Last day of the combine. DB may not be the most pressing need but it's a factor. Considering the amount of injuries we had in the secondary, our top 3 safeties are free agents and Prince in the final year of his rookie deal it has to be looked at.
Safties isn't deep but I think you can get a few starters from it. However, I think
Shaq Thompson is the best safety in this class. That should say something.
Landon Collins is the consensus #1 but I disagree. If he's been anything like the other Crimson Tide players these past few days he won't put in a full workout anyway.
Ibraheim Campbell will get more buzz after today. I love the way he attacks.
Quinten Rollins would make a good safety if he doesn't time well enough for corner. Other big corners that I think will have to make the transition are Utah's
Eric Rowe and USC's
Josh Shaw. There are intriguing small school prospects in Samford's
Jaquiski Tartt, James Madison's
Dean Marlowe and Eastern Washington's
Tevin McDonald.
At corner I think
Trae Waynes will have a good day and is a better prospect than Dennard last year. TCU's
Kevin White, not to be confused with the WVU WR has done nothing but help himself since the end of the season.
Senquez Golson is another favorite and could be the best slot corner in the draft with Oregon State's
Steven Nelson right behind him. Alot of people are talking about LSU's
Jalen Collins as the next big corner but at the moment I like Miami's
Ladarius Gunter more. I hope he does a full workout and times well. Staying in Florida, the Seminoles have two corners looking to impress in
Ronald Darby and
PJ Williams. There are several other DB's that deserve mention and there's always a surprise or two from this group but here's to hoping for some separation today. The google spreadsheet is attached but if someone could do 40s that would be great. Coverage again starts at 9.
Google Docs - (
New Window )
DanMetroMan : 11:03 am : link : reply
broad jump would have set a new olympic record. WOW.
Standing Long Jump was dropped as an Olympic event around the start of World War I, so the Olympic record has some dust on it.
Wikipedia - Standing Long Jump - ( New Window )
Give me a guy that plays with good technique/instincts/awareness/aggression over speed all day
ESPN's Todd McShay on conference call just said Landon Collins is the only safety he has going in the first 2 rounds.
All positions can get by with technique over speed, right?
Sherman ran a 4.54. Haden a 4.6. Revis a 4.38, but that was a long time ago. Nnamdi ran a 4.45.
So that's about a 4.5 average for four of the best corners in recent years.
Speed is needed, yes. But I don't think these guys need to run a sub 4.55 all the time.
Richard Sherman
Joe Haden
Brandon Flowers
Brandon Browner
It's clear that straight-ahead speed is far from the most important asset for a corner. (If it were the be-all-end-all, sprinters would fill NFL rosters.) Mostly, I think it's a way to separate DBs who grade similarly on tape, and maybe to identify guys with untapped potential.
While there are a few CBs that can still be very good at 4.6, I'd say it's more the exception than the rule.
And if my guy timed 4.55+, I'd need to see some great tape and a great 3-cone to consider him in the top 2. 3 cone is also a big number here as it reflects C.O.D.
Byron Jones had some day. If the NFL doesn't work out, he can join the circus.
It's clear that straight-ahead speed is far from the most important asset for a corner. (If it were the be-all-end-all, sprinters would fill NFL rosters.) Mostly, I think it's a way to separate DBs who grade similarly on tape, and maybe to identify guys with untapped potential.
Pro day times are notoriously inflated (or deflated) and Patrick Peterson is incredibly overrated IMO. I think Haden is much better than him.