The final day of the combine has concluded after the Defensive Backs and Special Teamers took center stage on Sunday. We had some incredible performances and a lot of smaller school guys come out and show some elite athleticism. Before jumping into the top 5, I want to apologize to those former Defensive Backs reading this. I do tend to be biased towards offensive skill position players and don’t mean any disrespect to the craft when I saw some of these players should have been WRs or RBs. Alright, now lets jump right in!
- Zyon McCollum: The 6’2″ 199lb corner out of Sam Houston State may have had the most impressive combine outside of Jordan Davis. Zyon ran a 4.33 (3rd among CBs), had the best broad jump, the 2nd best vert at his position at 39.5 inches, and he had the best 3 cone drill AND 20 yard shuttle amongst all prospect. Not just corners, he lead all prospects in 2 drills. Zyon is a player who makes me wonder what his ceiling would have been as a skill position player while also questioning Sam Houston State. A player with this level of athleticism is extremely rare, especially at the FCS level. They didn’t give him the ball on offense once when he has the athletic profile to be the best WR in FCS. Alright I’ll get off the soap box now.. McCollum truly turned heads Sunday, his speed and agility combination at 6’2″ makes him an extremely high ceiling prospect as a man to man corner. He is a guy that I would love to see the 49ers try to draft and develop as the sky is the limit for Zyon.
- Tariq Woolen: A 6’4″ 205lbs corner out of the University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA). Woolen at 6’4″ ran the second fastest 40 at the CB position and the entire combine at 4.26(!!!) and had the best vertical amongst all prospects at the combine at 42 inches. Woolen spent his first 3 years in college as a WR and his last 2 as a corner and I personally am dying to know what went wrong at WR for Woolen. The combine performance he had is really special, his height and speed combination is almost unheard of and he just had to have a 42 inch vert to add to it. Being that Woolen has only played 2 years at the CB position, it is no doubt that he is a developmental prospect. His combine performance showed NFL that he is worth trying to develop.
- Lewis Cine: Yet another Georgia player had an incredible combine performance. Cine played Safety for the national champion Bulldogs and added to one of the most impressive combine performances we have seen from a college team. He ran a 4.37 to place 5th among safeties, the 7th highest vert at 36.5 inches, and the best broad jump at the position that was also 4th among all prospects. Cine showed elite speed and burst for the position and is a very exciting prospect to keep an eye on as he transitions to the NFL.
- Dax Hill: Michigan was another team that had quite a few standout performances at the combine. Hassan Haskins led all RBs with 27 reps on the bench, Hutchinson had what was one of the most all around best combine performances from a DE, Ojabo showed some elite athleticism that has put him in the top 10 of some mock drafts post combine, and Dax hill had an all around great day to join his Wolverine buddies. Hill ran a 4.38 (6th among safeties), and had the best 3 cone drill and 20 yard shuttle at his position (both of which were 2nd best amongst all prospects). Hill is a Safety by trade by played a lot at the nickel in College. He excelled at both and the combine demonstrated why, he has elite closing speed and agility so he can roam the top of the field better than most while also having the agility to keep up with the quicker slot receivers he gets lined up against. Hills overall versatility is going to make him very highly touted by pro teams. Anytime you can line up and excel at two positions, NFL teams go crazy.
- Jake Camarda: I promise you, I am not a Georgia Bulldog fan. I am actually a fan of the Michigan Wolverines but learned exactly why our season ended by getting blown out by a superior Georgia team. Camarda was the Punter for Georgia this last year and at the combine he ran a 4.56. Overall that was better than 6 WRs and 9 RBs, and quite frankly, I need to know what is going on at Georgia. Camarda only ran the 40 and that is overall useless for punters, but when I saw that I just couldn’t believe that Georgia had so many athletes on their team. I am surprised the Bulldogs didn’t dial up any fake punt runs for Camarda this last year, but after seeing that 40 I would be somewhat happy to see the 49ers take him just for the fun of having a fast punter and the 1 play a year it would matter. And if Camarda doesn’t make it as a punter in the NFL, he could always give it a shot as a slot receiver. (No I don’t truly think a punter could transition to WR for those serious Sam’s at home).
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