One of the most entertaining moments of the final days at the Combine was NFL Network’s TV host Rich Eisen running his annual 40-yard challenge…in 6.18 seconds, his personal best. TV coverage of the event by football analysts from the network was hilarious…
Besides Rich Eisen, here are some guys that put on a pretty good show at the final two days of the 2011 Scouting Combine:
Texas’ Curtis Brown, a Senior Bowl standout, was the most explosive cornerback with a 39.5 inch vertical jump, best among his position. He also had the third best broad jump and, more importantly, drew rave reviews for his performance in the position drills.
Nice day of drills turned in by Colorado’s Jimmy Smith, considered by some to be the third best prospect at cornerback … NFL Network’s Mike Mayock said that Smith has the physical tools to be a top-15 pick, but there have been rumblings about character concerns. While Smith’s work in the interview rooms may prove more relevant to his draft spot, he did impress on the field, looking fluid and very athletic for a player of his size (6-2, 211).
The title of fastest man at the combine goes to Miami (FL) cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke, who blazed past the competition with a 4.28 40-yard dash. Van Dyke is considered somewhat raw, and he needs to put muscle weight onto his 6-foot-1, 176-pound frame, but he surely intrigued some teams with the speed-demon performance.
LSU’s Patrick Peterson enhanced his expected top-10 pick at cornerback when he posted a 4.34 40-yard dash and impressed in the on-field drills.
Nebraska’s Prince Amukamara is the consensus No. 2 cornerback in the draft and, perhaps appropriately, he was exactly one-tenth of a second behind Peterson with a 4.44 40-yard dash.
BAD DAY ALERT:
It was a bad day for Florida’s safety Will Hill, who, in addition to some rumored questions about passion for the game, put up sub-standard numbers for his position in the 40-yard dash and vertical jump… and dropped several balls during the position drills.
Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller did his part to solidify his status as a likely top-10 draft pick. Miller ran the second-best 40-yard dash among linebackers (4.53) and also ranked among the best at his position for the broad jump and vertical jump.
There’s a question as to whether Illinois’ Martez Wilson, 6-4, 250, profiles best as an inside linebacker or an outside linebacker. There is, however, little doubt as to whether he has the speed to play at the next level. Wilson’s 4.49 40-yard dash was the best among linebackers. He currently is listed as Mike Mayock’s No. 1 inside linebacker prospect, but some analysts expect him to move to the strong side at the next level.
North Carolina defensive tackle Marvin Austin has been one of the “risers” of late. Austin was suspended for the 2010 season, so he will have to impress in the meeting rooms, but he definitely made an impression at Lucas Oil Field on Monday… Austin put up 38 bench press reps Sunday, second best among defensive linemen to Stephen Paea of Oregon State, who set the recent record with 49 reps (each rep = 225 pounds)…
Nevada pass rusher Dontay Moch had a great Combine with his off-the-charts testing. While he worked with the defensive linemen, Moch also likely projects as a 3-4 outside linebacker at 6-1, 248. But he paced all members of the front seven in the 40-yard dash (4.44), vertical jump (44.0) and the broad jump (10’8″).
Other standouts along the defensive line included California’s Cameron Jordan, who solidified his status as a top-15 pick with a 4.78 40-yard dash, more notably a 1.69-second 10-yard split, impressive for his 6-foot-4, 287-pound frame. Defensive end Ryan Kerrigan of Purdue answered some questions about his athletic ability at the next level with a good showing, as did Arizona’s Brooks Reed.
That wraps up the window-shopping for us fans…although the prospects will be invited over the next few weeks to individual team headquarters for further interviews. The NFL Network coverage of this year’s Combine was its best ever, I thought, really getting closer to the action with more camera angles and more mikes in the drills than past seasons.
The one thing that keeps bugging me, though, is all the empty seats painted in Colts-blue at Lucas Oil Stadium… I mean, I get that you can’t have those seats filled with cheering fans…coaches who run the drills on the field have to be be able to be heard by the athletes. But it is a subtle torture for fans in the Baltimore market to be subliminally exposed to so much Colts blue and so many Colts horseshoes blatantly evident in an empty stadium!
Maybe Jimmy Irsay will cover up the seats and the horseshoes next time after he reads this…Yeah, right!
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