By Kris Jones Before the glitz and glamour of the NFL Draft, there is another important event in which NFL coaches and their scouts go to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis to attend the NFL Combine. The Combine is a 4 day event where some of the best prospects in the nation have a special invitation to workout under the watchful eyes of every coach and scout in the league. The workouts include the 40 Yard Dash, the most infamous of the workouts, positional drills, bench presses, vertical and broad jump, the 3 cone drill and the shuttle run. But, enough of the summary, let’s break the combine down by the days. Day 1: Running Backs, Offensive Lineman and Special Teams.
Day 1 wasn’t a thrill ride with potential superstars, but, we did get to see Laremy Tunsil from Ole Miss sky rocket his draft stock to the first round. Although he has a history of getting either injured or suspended, Laremy is projected to go to the Titans in the first round. The running backs not surprisingly ran a lot faster than the guys kicking the ball or those who are ordered to protect and open lanes for them. Keith Marshall of Georgia has the fastest time for running backs and all of the prospects in the 40 yard dash with 4.31 seconds clocked in, not surprising seeing as he was Class AAAA 100 meter dash champion in North Carolina. Speaking of backs, we got to see Glenn Gronkowski, the little brother of Patriots tight end and party animal Rob Gronkowski. He was less than impressive at the combine, only getting 17 reps on the bench and ran a 4.71. A AFC area scout said “He’s just a fullback to us, he’s not ‘Gronk”’ via Glenn’s analysis on nfl.com. Other than those 3, nothing real invigorating. Day 2: Quarterbacks, Wide Receivers and Tight Ends Day 2 of the combine, also known as the only part everyone watches (I personally watched most of the entire combine) had marquee names like Paxton Lynch, Carson Wentz and Will Fuller in the spotlight. “But, wait!” you cry out, “Who is this Carson Wentz character? Why is he at the Combine, I’ve never heard of him!” Well, here’s a quick summary. Carson Wentz is from the FCS powerhouse known as North Dakota State University which is known for winning 5 straight FCS titles. Carson Wentz lead the Bison to their 6th title and broke many school records in the process. He decided to enter the NFL Draft after this stellar season. Some scouts are comparing him to Indy quarterback Andrew Luck and Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles. Oh, and Connor Cook and Christian Hackenberg were there. Nothing too special between those two. But, due to Christian’s abysmal senior season and somewhat decent combine session, he is projected to go late in the first round or early in the second round. For the wide receivers, Notre Dame wide receiver Will Fuller and Oklahoma wide receiver Sterling Shepard headlined day 2 for the wideouts. Day 3: Defensive Linemen and Linebackers Day 3 saw the workout of infamous Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa and, as always, he wowed the coaches and scouts attending. Following in his father John’s footsteps, Joey looks to be the next premier defensive end in the NFL. Sure, he is not going to be like J.J. Watt in his first season, but, he sure does have the potential to. Defensive lineman Chris Jones (Hmm, why does that name sound familiar?) from Mississippi State didn’t necessarily wow at the Combine, but, he solidified his position of going early in the first or late 1st early second. Linebackers such as UCLA’s Myles Jack and Arizona’s Philip “Scooby” Wright III marqueed the linebacker section, but, nothing we already did not know about those two. Day 4: Defensive Backs The last day had the corners and safeties in the fray. Ohio State’s Eli Apple, Florida’s Vernon Hargreaves and Florida State’s Jalen Ramsey end the 2016 Combine as marquee names for this year. Vernon has always been surrounded by the game, seeing as his father, Vernon II, was on UConn’s 100th Anniversary team and has coached linebackers and special teams for multiple teams like the University of South Florida and University of Houston. Vernon is projected to go in the first round to the Buccaneers. Eli Apple (Originally Eli Woodard, but, he changed his surname to honor his stepfather) is entering the draft as a sophomore. Eli’s youth might resonate in the war room with some teams looking for young DBs to train to be a potential defensive leader of the team. Eli can and will produce for whoever he is drafted to. Eli is projected to meet Amari Cooper and the Raiders in the first round. Jalen Ramsey actually set a record during his freshman year at FSU, being the first freshman corner to start in the opener since Deion Sanders took the field for the ‘Noles. Jalen is also the holder of the inside and outside long jump championship for the ACC. He might play corner or safety whilst in the NFL, but, this kid sure will help his team. Jalen is projected to meet Blake Bortles and the Jaguars in the first round.
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