NFL Draft Combine: Offensive Skill Player Performance Review

It’s that time of year when NFL hopefuls dawn their multi-colored biker shorts and run around Lucas Oil Stadium.  There are always small things to gleam from the Combine, but keep in mind the proof is in the game tape.  Here are some thoughts for the offensive skill players by position in alphabetical order:

Tight Ends

I was not particularly impressed with any of the tight ends. Jace Amaro was the only top four tight end who participated in every drill.  It was also disappointing to me that the NFL Network chose to show the Michael Sam press conference instead of the tight end gauntlet drills.  Sam is a defensive end/linebacker and should be featured when the defender appears in drills.

Jace Amaro, Texas Tech
The tight end weighed a bit more than advertised at 265 lbs., but looked sloppy.  He dropped some catchable passes and seemed uncomfortable out there.  Amaro ran a slower 40 time than he played on film, but was strong enough in the bench press.  Perhaps he is closer in skill level to a Dennis Pitta-type than originally thought.

Eric Ebron, North Carolina
He wowed us with a 4.6 40 time?  That being said, the tight end was explosive and appeared to be the best athlete of his class.

CJ Fiedorwicz, Iowa
The former Iowa Hawkeye looked more like a blocker than a pass catcher in drills.  He was off-balance at times and did not stand out.

Crockett Gilmore, Colorado State
He continued his successful off-season campaign with good hands in every drill I saw him partake in.  Gilmore may not be a jacked muscular beast, but he is a good football player and might surprise a few NFL and fantasy teams.

Colt Lyerla, Oregon
The highly controversial tight end appeared fast and seems suited for a move tight end role, but had a few bouts of double catching.  Some draftniks see him as an option for New England, but I doubt the Patriots would take a chance at that position with someone with questionable character.

Troy Niklas, Notre Dame
The tight end did not run his 40 due to a strain, but competed in some of the passing drills.  He found and caught the ball well while looking like a farm boy out there – rugged and ready to hit someone.

Austin Seferian Jenkins, Washington
Jenkins did not run his 40 due to a foot fracture per reports.  The tight end adjusted well to the ball in the air, but did not look very consistent. It is quite reasonable his foot was bothering him.

Quarterbacks

Much like the tight ends, there was not a lot to get excited about as Teddy Bridgewater watched everything Johnny Manziel and Derek Carr also ran, but did not throw.

Blake Bortles, Central Florida
The signal caller has a strong arm and showed his competitiveness by competing.  He did not impress or hurt his cause.

Tajh Boyd, Clemson
His performances without Watkins keep on getting bleaker.  He showed off his big, inaccurate arm today.  This effort did not improve anyone’s thoughts on his NFL future.

Jimmy Garoppolo, Eastern Illinois
The senior quarterback did not stand out or hurt himself.  He looks like a developmental quarterback for the NFL and your dynasty team, but do not expect much for the first two years.

AJ McCarron, Alabama
After snubbing the Senior Bowl, the tatted up senior put up a solid performance.  He threw the ball accurately and showed decent footwork.  McCarron could be on a team’s radar that decidse to wait until the second or third round to go for a quarterback.

Wide Receivers

There is a lot of talent in this class.  If I didn’t mention a favorite of yours, that’s fine as they just didn’t stand out to me either in a good or bad way.  If you’re wondering, Jarvis Landry suffered a leg injury on his only 40 and did not compete after the injury.

Davante Adams, Fresno State
The argument is still out there whether he made Derek Carr a better player or Carr made him.  While he ran a slower 40 time at 4.56, the wide out contorts well to the ball in the air, has soft hands, and tracks the ball well in the air.  This might dampen some dynasty owners impressions, but don’t let that happen to you.

Odell Beckham, LSU
In my eyes, this receiver got the biggest bump from the combine.  He is an explosive, jacked up player who got faster as the day went on.  Beckham uses good body control, has solid hand and is a smooth runner.  His 4.43 40 time doesn’t hurt either.

Kelvin Benjamin, Florida State
At 6′ 5″ 240 lbs., he is a monster for defenses to cover.  He catches the ball at its highest point, and also had a good gauntlet, but he is just not a smooth athlete.  He might start his NFL career as a red zone specialist.

Martavis Bryant, Clemson
The wide out was more muscular than I thought, and had a solid 40 time of 4.42.  He fought the ball at times, but was smooth running the gauntlet.  Bryant is an intriguing late round player to consider in your rookie drafts.

Brandon Coleman, Rutgers
I was not impressed.  He caught the ball awkwardly, fought the pigskin into his body, seemed robotic and rounded out his routes.  Enough said.

Brandin Cooks, Oregon State
He had the best 40 time of the receivers with a 4.33 40.  He just doesn’t let the ball get into his body.  Cooks is explosive, contorts himself to get to the ball, has great hands and always hustled running the drills.  His performance moved him back into my top five wideouts.

Bruce Ellington, South Carolina
He showed good explosion, ran well in the gauntlet and caught with his hands, not letting the ball get into his body.  He is still a good sleeper candidate.

Mike Evans, Texas A&M
He uses his big mitts to pluck the ball out of the air.  Evans continued to remind Mike Mayock and others of Tampa Bay wideout Vincent Jackson, who knows how to use his body to make difficult catches. He ran a decent 40 at 4.53 for his size and remains entrenched as a top-two ranked rookie for me.

Robert Herron, Wyoming
He continued his successful off-season with a strong Combine showing.  He is well put together, adjusts his body in mid-air to the ball and has a habit of high pointing the ball for an amazing catch.  Herron should be a solid second or third round selection in rookie drafts depending on which NFL team drafts him.

Marqise Lee, USC
Out of all the big name receivers, Lee showed the most effort diving for passes and going all out on every drill.  He is a muscular receiver who can contort himself to the ball and attacks it in the air at the ball’s highest point.  Lee might have dropped a few spots in NFL and fantasy drafts as he did not stand out athletically compared to Sammy Watkins, Evans and Cooks.

Jordan Matthews, Vanderbilt
Jerry Rice’s cousin has natural hands and is a very fluid player.  For some reason, he reminds me a bit of Eric Decker, as he is a solid receiver, but will probably be best used as a WR2.

Donte Moncrief, Mississippi
I thought his 2013 tape was not impressive, but he had a good showing at the Combine.  Moncrief looked explosive, did not let the ball into his body and ran a great 40 for his size.  Maybe the receiver is a top ten player at his position like Shane Hallam believes.

Tevin Reese, Baylor
The super skinny (163 lbs.) receiver showed up with impressive hands and can sky for the ball.  He might be able to carve out a role as a returner and an occasionalWR3-4 slot receiver.

Paul Richardson, Colorado
The razor-thin receiver has good speed, attacks the ball and looks very fluid.  Richardson needs to be in a spread offense like the Eagles run to be effective as I doubt he will be able to get off the line of scrimmage without a gimmick or two.

Allen Robinson, Penn State
The receiver uses his big body well.  While Robinson can catch the ball, he lets it get into his body a little too much.  I see him primarily used as a red zone threat initially.

Sammy Watkins, Clemson
This is the best wideout in this draft class, bar none.  He is explosive, has great hands and is very much a technician.  Don’t confuse him with a Calvin Johnson, AJ Green, or Julio Jones as he doesn’t have the size.  Instead, think about him as a faster, stronger Antonio Brown with a little more wiggle.

Running Backs

Much like the receivers class, the running backs are quite deep and any runner who didn’t stick out in good or bad way, I won’t mention.  Kapri Bibbs did not compete in the passing drills which is a red flag to me and Carlos Hyde injured his hamstring running his first 40 yard dash. Sure, they will both have pro days, but this is concerning.

Dri Archer, Kent State
The diminutive Archer ran a blazing fast 4.26 40.  He is also razor-thin, has loose hips and is very explosive.  Archer could be what we thought we were going to get with Ace Sanders last season.

Ka’Deem Carey, Arizona
Perhaps I was living under a rock, but I did not realize he had some altercations with the police as well as some domestic abuse issues.  The muscular back was decent at everything, but does not have any elite skills.  Carey ran a little slower than thought and fought the ball at times in the passing game.

Isaiah Crowell, Alabama State
The young back showed good athleticism, burst and speed.  He had decent hands and may be a sleeper to watch in deeper leagues.

Tyler Gaffney, Stanford
He looked like a prototypical third down back.  He has good speed, loose hips and catches the ball quite well.

Jeremy Hill, LSU
As I explained in my free side article about Hill, he is a very talented athlete who continued to impress in Indianapolis.  He has quick feet, moves well for a bigger back with fluidity and has good hands.  Hill impressed me the most of all the backs at the Combine.

Jerick McKinnon, Georgia Southern
The former quarterback was all that and a bag of chips out there.  He is thick and athletic with freaky quicks.  He ran a 4.41 40 and has great hands. McKinnon should be rising on the big boards of both NFL and dynasty owners.

Bishop Sankey, Washington
I saw a high effort back who ran with power and speed.  He looks good in passing drills and he adjusts well to poorly thrown balls.  He was in shape and ready to compete while Carlos Hyde wasn’t.  I may be flipping those two in my rankings real soon.

Lache Seastrunk, Baylor
While he didn’t run the fastest 40, he had the best long jump and high jump in his position.  Seastrunk is a fluid athlete who CAN catch passes despite not catching a pass this season.  I saw nothing to change my mind, so he remains my number one ranked rookie running back.

Terrance West, Towson
He was bit thicker than I thought he would be.  The big legged runner was light on his feet and was a high effort player in the drills.  West is moving up my draft board quickly.

Andre Williams, Boston College
He looked like the same short yardage, power back who couldn’t catch a cold in his 2014 bowl game.  Mark Ingram is ten times the fluid athlete Williams is. I am staying far away.

A follow-up article about the defensive players will follow later this week.

For further questions or comments, please contact me on twitter @AndrewMiley