Ten Impressive Combine Performances

Ken Clein Posted On February 27, 2012

After watching, reading, tweeting and Facebook liking all kinds of information this weekend in regards to the NFL’s Scouting Combine, I’ve come up with a list of the top ten most impressive fantasy rookies at the combine. This isn’t a list of the highest draft picks, nor does it include offensive linemen since they are fantasy irrelevant. This is simply the ten rookies I believe helped their FANTASY draft status the most during this multi-day meat market.

1. Andrew Luck, QB STAN

Are you kidding me? This guy is the most highly-rated pocket passer to come out of college since Peyton Manning and he has the speed and size of Cam Newton to boot? I know that Luck can’t get any better than the #1 pick, so my list starts off with a guy that isn’t going to improve his draft stock at all, but the one thing that most people weren’t focused on was Andrew Luck’s athleticism. They are now.

2. Michael Floyd, WR ND

Floyd came into the combine with character concerns as well as speed questions with his big frame. At 6’3″ and 225 lbs., nobody gave a thought to Floyd being a dow field threat in the NFL – that all changed this weekend. Not only did Floyd acknowledge his mistakes during college and come off sounding mature and thoughtful at the media presser, once he was on the field he blistered a 4.47 forty time. This weekend helped him tremendously.

3. Lamar Miller, RB MIA

Miller is known to be fast, but he beat Chris Rainey and LaMichael James in the forty at the combine to show that he has a size (5’10″/212 lbs) and speed combination that is unmatched in this draft. He may not be a first round pick in the NFL draft, but he just solidified his top three status in rookie fantasy drafts this summer!

4. David Wilson, RB VT

The Virginia Tech product was known to be fast and he didn’t disappoint, running a 4.49 in the forty. What really caught people’s eyes was his explosiveness in the field drills and his athleticism in general. This is proven by him finishing as the third best RB in the 20-yard shuttle and fourth best RB in the 60-yard shuttle. He’s another back that helped himself this weekend.

5. Ladarius Green, TE LLA

Green went to school at Louisiana-Lafayette so he’s considered a bit raw, but he blistered his forty time this weekend posting a 4.53 and finished as the fastest TE at the combine. At 6’6″ and 230 lbs., he’s a receiving TE prototype who probably needs to gain 10 pounds of muscle but he already has the speed to create match-up nightmares for defensive coordinators around the NFL. He could be one of the top 3 TEs off the board in rookie drafts if he gets to a good situation.

6. Robert Griffin III, QB BAY

I put RG3 down here because he did impress this weekend and helped his draft stock, but he did not really impress in the important QB related events. He didn’t throw the ball and that is his biggest question. He ran a 4.41 forty, but everyone knew he was fast and agile (albeit not THAT fast). He also impressed in the media room which is nice, but again, doesn’t translate to the field at all. He helped himself, but there are still lingering questions in my mind.

7. Orson Charles, TE UGA

Here’s another guy who impressed with his physical tools in position drills, but did not run the forty. He helped himself to some degree, but did not give himself a chance to rocket to the stratosphere with a great 40 time. That said, he looked fluid and athletic in drills and caught the ball very well. That could make him the #1 TE off rookie boards, but it’s hard to say.

8. Kirk Cousins, QB MICH ST

The former Michigan State QB will not be drafted particularly high, but he may have put himself into the second round with this performance. In position drills he was accurate, had good velocity and nice touch with a stronger arm than most people expected. He could be a sleeper QB for somebody’s team in deeper dynasty leagues.

9. Tommy Streeter, WR MIA

Another kid who will likely not be a first rounder, but certainly helped himself this weekend with a blistering 40 time of 4.40. What’s impressive about his speed is that he is almost 6-5 and 220 pounds so his size/speed combination will make him attractive to the NFL. He’s the kind of guy that if he gets in the right offense can develop into a #1 receiver in 2 or 3 years. Take note of this come rookie draft time.

10. Robert Turbin, RB UTAH ST

Another RB who’s not considered elite, yet has a size (5’10″ and 222 lbs) and speed (ran 4.5 forty at the combine) combination that makes NFL scouts drool. He’s comes out of a small school, Utah State, so he’s not on a lot of people’s radars but he looked very strong doing 28 reps of 225 lbs on the bench press, the most for running backs at the combine. He could be a fantastic mid-round steal in fantasy rookie drafts if he gets to the right offensive situation.

Ken Clein can be found on twitter @DynastyFootball. Ken also blogs at dynastyfootballfan.com. Be sure to catch him there as well.