Too
often we only look at 40 times when
evaluating prospects for the NFL Draft.
Today we are going to look beyond that, we
are going to look inside the numbers,
focusing on speeds of the 10 and 20 yard
dash, the 20 yard shuttle run and the 3-cone
drill. These drills measure explosive speed
and agility, and are an even better
barometer than 40 times for evaluating
prospects for the NFL Draft. Today we are
going to focus on the offensive players,
check back in the next couple of days to see
the defensive players. These numbers were
taken from the recent NFL Combine:
Centers:
1.
Chris Chester was the star here, nicely
sized at 6-3.5 and 305 pounds, he had the
best vertical jump (VJ) of 31.5 and the best
broad jump (BJ) of 8-10. He also had the
best 20 yard split time of 2.78 and the best
3-cone (drill) time of 7.31.
2.
Nick Mangold also looked solid, he had the
best 20 yard shuttle run of 4.36 and the
second best 3-cone time of 7.40.
Guards:
1.
Davin Joseph looked good, at 6-2.5 and 311
pounds he had the best VJ of 32 inches and
the best BJ of 9-3. Joseph also had the
second best 20 yard split time of 2.97.
2.
Chris Kuper was one of the most mobile
guards. Average size at 6-4 300 pounds, but
he had the 2nd best VJ of 30
inches, second best BJ of 9-1, he had the
fastest 20 yard split time of 2.93, the
fastest 20 yard shuttle run of 4.60 and the
fastest 3-cone at 7.59.
Offensive Tackles:
1.
Winston Justice quietly had one of the best
workouts among the tackles. Prototype size
at 6-6 319 pounds, he had the best VJ of 35
inches and the best BJ of 9-2. Justice also
had the second best 20 yard shuttle run of
4.53 and the fastest 3-cone time of 7.31
seconds.
2.
Eric Winston just looked good in every area
except the bench press where he didn’t lift
due to an injury. Winston had the fastest 20
yard split time of 2.82 and destroyed the
competition with and amazing fast 20 yard
shuttle run time of 4.44, he also had the 3rd
fastest 3-cone time of 7.47.
3. Guy
Whimper doesn’t have a very intimidating
name, but he looked quick and agile at the
combine. At 6-4 304 pounds, just average
size, but he had the second fastest 20 yard
split time of 2.88, the 3rd
fastest 20 yard shuttle run of 4.63 and the
second fastest 3-cone at 7.38.
4.
Andrew Whitworth had good straight line
speed, with a decent 20 yard split time of
2.98, but did not excel in the agility
drills. He had among the worst times in the
20 yard shuttle (4.83) and the 3-cone drill
(8.23).
Running Backs:
1.
Jerious Norwood is a prospect that is kind
of flying under the radar. Good sized at 6-0
210 pounds and as fast as lightening. He had
the second best VJ of 36.5, and the second
best BJ at 10-2. Norwood had the fastest 20
yard split time of 2.51 and the fastest 40
at 4.33, he also had the third fastest 20
yard shuttle time of 4.25, (behind only
Cedric Humes at 4.22 and Jerome Harrison at
4.07). Norwood was also the second fastest
in the 3-cone with an impressive time of
6.81.
2.
Jerome Harrison had the best BJ of 10-4, and
he was tied for 3rd place with
his 20 yard split time of 2.63 seconds, only
behind Joseph Addai (2.53) and Wendell
Mathis (2.62). However agility is where he
really shined with the best 20 yard shuttle
run of 4.07 and the very best 3-cone drill
time of 6.77.
3.
Leon Washington didn’t have the kind of
senior season that he wanted, but he is
still a talented running back. He looked
very agile and fast. Leon tied Jerome
Harrison for the third best 20 yard split
time of 2.63 and he was also the third
fastest running back in the 3-cone with a
6.94.
Tight
Ends:
Yes
Vernon Davis was all the buzz, and rightly
so, he totally dominated the competition in
the broad jump, vertical jump, bench press,
and the 40 yard dash. But look inside the
numbers and you will see he didn’t dominate
the agility drills.
1.
Tony Scheffler might be the steal of this
draft. Prototype size at 6-5.3 254 pounds,
he is as agile as he is big and fast. Tony
had the fastest 20 yard shuttle run of 4.01
and he tied Garrett Mills for the fastest
3-cone time of 6.81.
2.
Garrett Mills’ size might be a problem at
only 6-1 241 pounds, but he has some quicks.
Mills had the second fastest 20 yard shuttle
run of 4.05 and he tied with Sheffler for
the fastest 3-cone at 6.81.
3.
Owen Daniel is another under-rated prospect
with good size, speed and agility. He has
decent size at 6-3 253 and was third behind
Tony Scheffler and Garrett Mills in the 20
yard shuttle run (4.10) and 3-cone drill
(6.87).
Wide
Receivers:
Chad
Jackson totally dominated almost every
single event here and if you take into
account all the drills it becomes pretty
clear that Jackson had by far the best
performance of the entire combine.
1.
Derek Hagan displayed more explosiveness
that many thought he would. Hagan is quick
out of the blocks as he had the fastest 10
yard split time of 1.52, yes even quicker
than Chad Jackson. He was also among the top
five with a 20 yard split time of 2.58. He
had the 3rd best 20 yard shuttle
run of 4.07, behind only Jovon Bouknight
(4.03) and the winner Chad Jackson with a
blazing 3.97 seconds.
2.
Will Blackmon quietly had an awesome
combine, he had the best VJ of 41 inches and
the best BJ of 11-1, and amazingly he was
the fastest prospect in the 3-cone drill
with an impressive 6.67 seconds.
* Some
other notable performers in the 20 yards
shuttle run:
1.
Travis Wilson 3.99
2. Brandon Williams 4.07
3. Demetrius Williams 4.08
4. Jeff Webb 4.08
5. Martin Nance 4.08
6. Greg lee 4.09
*Some
notable performers in the 3-cone drill:
1.
Greg Jennings 6.68
2. Travis Wilson 6.70
3. Chad Jackson 6.73
4. Greg Lee 6.80
5. Jeff Webb 6.81
6. Maurice Stovall 6.81
