We had ourselves an incredible day for the d-line group and the linebackers. We had quite a few d-lineman show levels of athleticism that I didn’t thing was possible for humans to achieve. Teams in need of a player in the front 7 are in luck this year, and guess what, our 49ers could use some depth along the d-line. Here are the top 5 performances from day 3 of the NFL combine:
- The entire Georgia Bulldogs front 7: One thing became abundantly clear yesterday, Georgia winning the National Title was not a fluke. Not that anyone was questioning it, but we got to see just how freakishly talented their defensive was. Georgia ended up with the 3rd and 6th fastest Linebackers, the 3rd fastest Defensive End, and the 1st and 2nd fastest Defensive Tackles. On face value, that is super impressive, but that leaves out a couple of major details. First of all, the man who ran the 2nd fastest 40 for the defensive tackles (Jordan Davis) is a 341 pound man that played at 360 pounds throughout his college career. Davis also had the best broad jump amongst defensive tackles and was almost a full foot ahead of 2nd place. Davis may be the most athletic man we have ever seen at the defensive tackle position. Another detail to add to how impressive this all was is that Nakobe Dean, an inside linebacker and arguably Georgia’s best player, did not run in the 40. One thing is for sure, if the 49ers draft anyone from Georgia this year, I’ll be happy.
- Troy Anderson: The linebacker out of Montana State figured out the key to lock in being a mid round pick after playing at a small school. Anderson ran 4.42 to lead all linebackers in the 40, had the 5th best broad jump, and a 36 inch vertical. He also measures like an old school linebacker at 6’3 243lbs. Anderson was not a highly touted player at all but he came out and stole the show from the linebacker position. He is a player I’d welcome the 49ers bringing in if he is still available in the later rounds.
- Aiden Hutchinson: People have questioned Hutchinson’s athleticism but honestly, I have no idea where that comes from. Hutchinson is a 6’7″ 260lb Defensive End out of the University of Michigan. He had a hyper productive year and came in 2nd place for the heisman after leading Michigan to their best season in a generation. Hutchinson had a solid day all around with a 4.74 40, a 36 inch vertical, and a 6.75 3 cone drill. The 3 cone drill is where he really stood out, his time was the best on the day out of all positions and would have been 3rd amongst the WR group. That level of agility at 6’7″ 260lbs is scary considering a lot of people have typecast him as a powerful end. His comparison has been to the Bosa brothers and he had a better combine than both of them yesterday.
- Amare Barno: He joins Anderson as a player that wasn’t highly touted but was wildly impressive at the combine. Barno is a Defensive End out of Virginia Tech that was considered a raw athletic prospect heading into yesterday, but we had no idea just how athletic he was. He ran a 4.36 40, the first DE ever to run sub 4.4, he had a 37 inch vertical, and he had the best broad jump amongst DE’s. Barno dominated the DE group and showed an elite athletic profile to go with a long 6’5″ frame. His overall athletic profile is going to attract teams and if he ends up in the right place (cough cough, San Fransisco), then he could be a steal this year.
- Dominique Robinson: I really have a soft spot for these small school guys that come to the combine and show out. It says a lot when these guys who were passed up by bigger programs perform at a high level on the field and show elite athletic traits. It usually means they have a very high work ethic and the ability to overcome adversity as they were passed up on as high school recruits but never gave up and worked even harder to live up to their dreams. Robinson is a 6’5″ 253lb Defensive End out of the University of Miami Ohio. Thats right, the Ohio one! Coming out of high school, Robinson was a 2 star recruit that was actually a dual threat QB being recruited to play WR. He transitioned to DE, added 40 plus pounds, and kept most of his athleticism. At the combine, Robinson ended up running a 4.72, had the 11th best broad jump amongst Des, the 2nd best bench behind Kayvon Thibodeaux, and the best vertical at the position at 41 inches. Robinson is yet another raw prospect that has very high upside and one I would love the 49ers to take due to the work ethic he displayed to make himself into the prospect he is.
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Great work as always Xander, such a pleasure to have you on the staff.
Thanks Jason, glad to be here!