NFL Combine Day 2: Official 40 Times Controversy
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Posted Under: 2022 NFL Draft
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Combine Day 2
Biggest Surprise
I was shocked at how well all the backs caught the ball. Usually, you have one or two that can catch. We knew that James Cook and Kyren Williams were going to catch well. When the running backs went through the catching drills nearly all the backs performed well.
Tyler Goodson RB Iowa – Goodson ran an Official 4.42 40 yard dash. His run was full 10th of a second faster than expected. Goodson also looked great in the pass-catching drills. He really helped himself and has the scouts scrambling to re-review the game tape.
Winners
Pierre Strong RB South Dakota St – get to know this name! Strong ran an impressive 4.37. He is rocked up 5’11”, 209 lbs, 4.37(O) that put up great numbers against FCS competition (1600 yards and 18 TDs in 2021). Great vision and can catch out of the backfield.
Kenneth Walker RB Michigan St and Breece Hall RB Iowa St. – Both were the top dogs at RB and they did nothing bad at the combine, solidifying their places. Running back is just not a priority anymore in the league and neither will be a 1st round selection.
Abraham Lucas OT Washington St – at 6’ 6” 315 lbs, 4.92 40. Lucas dropped 7 lbs for the combine and posted a 7.25 3-cone drill which measure lateral quickness. That tied Trevor Penning for the top time. The 7.25 time is very good for an O-lineman.
Cam Jurgens OC Nebraska – I knew little about Jurgens before the Combine but his 4.92 40 times made me find out more. Jurgens performed very well in the field drills and his aggressive style showed even in the drills.
Tyler Smith OT Tulsa – He clocked an impressive 1.71 10-yard split (the 1st 10 yards of the 40-yard dash) and proved to be as athletic in drills as he is on tape. Reports stated that Smith had great athleticism in wave drill, fluid feet, smooth hips out of his stance in the pull drill.
Trevor Penning OT Northern Iowa – Penning with a nasty streak that was evident at the Senior Bowl practices as he finished off every play at or after the whistle. Penning blew away the Combine thanks to his incredible testing, including a 4.89 40-yard dash, and 7.25 3-cone drill. His fieldwork was just as impressive as his fluid footwork was on display.
Losers
Kyren Williams RB Notre Dame – Williams ran a very disappointing 4.72 40 yard dash as recorded by NFL Network. Later the official number comes back as 4.65. Not as bad as 4.72, but still much higher than the 4.48 estimated time projected. This may benefit the Patriots. Williams was on their radar because of his very good pass blocking ability to go along with excellent hands for a pass-catching option to replace James White. The slow 40 times will drop Williams in the rankings. Williams’s tape shows a player that plays much faster than his 40 time reflects. Not good for an RB under 6’, will drop him from the top 5.
Kenyon Green OG Texas A&M – He struggled in the field drills and looked slow to react. Green was ranked as the #2 OG but should fall based upon this poor performance.
Dohnovan West OC Arizona St. – he weighed in at 293 lbs which is light and then produced a 5.27 40 time. If you’re a 330 lb OL, then that time is ok, not a player under 300 lbs. West was very stiff in the on-field drills.
Isaiah Spiller RB Texas A&M – Spiller chose not to run at the Combine for an unspecified reason and only did the Vertical and Broad Jump. This may have dumped him out of the top 5. He was also top 3 as a pass-catching option.
Dare Rosenthal OT Kentucky and Kellen Diesch OT Arizona St – Neither is fooling anyone at the combine. They ran outrageously fast times for OL (4.88 and 4.89 respectively). However, they dropped weight (Rosenthal 30 lbs) to run faster and perform better in drills.
Obinna Eze OT TCU – Eze was a player I thought the Patriots might be interested in late. His abysmal performance at the combine ended that thought. Eze ran a good 5.17 40, but a very bad 8.20 3-cone and looked bad in the field drills.
Max Mitchell OT Louisiana – Ran a 5.32 40 which isn’t bad for a 330 lbs O-lineman, but Mitchell is just 309 lbs. He lumbered through the field drills. I had pegged him as a possible late-round Tackle for the Pats, scratch that idea.
Combine Notes
The players are obviously preparing very well for the combine. More and more players are not playing in their Bowl games and concentrating on preparing for the Combine. Many are dropping out of school and working out with trainers to get them ready for the 40-yard dash and all other drills they will be asked to perform. This is evident by the extremely good times being posted.
Six running backs ran under 4.4. It is definitely a fast track. This is the fastest RB group in the history of the combine.
Pierre Strong 4.37
Isiah Pacheco 4.37
Ty Chandler 4.38
Kenny Walker 4.38
D’Vonte Price 4.38
Breece Hall 4.39
Twelve O- lineman ran under 5.0.
Dare Rosenthal 4.88
Kellen Diesch 4.89
Chris Paul 4.89
Trevor Penning 4.89
Cam Jorgens 4.92
Abraham Lucas 4.92
Ickey Ekwanu 4.93
Dylan Parham 4.93
Zach Tom 4.94
Charles Cross 4.95
Zach Thomas 4.97
Braxton Jones 4.97
Dare Rosenthal, a lineman I had highlighted earlier this week as needing a good showing at the Combine showed up weighing 290 lbs, down from 327 lbs. Consequently, Rosenthal ran 4.99 and 4.93 unofficial 40-yard times. His official time ended up even better at 4.88. I don’t believe Rosenthal can play at 290 lbs, but those times are incredible for a 6’ 7” O-lineman.
Kellen Diesch weighed in at 301 lbs and that is extremely light for a Left Tackle. Curiously neither Rosenthal nor Diesch performed any weightlifting and deferred that to their Pro-Day. I am sure that is related to the massive drop in weight. Diesch looked very good in the on-field drills as he was very quick laterally.
There is a controversy growing about the disparity between the Official 40-yard times and those produced by NFL Network immediately following the 40-yard dash. James Cook RB Georgia ran a 4.52 40 on the NFL Network broadcast. For comparison, they showed Cooks’ brother, Minnesota star RB Dalvin Cooks 40-yard run during his combine. Dalvin ran a 4.49 40 and in the head-to-head overlay of the sprints, Dalvin beats James by a head. Later, the Official 40 time for James comes out at 4.42. The overlay of the sprints does not support that 4.42 number. I don’t trust any of the Official numbers because they are so far off from what NFL Network is showing electronically. This disparity could be costing these players a lot of money if they are picked much later in the draft because of faulty numbers.
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