Philly’s own Haason Reddick shines at OLB in Combine drills…

<![CDATA[It was the defensive linemen and linebackers' day to shine on Sunday. In the first group of linemen, Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett ran the fastest 40-yard dash at 4.64 seconds. Combined with a good performance on the bench press (33 reps), that should help to confirm what most draft analysts believe: that Garrett is worthy of the first overall pick in the draft.

Mike Mayock’s top five edge rushers based on the workouts combined with the game tape:

1. Myles Garrett, Texas A&M

2. Tim Williams, Alabama

3. Derek Barnett, Tennessee

4. Solomon Thomas, Stanford

5. Takkarist McKinley, UCLA

Mike Mayock’s top five interior defensive linemen:

1. Jonathan Allen, Alabama

2. Caleb Brantley, Florida

3. Malik McDowell, Michigan State

4. Larry Ogunjobi, Charlotte

5. Chris Wormley, Michigan

Mike Mayock’s top five linebackers:

1. Reuben Foster, Alabama (Did not participate in Combine drills)

2. Haason Reddick, Temple

3. Zach Cunningham, Vanderbilt

4. Jarrad Davis, Florida

5. Alex Anzalone, Florida

Temple’s own Haason Reddick continued the momentum of what was a tremendous senior campaign at linebacker and a brilliant performance during the Senior Bowl with gaudy numbers at the Combine. He timed 4.52 seconds in the 40, reached an amazing 11’1″ in the broad jump, and touched 37 inches in the vertical jump. Reddick looked equally outstanding during position drills and has answered scouts’ every question the past six months.

DE/OLB Carl Lawson was one of the big winners from Sunday’s workout. He punched out 35 reps on the bench, far exceeding the expectations of scouts. He later ran the 40 in 4.67 seconds and practiced to that speed, showing great quickness and explosion as he moved in every direction of the field. Lawson also looked good during linebacker drills.

DE/OLB Jordan Willis was a sack master in college with 27 over the past two seasons, but he proved on Sunday that he’s also an athletic freak. He timed 4.52 seconds in the 40-yard dash, and posted a vertical jump of 39 inches and a mark of 10’5″ in the broad jump. His bench-press mark of 24 reps was much better than expected. Willis looked athletic during drills and practiced to his timed speed. While strength is still a concern, Willis left no doubt that he’s a superior athlete with next-level pass-rushing skills.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot—“Linebacker” Jabrill Peppers ran the 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds…but as we all know by now Peppers is going to play at Safety in the NFL.

Some insider takes on the Sunday drills from Fran Duffy at PE.com:

“If you count Solomon Thomas as an interior defensive lineman, then his numbers were off the charts. The 3-cone drill (6.98 seconds) and the broad jump (10’6”) results were better than any defensive tackle drafted since 2012. While we’re on “tweeners,” how about Villanova’s Tanoh Kpassagnon! He leaped out of the gym with a 10’4″ broad jump. How impressive is that? No drafted interior defensive lineman has posted that mark in the last five years.”

“Myles Garrett’s numbers were absolutely freakish, especially considering the fact that he came in over 20 pounds heavier than his expected 255. It’s important to take size into account when looking at some of these numbers, as it gives you an idea of just how much explosive power these prospects have to move their own body weight. Here are other names I expect will rate highly on athletic testing formulas such as SPARQ include Daeshon Hall (266 pounds with a 7.03 3-cone time and 10’3″ broad jump), Tarell Basham (269 pounds with a 4.35 short shuttle and 9’11” broad jump), as well as Hendrickson, who Tony mentioned above. Four players logged a 4.20 short-shuttle time at the Combine since 2012, and all of them were 250 pounds or fewer. Hendrickson weighed in at 266 pounds.”

“Reddick ran with the defensive line, but when you match his numbers against linebackers (not edge rushers) drafted over the last five years you get a sense of just how impressive his day was. At 237 pounds, Reddick ran a laser-timed 4.52 40-yard dash, a number bested by just two prospects in that span (Darron Lee and Travis Feeney, who both weighed less than Reddick). The Temple Owl also matched Lee’s broad jump (11’1″), which is the highest of any linebacker in that span.”

“Ohio State’s Raekwon McMillan was the most surprising workout of the linebackers, turning in an official 40-time of 4.61 seconds at 240 pounds. A thumper inside not known for his athletic ability, that’s an impressive number that will help his stock.”

What would Ranga do?…

Ben from Australia has a pretty solid plan in mind for how the Eagles should proceed with business going forward after the Combine:

“Bah… I can honestly say I have no idea who the Eagles will take at 14. But I will list my favourite ideas (before Free Agency) #1 Trade down (derrr) #2. This is totally stupid…because it is so broad…who knows who will be available.. so I will just list in order of what my gut thinks Might be BPA at that point, including Free Agency additions. Top 5 – Fournette. Ramczyk. Foster. Reddick. Peppers. I could all those guys making an impact for years. The first three are obvious, but I just remember how much we sucked till Meco showed up since Trotter and how important MLB is. Hicks is healthy but will deserve huge money in a a year or so. Our whole D needs that LB glue and CB can be had later and in Free Agency. Peppers is a freak, and just showed he has the speed to cover all the TE’s and RB’s in this draft class, and most of the WR’s. It wasn’t ideal with Jenkins alone in the slot, but imagine McLeod deep and two decent CB’s with Hicks/Bradham and Peppers/Jenkins? 8 in the Box to keep them guessing, with the wheels to blitz or turn and cover? Schwartz-gasm!!!”

“So make it simple again. List your Needs for the team. Before The 9th of March and the start of Free Agency, and expecting we re-sign Bennie Logan…Mine are CB CB LT RB WR LB QB S P LS.”

“#3 – Trade 2017 1st round pick and Kendricks for Brandin Cooks and Saints’ 2017 3rd and 2018 2nd. Rumors just emerged about JMatt being available. If its anything, it’s Howie playing catch up with the Saints idea. Need more picks in this draft! Well, we could live with drafting 3 times in the 2nd and 3rd, while recovering a 2nd in 2018. Saints get 3 draft picks in the Top 44, and maybe a chance to use them to get up to 6th to get a QB? Hard to digest… but if we nail free agency, this could be a suitable outcome.”]]>

Arrow to top