One of the most intriguing storylines after the Combine comes to a close is which players drastically hurt or helped their stock and which players “worked out” their way onto some team’s draft boards.
Chris Henry, former running back of the Arizona Wildcats, wowed at the Combine and he was drafted in the 4th round despite being very unproductive. Chris Johnson, former running back of the Tennessee Titans, ran the fastest forty time at the Combine and became a first round pick.
Are “workout warriors” necessarily a bad thing? Not for certain, and while stock should rise or fall much at the Combine, being a tremendous athlete will get you a look in the NFL. Here are 15 guys who should put on a show in terms of athletic ability.
Da’Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson
College football’s sack leader from 2010, it should be no surprise that this beast of an talent should wow at the NFL combine. He’s the best 4-3 defensive end in this draft and should fit seemlessly as a top notch sack artist in the NFL, which is one of the reasons he’s a near consensus Top 5 pick.
He should run in the mid to low 4.7s, which is very impressive, and should impress in change of direction and lateral quickness drills. Overall, he shouldn’t hurt himself at the Combine on the practice field, and he really can’t rise much higher on draft boards.
Jonathan Baldwin, WR, Pittsburgh
Baldwin’s biggest concern as a prospect at the Combine should not be what he does on the field, but what he says and how he explains himself at times in the meeting rooms behind closed doors. Still, on the field and in workouts, he should finally get his chance to show his skills after having a developmental quarterback in charge of his offense this past season.
He should wow in the vertical jump and his long strides should make him run a very fast forty. His hands could be hit or miss at times, but if he’s focused and wants to prove he can be a number one receiver, then he very well could force teams to overlook his possible character issues and make him a middle of the round first rounder.
Virgil Green, TE, Nevada
Green is being reported as ready to put up some seriously impressive numbers, and I can’t say I’m all that surprised. He was a perfect example of a new age tight end, lining up on the line at times to block but mostly used as a receiving option for his quarterback.
Green will need to show his strength as a blocker in the bench press, but as far as broad, high, and forty time for a tight end, he very well could be the most impressive one and force a team to reach for his talent in the 3rd round area.
Kenrick Ellis, DT, Hampton
I’ve heard from people who have knowledge of the Hampton practices, and they said that Ellis looked as impressive as any linebacker in overall linebacker drills. This is a guy who is viewed as one of the top 3 or 4 nose tackles in this draft and is hovering over 300 pounds.
He likely won’t run a blazing forty for a defensive lineman or standout on paper in any one area, but watching him move for his size and watching his film as a consistent tackler and relentlessly effective in pursuit, and Ellis could continue his assault into the Top 50 of this draft class.
Cortez Allen, CB, Citadel
Allen is the classic combine invite because of his athletic ability and not entirely his production or dominance in college. Allen has good size and uses it fairly well, but is inconsistent at times and doesn’t always use his body well.
The main reason he will likely be drafted before round six and why teams might even push him up boards is the projected stellar workout he’s supposed to have. As a cornerback, hips in drills and turning and running are huge, so that will be a tall tell sign for him. But as far as the raw drills are concerned, Allen should be in the Top 7 for each one at his position.
Ricardo Lockette, WR, Fort Valley State
At around 6’3 and 210 pounds, running in the mid 4.3s is simply remarkable and almost unheard of. And thanks to the system he played in in college, Lockette has been relatively untested and unheard of as an NFL draft prospect.
However, once he begins to run drills as a receiver and run the raw drills (40 yard dash, vertical jump, cone drills) he should quickly emerge as close to the top in all of the ones that really count for receivers and overall position players.
Marcus Cannon, OG, TCU
Doing a double backflip into a pool is no easy task, one that I’d imagine many aren’t able to do. Doing a double backflip and being a lifeguard as a 325 plus offensive lineman is just plain ridiculous. That’s what Marcus Cannon is able to do. It’s safe to say that for his size, he’s ready to showcase that he isn’t just a massive body.
While his forty time is likely to still be over 5.1 and his bench press should be only average because of his relatively long arms, his workouts and broad jump should be outstanding for his size, and he could push himself to the top three rounds safely with the workout that is likely to wow.
Martez Wilson, ILB, Illinois
Wilson is still a bit of a raw prospect as he doesn’t have a great for a defensive scheme and needs to develop his tackling form, coverage skills, and overall pursuit angles. But one thing that is not a weakness and the one thing that could make him a potential first rounder is his athletic ability.
Wilson runs so well and has such great quickness and lateral movement that he could fit anywhere from inside to outside to rushing the quarterback off the edge as a 3-4 outside linebacker. If he runs like a running back, jumps like a tight end, and has the hips of a safety like I think he may show, then he could quickly rise as a Top 32 player on most boards.
Aldon Smith, DE, Missouri
A lot of buzz is surrounding Aldon Smith, similar to how the buzz began about Jason Pierre-Paul last year, who went from a fringe 1st rounder to a solid Top 20 pick on draft day thanks to his ultra-impressive workouts and outstanding size.
Smith is more of a dynamic pass rusher with more moves than Pierre-Paul, but I’m not sure if he’s as “wow” of an athlete. If he can prove he is close to if not just as athletic as last year’s 16th overall pick, Smith will be a lock to go higher than 2010’s top project defensive end.
Robert Quinn, DE, North Carolina
In my opinion, Quinn really needs to impress to pass guys who likely will have solid workouts and are more proven at the Combine such as Cameron Jordan, Von Miller, and Da’Quan Bowers. Still, when you watch Quinn’s 2009 film, you quickly notice that he’s one of the best athletes in draft in recent memory.
He didn’t play all this season and will need to show that he’s both in shape as well as developed as a pass rusher and as potentially a standup rusher in a 3-4 scheme. His workout numbers should be remarkable for his size, but if he can win me as well as teams over as far as not losing his touch and improving in position drills, he could be right back in the Top 5 mix.
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