Busiest day of the Combine. And one of the biggest with quarterbacks, wide receivers, and tight ends working out today. Lot to get to so let’s dive into the highlights and lowlights from Saturday in Indy.
Quarterback
– Testing wise, these numbers don’t matter a whole lot. Josh Allen showed off his athleticism with a 4.75 40, better than what I thought he’d turn in. J.T. Barrett turned in a solid 4.7 flat.
Probably a product of the college system, only one QB ran over five seconds of the 18 who participated (Lamar Jackson and Luke Falk did not). That was Mike White, who ran a 5.09.
For comparison, in 2009, four QBs ran over five seconds. In 2004, five did. And in 2000, eight did. If you’re thinking it’s just a one year fluke, only QB did in 2017 too, and that came in at 5.08. In 2016? Just one, too. Trend is real.
– All the QBs passed the hand size threshold. Everyone over nine inches. The smallest were Mason Rudolph at 9 1/4. Two over ten. Josh Allen and Tanner Lee.
– To the drills. No doubt Lee has a massive arm and on the whole, a good day in Indy. Throws it as well as anyone. His problem is consistency and when he’s gotta make a throw in contested coverage or go through his progressions. Too many throws that wildly miss, too many bad decisions, too many turnovers. Today was good but you’d expect them from someone with his physical skillset. Doesn’t alter the evaluation.
– As you heard on the broadcast if you were watching, lot of the QBs were slow on their drops from under center. Guys still not comfortable deliberate with their footwork, focusing on the throw. Have to burst away from center to get depth and reach your spot in time to keep the rhythm/timing of the route. A lot of guys were at fault but Quinton Flowers stuck out to me, even on his three step game. Gotta be more urgency.
For Flowers at least, he’s likely looking at a position switch to the NFL. Turned in a 4.63, a good – not great – time for him. But he’s a playmaker on the field. And I think he can make the switch.
– Josh Allen has a hose of an arm. Again, you knew that, but it was the best here. Josh Rosen slung it too.
– Barrett struggled and I don’t believe you can even draft him at this point. Ball placement was an issue. Three straight throws behind his WR on out routes to his left.
– On the other hand, Allen did a nice job of his ball placement on sideline throws, even when coming to his left. I know some people got on him for a lack of anticipation, which is probably fair, but no QB really threw it like that.
– Lamar Jackson was up-and-down. Couple nice balls but definitely some lame ducks too. Floated an over-the-shoulder pass in the first drill, did it again on the true go-ball drills, and then his WR had to once stop and basically wait for the post-corner to round things out.
– Guy who surprised me today, and that’s partly because I didn’t know a thing about him, was Toledo’s Logan Woodside. Showed a little bit of everything. Smooth drops (and one of the quickest away), accuracy and ball placement, and a pretty good arm. One of the few who showed anticipation on throws to the sideline.
Wide Receiver
– Star of the day? Gotta be LSU’s D.J. Chark, who has only helped himself in the pre-draft process. A strong Senior Bowl followed up by a monster Combine. 4.34 40, 40 inch vert, 10’9″ broad. Playmaker who fell into the trap of another underused receiver in Baton Rouge. Definitely going to have a better NFL career.
– In similar fashion. USF’s Marquez Valdes-Scantling put in a sensational 4.37 40. Other numbers weren’t as impressive but at 6’4, 206, eye-opening numbers. Fluid in the gauntlet, too. Someone I gotta learn more about.
– James Washington didn’t run a great time but the tape still shows he wins vertically. I’m not freaking about a 4.54 40, which is still respectable. Tracked the ball over his shoulder and did well in the gauntlet.
– Two guys I mentioned yesterday put in excellent workouts: D.J. Moore and Courtland Sutton. Moore ran a 4.42, 11 foot jump in the broad, 39.5 in the vert. Sutton didn’t put up those kinds of numbers but showed natural hands through the gauntlet and body control along the sideline.
– Some other players, like ND’s Equanimeous St. Brown, UCF’s Tre’Quan Smith, and Georgia’s Javon Wims struggled to do that, though I thought St. Brown had a good workout overall.
– Receivers who struggled today? Since 2005, only one receiver posted a worse 40 time than Washington State’s Tavares Martin, who posted a 4.8 flat. The only one with a higher time since then was De’Runnya Wilson in 2016 (4.85 – undrafted, never caught a pass in the league). He caught the ball well but that is low-level athleticism.
Oklahoma State’s Chris Lacy struggled to see the ball in. Couple that went through his hands in drills and didn’t make up for it with just average numbers in testing (4.51, 10″ broad, 33.5 vert). WVU’s Ka’Ruan White had to fight the ball through the gauntlet, letting the ball into his body and dropped at least one.
– Trey Quinn (SMU) looks like a natural slot guy. Caught almost every ball cleanly and quick to the tuck. Broke out last year to the tune of 13 touchdowns, entering the draft a year early. Day Three pick.
– Allen Lazard out of Iowa State showed up on tape, though was inconsistent, but definitely popped today. 4.55 40 at 6’4/5 227 and jumped 38 inches in the vert. That’s a guy who can go up and get it.
– Florida’s Antonio Callaway still has a ways to go to convince NFL teams he can get past his off-field issues but today was a start. 4.41 40 and looked good in drills.
– Disappointed in Quadree Henderson’s workout. 4.5 flat, 32.5 inch vert. Not measuring speed or explosion and he looked just ok running routes.
– Cedrick Wilson Jr. turned in an average 40 time (4.55) but he’s a long-strider who showed some hops (37 inches). Caught the ball away from his frame in the gauntlet.
Tight End
– Mike Gesicki stealing the show, as expected. Even by what was expecting, it was absurd. 4.54 at 247 pounds, 41.5 inches (!!!) in the vert, 10’9″ in the broad. And oh yeah, a 4.10 short shuttle which led the group by over a tenth of a second.
One area he’s gotta keep working on? Blocking. I don’t think he was as bad as people make him out to be but watching him in blocking drills, has to get his arms extended and keep his face out of the bag.
– It’s sorta weird Jaylen Samuels worked out with the tight ends but he had a strong workout. Caught the ball fluidly and turned in a 4.54 and 10’1″ in the broad and 34.5 inch vert. Straight as an arrow in the gauntlet.
– Jordan Thomas isn’t a great tremendous athlete compared to others but relatively, he’s pretty good. 6’5, 265, 34 inch arms, 11 inch hands, and a 4.74 40. Tracked the ball well over his shoulder vertically. Lot of boxes checked.
– I didn’t realize Hayden Hurst’s story. Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates six years ago, baseball didn’t work out, so he became a 1st round tight end. 4.67 40 and 10 foot broad helped him out a lot.
– One who seemed to struggle? Ohio State’s Marcus Baugh. 4.81 40 at 247 pounds and a 33 inch vert. Slow through the gauntlet and double-caught some passes.
– No workout for Troy Fumagalli. Only did the bench press. Not sure if that was by choice or injury but it was a bummer.
