My Thoughts....guys that made themselves some money over the weekend

[dryheat44]

RBs....With all respect to McFadden and Mendenhall, who did nothing to jeopardize their status, I think Jonathan Stewart did even better than expected in showing his agility. He's proven that he's a back that doesn't have to come off the field on third downs. Matt Forte may have moved himself into the first day, running about .15 lower than expected while putting up one of the better vertical leaps among his group. Kevin Smith also ran much better than anticipated, which was one of the main knocks against him.

WRs....I think Andre Caldwell was the big winner. His 40 was only a couple of hundreths behind the leader, and he put up the best short shuttle and 3-cone numbers of those who ran them. Eddie Royal also impressed me. I had him as a 5-6 guy, but he put up great numbers in all drills and showed some nice adjustment in the receiving drills. He could be a third-round guy now. Devin Thomas moved himself into the top cluster of WRs with a good showing.

TEs...Brad Cottam's been one of my guys, with his size and athleticism. But he was able to break 4.7 and showed nice explosion, putting up a 33 inch vertical at 270. Dustin Keller helped himself in the Scouts' eyes by doing every single one of the drills. He helped himself more by outperforming most WRs and RBs in doing so. He looks to be as athletic as Ben Watson, with perhaps a little less straight-line speed. I think both of these guys (and a few others) should go ahead of Fred Davis.

OL....Carl Nicks was the big winner. Typically the Patriots aren't interested in linemen that big, but teams are drooling over a 341-lb man with the speed and agility of Nicks. Jeremy Zuttah looked to be bigger and more muscular, and he ran about a quarter-second faster than expected. 35 reps on the bench didn't hurt him. Mike Pollack cemented his reputation as the most athletic center in the draft, continuing his ascension that started at the all-star games.

DL....Trevor Laws has also been on the upswing since the season ended. He opened some eyes with impressive performances in the 40, bench, and vertical, and just gave the impression of all-out hustle. He looked like he understood how important this was to him. Vernon Gholston looked like a man among boys at times. I won't re-hash the numbers, but he definitely should be in the top 8 picks taken. Quentin Groves looks to have leapt past Derrick Harvey to be the consensus third outside rusher taken after Long and Gholston. He's probably in the top half of the round.

 

[patsfanofNC12]

I think you could add Chris Johnson for RB, a 4.24 really helps a guys stock.

 

[ayjackson]

I think James Hardy, WR, helped himself too. He showed straight-line speed with his 4.47 and did well in the agility drills for someone his size (6'5.5").

 

[Seneschal2]

RBs....With all respect to McFadden and Mendenhall, who did nothing to jeopardize their status, I think Jonathan Stewart did even better than expected in showing his agility. He's proven that he's a back that doesn't have to come off the field on third downs.

For those who need a feature back, IMO he's the best. And that's just his RB skills. He's now proving his athleticism with impressive numbers.

WRs....I think Andre Caldwell was the big winner. His 40 was only a couple of hundreths behind the leader, and he put up the best short shuttle and 3-cone numbers of those who ran them. Eddie Royal also impressed me. I had him as a 5-6 guy, but he put up great numbers in all drills and showed some nice adjustment in the receiving drills. He could be a third-round guy now.

Like both of them. One thing that's irking me is the discrepancy of 'official' Combine results. If NFL.com is considered the source for accuracy, than Caldwell didn't finish first in any event (as you've stated). They have him placing 2nd and third in the short shuttle and 3-cone drill -- still not too shabby (especially for his size). If the Pats did draft him, he'd be the 4th Urban Myers connection picked (3 of them WRs).

TEs...Brad Cottam's been one of my guys, with his size and athleticism. But he was able to break 4.7 and showed nice explosion, putting up a 33 inch vertical at 270. Dustin Kellar helped himself in the Scouts' eyes by doing every single one of the drills. He helped himself more by outperforming most WRs and RBs in doing so. He looks to be as athletic as Ben Watson, with perhaps a little less straight-line speed. I think both of these guys (and a few others) should go ahead of Fred Davis.

Absolutely.

DL....Trevor Laws has also been on the upswing since the season ended. He opened some eyes with impressive performances in the 40, bench, and vertical, and just gave the impression of all-out hustle. He looked like he understood how important this was to him.

Saw a lot of ND games and thought he'd be a potential Pats prospect. But then, he follows up with a terrific Senior Bowl week of practices, and now the Combine. He certainly has the intangibles too that I think will make him a steal for someone. He's now firmly entrenched as a prospect to consider. Some will say he's too short, yet he's slightly taller than the DT who may go #1 (or #2) - Ellis.

Vernon Gholston looked like a man among boys at times. I won't re-hash the numbers, but he definitely should be in the top 8 picks taken. Quentin Groves looks to have leapt past Derrick Harvey to be the consensus third outside rusher taken after Long and Gholston. He's probably in the top half of the round.

No argument here.

 

[dryheat44]

I think you could add Chris Johnson for RB, a 4.24 really helps a guys stock.

Not really. He was expected to run in the 4.25 range. I think his stock's as high as a 3rd down specialist/kick returners stock can go.

 

[midwestpatsfan]

here is my quick list off the top of my head, I have more notes and was going to start a thread similar to this one later. These are guys that I feel specifically fit the pats.

1. OL-Mike Pollack, ASU-Comes from a similar scheme the pats run, very strong, looked athletic, and played all 3 positions in college

2. DL-Athyba Rubin, ISU-Perfect fit for a 3-4 nose tackle. Big body, strong (36 reps) low center of gravity, wide load with athleticism.

3. CB-DRC-Tall, fast, good feet, good hands, maybe not a guy at 7 but is solid.
Antoine Cason-skills were known, but after his 4.49 40 he shows he has speed as well.

4. DE/OLB-Cliff Avril-looked really smooth in his backpedal and had good hands, looks like a good option in the late 2nd or early 3rd to be that 3-4 olb

5. LB-Shawn Crable- I have always liked his size, but his speed caught my attention yesterday.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

That is a really good point about Pollack.

I think the WR from K State - Nelson ran a lot better than I thought he would. And his hands are like vacumm cleaners, he sucks up everything thrown to him.

Without a decent TE to run the deep seam and with the WR's we had last year, I felt the big hole in our offense was someone to run over the middle pas thte 10 yard mark. In this combine I have found a guy that could be that guy for us, Johnson of Kentucky.

 

[sebman2112]

Brad Cottam has had FIVE surgeries, and he strained his hammy during the combine. I'm not sure this kid will ever be able to stay healthy.

Jonathan Stewart did improve his stock, but those who've watched him at Oregon should have known he had some wheels for a big man.

Now, getting to some other guys who likely improved their stock:

Jonathan Goff (6'2" 245lbs): A lot of people had him as a 4.7-4.75 forty guy, and might only be a 2 down run stuffer. They also had him listed at 236-238lbs. Well, he posted a 4.63 (actually one of the best times among the ILB's), put up 30 reps (showing his power), had a nice broad jump, a 6.86 3 cone, and looked good during drills. On one of the coverage/agility drills he made a diving catch and maintained possession of the ball after hitting the ground. Some scouts have been saying he's getting "undervalued" and I believe the athletic ability he displayed combined with his size, and production in college (the guy had great numbers) should move him into the middle of the second round. That's about where I believed he should go (said he was getting projected to low by some fans and draft sites).

Gary Guyton 6'1.5" 245lbs LB. posted a 4.47 forty, 36.5 vert, 10'0.6" broad jump, and looked good during some of the drills. I could see a team taking a chance on him a little higher than he would have normally been drafted.

Guys who might have hurt their stock a little:

Tavaras Gooden: He looked athletic/fluid in some of the drills, but he fell down a few different times when he was trying to cut, and he made a few different mistakes. It could have just been a bad shoe/cleat selection and the situation, though. His forty time (4.65) was pretty good, but he came in at 6'1" and 234lbs, and was expected to run faster. His vertical leap was behind some of the other ILB's, as well. So, he could have hurt his chances of going in the top half of the second round.

Ali Highsmith at 5'11" 230lbs ran a 4.96 forty.

Jo-Lonn Dunbar. Wighed in at 231lbs (slight weight gain), but posted a slow 4.85 forty, and only managed 19 reps of 225.

 

[sebman2112]

here is my quick list off the top of my head, I have more notes and was going to start a thread similar to this one later. These are guys that I feel specifically fit the pats.

1. OL-Mike Pollack, ASU-Comes from a similar scheme the pats run, very strong, looked athletic, and played all 3 positions in college

2. DL-Athyba Rubin, ISU-Perfect fit for a 3-4 nose tackle. Big body, strong (36 reps) low center of gravity, wide load with athleticism.

3. CB-DRC-Tall, fast, good feet, good hands, maybe not a guy at 7 but is solid.
Antoine Cason-skills were known, but after his 4.49 40 he shows he has speed as well.

4. DE/OLB-Cliff Avril-looked really smooth in his backpedal and had good hands, looks like a good option in the late 2nd or early 3rd to be that 3-4 olb

5. LB-Shawn Crable- I have always liked his size, but his speed caught my attention yesterday.

Crable looked stiff in some of the drills though, and his legs are THIN. I still think he's an option, but I don't really think he improved his stock.