BY: MEMENTO
RamsONDEMAND.com
Now that the defensive backs have flown out of Indianapolis, the 2012 NFL Combine has officially come and gone. Even teams who don’t pay attention to the triangle numbers (height, weight, and speed) have a lot of use for the Combine. Effort in the drills or a single interview could mean the difference between a first round grade for a player or taking him off of their board entirely.
The Combine also helps out players who might not be as well known as their peers. Players from smaller schools have used the Combine to vault themselves into the first round – Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is a prime example of that.
Unfortunately, the Combine can also cause a player’s stock to take a dramatic hit. Whether it’s a horrible interview or a failed drug test or even something as simple as a bad forty time or bench press, players like Jimmy Smith, John Moffitt, and Justin Houston have all felt the aftermath of their Combine results taking a large chunk out of their future salaries.
With all of that said, I’ve compiled a list of ten 2012 prospects who have either gained or lost ground due to the NFL Combine. I’ll start with the five prospects who have made the largest positive impact:
1 – Robert Griffin III, quarterback, Baylor.
No one player has seen their stock rise as much as this mobile quarterback. Despite opting to throw at his Pro Day instead of the Combine, the man known as “RG3″ managed to make a large impression. It all started with his interview. Griffin certainly looked the part of a franchise quarterback, as he answered the reporters’ questions with a surprising mix of humor and intelligence. What’s more is that many teams came away with a positive impression of the young man in their interviews.
However, Griffin wasn’t finished yet. People who thought that he was barely six feet tall were immediately silenced when he measured in at 6’2″, 223 lbs – a respectable height for an NFL quarterback. Still, it was his forty time that shocked the football world. The athletic quarterback ran twice, finishing with unofficial times of 4.41 and 4.38. His official time was 4.41, which is the fastest forty time for a quarterback since Michael Vick.
If the Combine is any indication of what Griffin might become, some team is going to be very happy to select him in the draft.
2 – Matt Kalil, offensive tackle, USC.
It wasn’t like Kalil needed a bigger boost to his already-astronomical stock, but this Combine managed to do just that. Forget the fact that he quelled the people who doubted that he would weigh three hundred pounds (he weighed in at 306 lbs). Forget the fact that he ran the forty at a blistering time of 4.99 – an impressive feat for a lineman. Forget that he had thirty reps in the bench press with thirty-four-and-a-half inch arms and that he posted a 1.70 ten-yard split as an afterthought. What scouts were really looking at was his athleticism in the drills. He did that with aplomb; many people – including a respected analyst in Mike Mayock – were raving about his fluidity in the drills.
If people thought that there was a better offensive tackle prospect in this year’s class, they probably admitted that they were wrong days ago. Kalil will go to the Minnesota Vikings with the third overall pick, and it’s very unlikely that he’ll drop further than that.
3 – Dontari Poe, defensive tackle, Memphis.
When Rams fans think of Memphis as a college, they fondly remember the days of Isaac Bruce, who was a second-round pick. If the Combine is any indication of this young man’s talent, the fans of the NFL team who selects him are going to look back on this draft and think, “Man, I can’t believe we got this guy.”
Poe has vaulted himself into the conversation of the best defensive tackle in this draft class – and he might be looking at a spot in the top fifteen when it’s all said and done. He measured in at the mammoth size of 6’4″, 346 lbs. Naturally, he posted the most bench press repetitions out of any prospect at the Combine (44 reps). What stunned everyone who watched him was the sheer athleticism that he displayed along with his power.
He was fluid in every drill. He posted a ridiculously-fast forty time (4.87) and an equally-impressive ten-yard split (1.68). As a reference, Nick Perry out of USC – one of the fastest defensive ends at the Combine – posted a ten-yard split of 1.56. Oh, and he had a broad jump of 9’9″ and a vertical of 29.5. I don’t think that anyone could say that he wasn’t the most shocking prospect at the Combine – at least, not with a straight face.
4 – Stephen Hill, wide receiver, Georgia Tech.
My God, will the Yellow Jackets ever stop producing these extremely athletic and huge wide receivers? Hill was a monster at the Combine. He may not have the physical stature of a Calvin Johnson Jr. or a Demaryius Thomas (Hill weighed in at 6’4″, 215), but he was probably the most impressive wideout at the entire Combine.
His broad jump (11.1) and vertical (39.5) were just amazing enough to stand on their own merits, but Hill wasn’t finished yet. He had to go and run a 4.36 to top it all off. And he wasn’t terrible at the drills either. He’s extremely raw, yes, but he just might go into the second round with his potential – or a team might surprise everyone and draft him in the first round, like the other two Georgia Tech wide receivers before him.
5. David Wilson, running back, Virginia Tech.
If the reports coming out about Wilson are true, then he might be the second running back selected in this draft. He’s not especially huge; 5’10″, 206 lbs. He’s not especially fast, even though a 4.4 flat is pretty darn impressive. His vertical (41 inches) and broad jump (11 feet) numbers were great, and he showed that he has a lot of pass-catching abilities in the drills (which essentially proves that he’s a three-down back), but none of those were what really impressed teams.
Wilson wore an Armani suit to every single interview he had with a team, and every team he interviewed with came back with a very positive impression about his character. He showed that he’s a true professional in every sense of the word, and I absolutely wouldn’t mind taking him with our second round pick. However, he might not even be there; teams like New England and Green Bay have to be interested in his talents and leadership.
Honorable mentions include Cordy Glenn (offensive guard/tackle, Georgia), Harrison Smith (safety, Notre Dame), Michael Floyd (wide receiver, Notre Dame), Robert Turbin (running back, Utah State), Michael Egnew (tight end, Missouri), James Hanna (tight end, Oklahoma), Zach Brown (linebacker, North Carolina), Luke Kuechly (linebacker, Boston College), Nick Perry (defensive end, USC), Mychal Kendricks (linebacker, California), Fletcher Cox (defensive tackle, Mississippi State), Kendall Reyes (defensive tackle, Connecticut), Bruce Irvin (defensive end, West Virginia), Whitney Mercilus (defensive end, Illinois), Josh Robinson (cornerback, Central Florida), Andre Branch (defensive end, Clemson), and Jeff Allen (offensive tackle, Illinois).
Unfortunately, there were some players who were inexplicably awful. I’m going to mention the five that stood out in the worst sort of way. I’ve already mentioned one of them in the draft thread, and I have to start with him as a result:
1 – Vontaze Burflict, linebacker, Arizona State.
This guy should have just stayed home and pretended that he was sick; it would have done him more good than what he showed here. Burflict had one of the worst Combines in recent memory (easily the worst I’ve ever seen), and people have just been ripping him without mercy – as they damn well should. He blamed everyone except himself for his poor season, posted a forty time more suitable for an offensive lineman than a linebacker who had lost weight, refused to do the bench press, posted an awful broad jump and vertical, quit in the drills, and he literally pissed off teams. Here’s what one scout told Bruce Feldman of CBS Sports:
“The guy is completely out of control. There’s no way you could trust him. I can’t believe they [ASU coaching staff] didn’t cut him loose.”
When is the last time you’ve ever heard a scout talk like that about a prospect? Burflict’s uncoachable at this point. Could a veteran team like the Ravens knock some sense into him? Sure. Is it possible that he’ll go undrafted and no team will take a chance on him? Definitely. However, that’s not what people should be talking about when this guy was slated to go in the top fifteen.
2 – Dwight Jones, wide receiver, North Carolina.
I stopped wanting this guy after I saw him against Missouri during the bowl game in Shreveport. He looked like a quitter then, and after this Combine, he hasn’t done anything except drive the point home. Mike Mayock ripped him for quitting in the drills, and it was pretty shocking to hear it from one of the only talent evaluators I respect.
Jones just looked awful. It’s bad enough that he weighed in at 230 lbs (which is pretty heavy for a receiver at his height), but he also had a pathetic ten-yard split (1.62) to go along with a mediocre forty (4.55). And with his apparent apathy issues, it certainly doesn’t look like he’ll be anything more than a third day selection.
3 – Alshon Jeffery, wide receiver, South Carolina.
Of course, I have to complete the Carolinas; it’s only fair. Besides, Jeffery fully deserves a spot here. This is a guy who refused to do any of the tests (forty, bench press, vertical, etc.) or drills. This is a guy who did a poor job in his interviews. Some team is going to take a chance on him in the second round, but in my honest opinion, they’re going to get badly burned. Jeffery strikes me as a Haynesworth type: he’ll make his money and quit on everything. I wouldn’t touch him in the seventh round.
4 – Cliff Harris, cornerback, Oregon.
Ah, who can forget this guy? Even after he was kicked off the team for being arrested for multiple speeding tickets, Harris obviously hasn’t improved his people skills. Like Jeffery, Harris did an awful job in his interviews and probably made some teams take him off their boards entirely. If that wasn’t enough, he also posted a pathetic 4.59 at 5’11″, 175 lbs. It’s hard to imagine it now, but this guy was once considered a first rounder. He’ll likely go undrafted.
5 – Mike Adams, offensive tackle, Ohio State.
Surprised that the last one isn’t Janoris Jenkins? I guess he managed to answer his questions well; I haven’t heard anything negative about him or his stock.
Meanwhile, Adams was awful in the tests. For one, he posted a mere nineteen repetitions in the bench press. Nineteen repetitions – and at 6’7″, 323 lbs, to boot. Think about that for a moment. Think about what that says about his work ethic.
He also managed to post an unsurprising 5.40 in the forty yard dash, which confirms that he’ll never be anything more than a right tackle if he ever succeeds in the pros. When you add in his suspension, it’s just one of many reasons why this guy won’t be drafted in the first round. He has major bust potential.
Dishonorable mentions include Janzen Jackson (safety, McNeese State), Jerel Worthy (defensive tackle, Michagan State), Justin Blackmon (wide receiver, Oklahoma State), Terrance Ganaway (running back, Baylor), Dwayne Allen (tight end, Clemson), Orson Charles (tight end, Georgia), Jared Crick (defensive tackle, Nebraska), Sean Spence (linebacker, Miami), Courtney Upshaw (linebacker/defensive end, Alabama), and Morris Claiborne (cornerback, LSU).
