Maxx Williams’ 40-yard dash time was disappointing, but he made up for it with a great pass-catching performance. (Photo: Brian Spurlock — USA Today Sports)
BBD Editor: Dan Hope
The NFL’s annual Underwear Olympics officially went into full swing Friday as the offensive linemen and tight ends became the first position groups to take the field for their on-field workouts at the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine.
A number of projected first-round draft picks showed why they are top prospects, while a few other potential early-rounders had underwhelming day. A few small-schoolers stole the spotlight with their speed, while defensive line and linebacker weigh-ins were a telling representation of how some of the draft’s most hyped defensive players stack up against one another in terms of size.
Ali Marpet continues to make name for himself
Hailing from a Division III program at Hobart College, Ali Marpet was virtually unknown by the masses two months ago. That all began to change at the Senior Bowl, where he legitimized himself as an NFL prospect with a fantastic week against top competition. Already on the rise as much as any prospect in the 2015 NFL draft class, Marpet picked up where he left off in Mobile with a fantastic performance in Indianapolis on Friday.
With an official time of 4.98 seconds, Marpet was the only offensive lineman to break the five-second mark in the 40-yard dash this year, showcasing that he is an excellent athlete despite his obscure background. Marpet also had the fastest 10-yard split time of any offensive lineman at 1.74 seconds.
While the 40 gets most of the public attention, Marpet also stood out in other areas that might be more indicative of his football skills. He looked fluid changing directions and moving laterally in the on-field drills, and finished second among offensive linemen in both the 20-yard shuttle (4.47 seconds) and three-cone drill (7.33).
Marpet, who measured in at 6’4” and 307 pounds with 33 3/8” arms, projects as a guard to the NFL. He appears set to be drafted no later than the fourth round.
Jake Fisher stands out among big-school offensive linemen
Just as impressive athletically as Marpet on Friday was Oregon offensive tackle Jake Fisher. Already known to be one of the most athletic offensive linemen in the draft class, Fisher proved it Friday by running a 5.01-second 40-yard dash (1.75 10-yard split), the second-fastest time among all linemen, while he had the fastest times in both the 20-yard shuttle (4.33) and three-cone drill (7.25 seconds). He also tied for second among offensive linemen with a 32.5-inch vertical jump.
Fisher, who measured in at 6’6 1/8” and 306 pounds with 33 3/4” arms and 10 3/8” hands, strengthened his case to potentially be a first-round pick on Friday.
Other standouts among the offensive line group Friday included LSU’s La’el Collins, who ran a 5.12-second 40-yard dash with a 1.81 10-yard split, and Pittsburgh’s T.J. Clemmings, who ran a 5.14 40 with a 1.80 10-yard split. Both offensive tackles, who are also in the mix to be top-32 selections, looked fluid throughout the on-field drills as they showed forward explosion and lateral mobility.
Duke’s Laken Tomlinson was not one of the more explosive athletes in Friday’s drills, but he looked very clean and technically sound. Two under-the-radar linemen who performed well in both the measurable concepts and on-field positional drills were Missouri’s Mitch Morse and San Diego State’s Terry Poole.
Iowa offensive tackle Brandon Scherff, arguably the best offensive line prospect in this year’s draft, got his day off to a good start when he ran a 5.05-second 40-yard dash. Unfortunately for Scherff, he suffered a hamstring injury during the first on-field positional drills and was unable to continue participating in the rest of the day’s events.
While all of the aforementioned players made good on their opportunity to impress Friday, there were some others whose showings were disappointing.
Miami’s Ereck Flowers got the week off to a terrific start in weigh-ins and bench press, but he had a rough showing on the field Friday. His 5.31-second 40-yard dash will neither help nor hurt his draft stock, and he had a decent showing in many of the on-field drills, but he performed terribly in a kick-slide drill that exposed poor footwork. He also did not participate in any of the other on-field measurable drills.
Stanford’s Andrus Peat did not stack up as well athletically Friday as he was expected to. He ran a decent 40-yard dash time of 5.18 seconds, but looked stiff throughout the on-field drills and did not put up impressive numbers in other measurable drills, with the exception of a 31” vertical.
Colorado State’s Ty Sambrailo, Utah’s Jeremiah Poutasi, Oklahoma’s Daryl Williams and Wisconsin’s Rob Havenstein are among the touted offensive linemen who posted poor measurables and looked stiff in drills Friday.
The worst offensive line performance of all, however, might have been that of Florida State guard Josue Matias. A complete lack of explosiveness was exposed in him Friday as he not only failed to break 5.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash, but finished in dead last by wide margins with a 7’0” broad jump and 17.5” vertical jump. He also finished second-to-last in the 20-yard shuttle (5.12 seconds, ahead of only Daryl Williams).
Underwhelming speed but great hands for top tight ends
Minnesota’s Maxx Williams and Miami’s Clive Walford came into the combine competing to be the top tight end prospect in this year’s draft. Neither player helped his draft stock Friday, but it’s unlikely either hurt it significantly either, as they had disappointing but virtually identical 40-yard dash times.
Williams’ official 40-yard dash time was 4.78 seconds, while Walford’s was 4.79. Although both of those times were slower than expected, both players made up for it with their pass-catching performances in the on-field drills, especially Williams, who caught everything that came his way and looked clean and natural in the process.
Despite failing to meet speed expectations, Williams and Walford were still within the top four tight ends in 40 times Friday. The only two tight ends to break 4.7 seconds at this year’s combine—out of just 12 who actually ran—were Southern Illinois’ MyCole Pruitt and South Alabama’s Wes Saxton, two intriguing small-school players who should be given opportunities as Day 3 draft picks because of their upside as athletic receiving playmakers.
The most impressive tight ends in on-field drills Friday were Williams, Florida State’s Nick O’Leary and Iowa State’s E.J. Bibbs. O’Leary finished with a lousy 40-yard dash time of just 4.93 seconds, but impressed with his ability to catch the ball, especially in the gauntlet drill, in which he did not have a single drop while being the only tight end to go through the drill that was not wearing gloves. Bibbs did not partake in the 40-yard dash, but showed great hands as he consistently made catches, including on a number of inaccurate throws that forced him to make tough adjustments.
Oklahoma’s Blake Bell had a good day catching the ball as well, which was an important trait for the converted quarterback to display. Texas A&M’s Cameron Clear also looked good running routes and catching the ball, which he needed to do after catching just 10 passes in his collegiate career.
On the other end of the spectrum, players who struggled to catch the ball consistently were Delaware’s Nick Boyle, Massachusetts’ Jean Sifrin and UTEP’s Eric Tomlinson. All of them came into the combine as fringe draft picks and none of them tested well in other areas either, so it now looks unlikely that any of them will have their names called in this year’s draft.
Big weigh-in for Beasley, small weigh-in for Gregory
There are five edge defender prospects in this year’s draft class—Florida’s Dante Fowler, Clemson’s Vic Beasley, Nebraska’s Randy Gregory, Missouri’s Shane Ray and Kentucky’s Alvin Dupree—who are vying to potentially be top-15 draft picks. One of the big questions coming into the combine for each and every one of them was that of what their official measurables would be.
The player who was expected to be the smallest of that group is Beasley, but his weigh-in was a pleasant surprise Friday morning, as he measured in at 6’3” and 246 pounds. He has the least length of the group, with 32 1/2” arms, and he still projects better as a 3-4 outside linebacker than he does as a 4-3 defensive end, but his increase from his listed weight of 235 pounds is very much a benefit for his draft stock.
Gregory, on the other hand, had a weigh-in that was surprising for the wrong reasons. Despite being listed at 240 pounds and measuring in at 6’4 7/8” with 34” arms, Gregory came in at just 235 pounds. Making matters even more alarming, TFY Draft Insider’s Tony Pauline reported that Gregory went in to combine training at just 218 pounds.
Gregory has ideal length for an edge defender, and terrific explosiveness, but there is now reason to seriously question whether Gregory will be able to put on enough weight to continue playing on the edge, and whether putting on that weight would compromise his explosiveness. It is important for him to not only have a great workout Monday, but to also have continued to add bulk and then perform well again at his pro day, if Gregory is going to be an early first-round draft pick as many have projected.
Dupree, despite being the only one of the five to be grouped with the linebackers this week, came in with the best all-around measurables at 6’4”, 269 pounds and 32 5/8” arms. Fowler also has measurements that enable him to play in any scheme at 6’2 5/8”, 261 pounds and 33 3/4” arms. Ray has comparable measurements to Beasley at 6’2 5/8”, 245 pounds and 33 1/8” arms.
Some other notable weigh-ins from the defensive front seven:
- USC defensive lineman Leonard Williams: 6’5”, 302 pounds, 34 5/8” arms
- Oregon defensive lineman Arik Armstead: 6’7”, 292 pounds, 33” arms
- Texas defensive tackle Malcom Brown: 6’2”, 319 pounds, 32 1/2” arms
- Florida State defensive tackle Eddie Goldman: 6’4”, 336 pounds, 33 1/8” arms
- Oklahoma defensive tackle Jordan Phillips: 6’5”, 329 pounds, 34 3/4” arms
- Mississippi State linebacker Benardrick McKinney: 6’4”, 246 pounds, 33” arms
- Washington linebacker Shaq Thompson: 6’0”, 228 pounds, 33” arms
Miscellaneous notes
- There were a couple of unusual medical stories reported from the combine Friday.
Rutgers tight end Tyler Kroft was unable to participate in Friday’s drills because his ankle was injured during his medical evaluation, when doctors “pulled and twisted Kroft’s ankle to test the integrity of the joint, and they stretched it a bit to much,” according to Tony Pauline via WalterFootball.com.
Georgia running back Todd Gurley, meanwhile, “refused to let combine doctors examine his surgically repaired knee,” according to NFL Media’s Mike Silver. Silver followed up by reporting that Gurley will attend the NFL’s medical re-check next month, “at which point he plans to let teams examine the knee.” Nonetheless, Gurley’s refusal to allow them to examine his knee at this time is a bad sign for where Gurley might be at this stage in his recovery.
- Quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers had their turn on the bench press Friday. West Virginia’s Kevin White, Auburn’s Sammie Coates and Connecticut’s Geremy Davis led the way for wide receivers with 23 repetitions of 225 pounds each. At the time of this publication, quarterback and running back bench press had not yet been made available.