2009 NFL Combine: Tuesday's Recap

The 2009 Combine concluded on Tuesday with a little disappointment. The numbers seem to be significantly slower than last year and I’m not sure a slow draft class is enough to explain the discrepancy. This new field seems to be running a little slower or maybe the timing methods are a little different. If the fastest 40 time of a cornerback holds up (4.46), we would have seen 20 faster or equally fast times in last year’s Combine. Typically, I’d just throw out this batch of 40 times, but the corner position is the only one where this number has a large significance. To find out if these numbers were incorrectly measured, we should compare them to the Pro Days, compare last year’s Pro Day numbers to the Combine and we should have a good idea how much slower this track played. The upshot of it is that we don’t know how the new field changed results, or even if it did, but for now, we shouldn’t rely too heavily on these 40 yard numbers to compare them with classes of years past until more research is done. What we can do is use these numbers in comparing 2009 prospects with each other… and that’s only the surface of today’s events.

Before we get into the action from today, more news on Michael Crabtree surfaced about that stress fracture in his foot on Tuesday. Contrary to his statements several days ago, the consensus number one wide receiver has loosened his stance and put immediate surgery back on the table. In an interview with the NFL Network, he stated that he was 50/50 on whether to have the surgery now or hold off until after his Pro Day. Personally, I’d love to see him suppress doubters with a personal Pro Day very early in March then get the surgery shortly thereafter. If he’s not absolutely ready, then it’s best just to have it done right away because his resume speaks for itself. The Texas Tech Pro Day is scheduled for March 26 and Crabtree is still projected to go within the first ten picks in the draft.

Cornerbacks:

Of all corners, I feel like Darius Butler had the best day today. He’s been ranked in my top 5 cornerbacks for quite some time now, but I love how he rebounded at the Combine from the Senior Bowl. He tried to play a little injured in Mobile, but wisely backed out after testing his injury in the first day of practice. The general consensus is that Malcolm and Vontae are the top two corners, but beyond that there’s a dogfight. Butler showed today he has the tools to compete in that fight. He tested remarkably in the vertical (43”) and broad jump (11’2”), which allows him to compete for jump balls at the next level. I liked how smooth he looked in drills and how well he transitioned from the backpedal to a sprint. His change of direction skills are among the best in the draft.

Illinois’ Vontae Davis also helped himself this week, something that no one was surprised by. I had expected him to run better than his brother Vernon Davis’ 4.38 40, but he was nearly a full tenth slower (It’s the surface I tell ya!). He’s incredibly cut and proved he has the upper body strength (25 reps) to manhandle receivers in the NFL. I doubt he can overtake Malcolm Jenkins, but expect his gradual fall in stock to come to a halt and even pick back up into the first half of the first round.

On the other hand, we had Malcolm Jenkins who finished the season as nearly everyone’s number one cornerback. NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock has led a growing parade that questions Jenkins’ ability to be an elite cornerback in the NFL because of long speed and hip tightness. Today wasn’t his best day, but I still firmly believe Jenkins could be a very solid corner in the NFL. If his unofficial 4.53 40 yard dash holds up, it would be right in the range I had expected out of Jenkins. I was even surprised as to how well he performed in the Cone and Shuttle drills, two tests also crucial for a cornerback. Times of 6.59 and 4.07 were best and fifth best respectively among cornerbacks. He’s a player with the physicality and instincts that would flourish in a zone-based scheme, but can still function well out in man coverage. At worst, I do agree with Mayock and others in that he can be an excellent conversion to safety…a move Antrel Rolle made for the Cardinals this season.

Two workout warriors did show up for today, but not in the form of the big names you may have expected. After a season that began with a two game suspension for a violation of team rules and ended at nickel back, Donald Washington surprised the draft world by declaring. He did so once again when he recorded at 45” vertical jump, one of the best numbers of the past decade at the Combine and two inches better than second place this year (Darius Butler). In comparison, LeBron James is rumored to have between a 38 and 44 inch vertical. You may need more than just jumping ability and athletic prowess to play cornerback, what I consider to be one of the most difficult positions in football, but Washington has a good base to begin with. He’ll get some looks beginning the 4th or 5th round where he’ll have the opportunity to put his incredible skill set to work. The second workout warrior I referred to was Lardarius Webb from Nicholls State. He recorded the fastest time with an official 4.46 and finished among the top in the Shuttle and Cone drills as well. He is a little small, but he should also be drafted in the 4th-5th round should his game tape check out.

Domonique Johnson failed to impress me yet again at the Combine. It’s not that he doesn’t have the height/weight/speed combination to play in the NFL, but it’s everything else. He didn’t look like a natural cornerback in drills. There was little fluidity, his transition was sloppy, and he was taking too many extra steps. I’d be surprised to see him go before the 4th round.

Safeties:

While some of the top corners to post their expected times in the 40 yard dash, the safeties didn’t seem to have a problem with it. Both Patrick Chung and Louis Delmas ran in the 4.5 range as expected. Chung looked fantastic in drills again and to me looks like the best safety in the class. At Oregon he looked a little shaky in coverage, but he’s really proved to me that he has the potential and fluidity to be taught that.

Two of the most impressive Combine beasts at safety were David Bruton and Sherrod Martin. Both prospects did nearly everything right, impressing at every obstacle. Bruton was one of the most noticeable among the defensive backs in terms of numbers. With a 4.46 40 yard dash, a 41.5” vertical, 11’0” broad jump, 10.96 long shuttle, and a 6.60 cone, he placed among the top prospects in each of those drills. He has a great size and is a tremendous athlete whose stock is really on the rise. Martin clocked in some very fast times in drills, but to me looked even better in the workouts. There’s still some uncertainty as to where his true position lies in the NFL, but he looked like one of the best defensive backs on the field today.

On the other hand, the 40 yard dash proved that a pair of standout college safeties should be making the move to linebacker, a successful transition made by Thomas Davis a couple years ago. Nic Harris, one of the two, played with the linebackers in the Senior Bowl, but worked out with the defensive backs at the Combine. His unofficial 4.78 40 time all but cemented the move. He looked very good at the Senior Bowl, so he could easily make that transition. The other was USC’s “other” safety, Kevin Ellison. Whenever I tuned into USC games, it was always Ellison that was making the big plays. At 6’1, 227, he had a lot of in-the-box responsibilities and almost played like a linebacker because of Taylor Mays’ range in the Cover 1. Ellison benched 225 pounds, 32 times and ran an unofficial 4.82 40 yard dash which eliminates any possibility of playing safety. He didn’t look nearly as fluid as some of the top defensive backs, but played well enough that today shouldn’t be a huge stock hit.

With that, the Combine has now officially passed by and the draft is that much closer. The only thing that remains between now and the draft are two vigorous months for NFL personnel traveling the country from Pro Day to Pro Day. Join us tomorrow as Football’s Future wraps up the week in Indianapolis with a list of prospects that have earned and cost themselves money. After all, that’s all this Combine is about…money.

Results: DE | DT | ILB | OLB | CB | S