NFL Draft Post-Combine Offensive Risers and Fallers

The underwear Olympics (the NFL Combine) has begun in Indianapolis. It is especially flashy this year with the custom designed, multi-colored Under Armour sporting attire that everyone is wearing.  As you are reading this, keep in mind the Combine is only a small snapshot in time of each player.  Game play and medical reports are more important than drills and stop watches.  If I don’t mention a particular player, I consider their stock to be close to what it was before the event.

The Risers

Tavon Austin, WR West Virginia

While he only posted the second quickest 40 time (4.34 seconds) for wide receivers, I was impressed with his thick build, despite his diminutive size.  Even though the gauntlet was not his best event, Austin impressed with his route running and did not let the ball into his body.  He is a very explosive receiver who has a great deal of body control.

Stedman Bailey, WR West Virginia

He did not wow anyone over with his 40 time in Indianapolis, but he was impressive nonetheless.  Bailey has natural, soft hands and does a great job of catching almost every pass in front of him to maximize his inertia.  The receiver is very quick in and out of breaks while showing a great deal of effort on every snap/attempt.

Tyler Bray, QB Tennessee

The young quarterback showed off a strong arm and was fairly accurate with his ball placement.  These were for the most part new receivers to him and he looked natural out there.  He’s moving up my quarterback prospect board.

Knile Davis, RB Arkansas

The oft-injured running back had an awesome day in Indianapolis – he looked big, quick, and strong during running drills.  The former Razorback posted a 4.37 second 40 time while looking explosive.  Davis also put up 31 reps of 225 lbs on the bench press on Saturday.  Despite impressing in those areas, he fought his hands when trying to catch the ball.  His medical evaluation may be just as important as Marcus Lattimore’s.

Tyler Eifert, TE Notre Dame

Out of all the tight ends, he had the most impressive measurables as he jumped higher and longer than his counterpart, Zach Ertz.  The young golden domer had a sub 4.7 40 yard dash and looked decent in the blocking drills.  Eifert is not overly muscular.  He is a smooth runner who looked comfortable in the gauntlet drills. This may be enough of an edge to make him the clear number one NFL and fantasy tight end of the board come draft day.

Chris Harper, WR Kansas State

The former Wildcat showed off his big, thick, muscular frame in the drills.  He had a fantastic gauntlet catching everything with his out-stretched hands.  The receiver has a knack for tracking the ball in the air and adjusting his body to make the catch.  These attributes weren’t revelations, but they confirmed his Anquan Boldin-type skill set.

Vance McDonald, TE Rice

He is a big, muscular athlete who is drawing comparisons to the former Rice tight end, James Casey.  The former Owl did better than I expected in the gauntlet drills, but still body catches more than I’d like.  He posted a sub 4.7 40 yard dash which is great for a man his size.

Christine Michael, RB Texas A&M

After watching him practice at the East/West Shrine Game week, he looked even better in Indiana.  Michael is a jacked-up beast who showed a lot of burst.  He benched 225 lbs 27 times, which demonstrates his natural strength.  His lateral agility was clear as he made cuts in the drills.  The young running back seems to be improving his ability to be effective catching the ball out of the backfield from what I saw in St. Petersburg.

Markus Wheaton, WR Oregon State

The wide receiver demonstrated a lot of explosion in the drills.  He attacked the ball in the air and hustled throughout the Combine.  The former Beaver may have had the best gauntlet and he put on a quite the show catching passes deeper than 20 yards down the field.  I came away very impressed with Wheaton.

The Fallers

Zach Ertz, TE Stanford

The young tight end has a frame that needs filling out as he did not seem to be as physical as Eifert.  He does have good hands, but clearly looks to be the second best tight end in his class.  If he is just another move tight end, there are several tight ends that may jump ahead of him in the NFL Draft and in fantasy leagues.

Gavin Escobar, TE San Diego State

Many in the media had put him near the level of Eifert and Ertz.  He did not show that at Indianapolis.  Escobar has good hands and shows a lot of effort trying to make receptions, but did not stand out against the lower ranked competition.  His pro day will be very important to his draft status.

Mike Glennon, QB North Carolina State

He didn’t get any thicker after the Senior Bowl.  While the scarecrow has great arm strength, Glennon continues to have muddled footwork – this really impedes his accuracy which is necessary to be effective in the NFL.  He needs to show he can adjust to pressure in the pocket to get a chance at a starting gig in the near future.

Marquise Goodwin, WR Texas

The former Olympian looked more like a world-class sprinter than an NFL prospect today.  While he did post the fastest 40 time of the day (4.27 seconds unofficially), he fought with the ball at times.  Goodwin is an explosive athlete, but may need a season or two in the NFL to be fantasy relevant.

Justin Hunter, WR Tennessee

Another world-class jumper had a bit of a disappointing Combine.  The former Volunteer looked a bit too lanky.  It was later revealed that he lost weight to try to increase his 40 time.  I was surprised with the amount of body catching he displayed.  While he does have amazing body control, he adjusted to the ball late on a few occasions and was an overall disappointment for me after watching his game tape. This is just a slight bump in the road, but does cause me a little concern.

Jordan Reed, TE Florida

The move/joker tight end has big legs and looked good running the 40 yard dash.  He had one of the best ten yard splits; however, it was concerning he was not running routes at the Combine.  I hope he has an impressive workout at Florida as he is slipping in the tight end rankings.

Stepfan Taylor, RB Stanford

While the former Cardinal looked very muscular with big legs, he appeared to be a bit stiff and robotic.  He ran upright at times and had a slower 40 time than expected, posting a time of 4.76 seconds.  Taylor looked more like a tweener between a half back and full back.  While watching him, he reminded me of Toby Gerhart, another former Stanford grad who is the Vikings second string running back.  Unfortunately, that is not a compliment.