Alright, whose not starting to get butterflies knowing that the draft is on the horizon?? We are now through 2 full days of the combine with the official results in and we had quite a day of standout performances. You might think by the end of this that I am biased towards skilled position players, but I promise you that is not the case. The running backs really stood out on Day 2 and we saw some definite studs in the making while the offensive lineman had a very forgettable day for the most part. One thing to address before this breakdown of performances: The broad jump is generally considered a drill that helps determine burst. The 40 yard dash shows overall speed while the broad jump is a good measure of how explosive a player can be. Now that we got that out of the way, lets jump right in!
- Kenneth Walker: If there was any doubt about Walker as a pro prospect, that was erased yesterday. The running back out of Michigan State ran a 4.38 and put up the 9th best broad jump to show his breakaway speed and burst that showed up plenty on film. Walker didn’t have to do much, he was very impressive this past season and showed many times that he should be considered one of the top RBs taken this April. He confirmed everything we saw on film and then some to likely solidify him as a second round pick (which is basically the first round for RBs these days).
- Breece Hall: If a running back comes off the board before Hall in this years draft, an NFL team has made a huge mistake. Hall was an elite RB at Iowa State for a couple of years now and helped carry the team to some of the best seasons in program history. Hall showed everything you want to see from a 3 down back throughout his college career. He came into the combine needing to do the exact same thing Walker needed to, show that he is as athletic as he looked on film. He did this and then some.. Hall ran a 4.39, had the 4th best broad jump, and a 40 inch vertical. He packs a punch when he runs and showed elite athleticism to go along with his hard running style. Hall and Walker showed they can be top level 3 down backs on film and in the combine. I’m excited to see both of them in the NFL this year.
- Zamir White: Yet another running back to add to the impressive performances yesterday. White showed in college a lot of ability as an all around back at Georgia. He is another running back that packs a punch and came out yesterday and showed great athleticism. White ran a 4.4 40 and had the 2nd best broad jump on the day. White shared carries with James Cook (Dalvin Cooks brother), which teams typically don’t draft RBs high that were in a time share unless they show elite traits. White did that, he showed on film that he has a lot of elusiveness and power, and at the combine he backed that up and then some. I expect White’s draft stock to have jumped up quite a bit yesterday.
- Tyler Goodson: Iowa always seems to have great running backs but rarely do they pan out in the NFL and it starts with the combine. Iowa has been a historic offensive line school for a long time now. They have put a ton of o-lineman in the NFL and that has made it so they have had very productive running backs. Typically, once the backs aren’t following an elite offensive line anymore, their production disappears. Goodson is looking to break that mold and showed us that he has the ability to do that yesterday. Goodson ran a 4.42, had a 36.5 inch vertical, and the 8th best broad jump. These numbers are almost unheard of from a running back out of Iowa. Goodson, like all Iowa RBs, packs a punch and runs with an edge. Before yesterday, I was impressed by Goodson’s film but had my doubts about how his game would translate to the pros. He erased a lot of those doubts and made a case to be drafted in the middle rounds in the upcoming draft.
- Cole Strange: I know, finally an offensive lineman made the list! The combine isn’t really the best place for o-lineman. Running a 40 yard dash doesn’t tell you much. The bench press is about how much endurance your muscles have, but doesn’t tell you how strong these athletes really are (RB Hassan Haskins had 27 bench reps, he would have tied for 5th amongst o-lineman.. He is NOT stronger than any of these lineman). With all that said, Cole Strange did impress a bit yesterday. He had a 5.03 40 to be in the top half of the OL group, he had the 2nd best bench, and the best broad jump. That shows some good potential burst and potentially good strength to go with it. Strange is a guard prospect out of the university of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Every year it feels like a small school lineman shows great athleticism and pushes himself into being a 3rd or 4th round pick. Typically these guys pan out pretty well (Ali Marpet, Joel Bitonio, and the legendary Larry Allen to name a few).
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