as they look on tape (4.42 and 4.43 respectively), and Coates showed poor hands that likely have scouts worried.
Georgia’s Chris Conley is forcing scouts to re-examine his film after jumping out of the building with a 45” vertical and blazing a 4.35 forty-time: incredible for a player standing in at 6’2”. His stock will surely climb rapidly.
For the Ravens first-round pick, many mock drafts have targeted players like Devin Funchess (Michigan) and Jaelen Strong (Arizona State). Funchess faltered while Strong succeeded this weekend. Funchess, a WR/TE hybrid posted a pedestrian 4.70 forty, and dropped some passes. Perceived as a match-up nightmare, he looked more like a player without a position in the NFL, and likely will fall out of the first round. Strong dropped a bit of weight, allowing him to run an impressive 4.44 forty. The only concerning facet of Strong’s game was his speed, and after answering those questions this weekend his stock is trending upward, as scouts have already been salivating over his tremendous size and outstanding catch radius.
Tight Ends
Outside of top prospect Maxx Williams from Minnesota, this group looked poor. Williams didn’t run very fast, but he showed why he is a first-round prospect with enormous yet soft hands, a big frame, and above-average physical tools.
The consensus second-best tight end is Clive Walford out of Miami, but even he ran slower than expected (4.79 seconds) and failed to catch the ball with confidence.
An example of the frustrating nature of this crop of players is the reality that the prospect who flashed the most natural hands was Florida State’s Nick O’Leary, whose sub-30 inch arms are the shortest the Combine has measured in years for a tight end and who barely ran the 40-yard dash in under 5 seconds. The position isn’t completely devoid of talent, but the lack of depth will likely inflate the stock of mid-round players, so tight end may be a position where the Ravens will find it difficult to find quality value after the first round.
Edge Rushers
Whether in 3-4 or 4-3 schemes, this year’s draft will be loaded with supremely athletic players who can get after the quarterback from the outside of the defensive front. Top prospect Shane Ray from Missouri was largely idle due to a toe injury, but the slack was picked up by former Florida Gator Dante Fowler, who displayed incredible balance and agility during linebacker drills and looks like a top-10 pick, while Nebraska’s Randy Gregory did nothing to hurt his own elite draft stock.
Clemson’s Vic Beasley bulked up to weigh in at 246 pounds and benched 35 reps, but didn’t sacrifice quickness as he clocked an insane 4.53 second forty, solidifying himself as a first-round edge rusher.
Bud Dupree from Kentucky, another top flight talent whom the Ravens will likely keep an eye on, may not last until the Ravens pick at 26 due to an outstanding Combine performance. The twitchy 6’4” 269 lb. monster ran the forty in 4.56 seconds and posted a vertical jump of 42” and a broad jump of 11’6”.
Defensive Backs
Michigan State Spartan Trae Waynes may have locked up the top CB spot after posting a scorching4.31 forty and displaying fluid hips this afternoon. Washington’s Marcus Peters ran in the 4.5’s—a little slower than expected—but he flashed soft hands and measured in with excellent size as expected. Time will tell how well Peters addressed off-the-field concerns in his character interviews with teams across the league, including the Ravens.
Meanwhile at safety, some think Landon Collins (Alabama) may be the only player at his position taken through two rounds. A 4.53 forty at 6’0” 228 lbs. is exceptional for Collins, but otherwise an average group of safeties looked average.
Workout Warriors
There were some head-turning displays of athleticism this weekend. Take a look at the very best individual workout performances:
40 Yard Dash: J.J. Nelson, WR, UAB (5’10” 156 lbs.): 4.28 seconds
Vertical Jump: Chris Conley, WR, Georgia (6’2” 213 lbs.): 45 inches
Broad Jump: Byron Jones, CB, Connecticut (6’1” 199 lbs.): 12 feet, 3 inches
Bench Press: Ereck Flowers, OT, Miami (6’6” 329 lbs.): 37 reps
3 Cone Drill: Justin Coleman, CB, Tennessee (5’11” 185 lbs.): 6.63 seconds
20 Yard Shuttle: Bobby McCain, CB, Nebraska (5’9” 195 lbs.): 3.82 seconds
60 Yard Shuttle: Byron Jones, CB, Connecticut (6’1” 199 lbs.): 10.98 seconds
Credit to NFL.com
