NFL Combine Day 3 Surprises: Winners, Losers and Notes

Combine Day 3

Biggest Surprise

Jordan Davis DT Georgia – Everyone knows Jordan Davis. How can you not notice him, he is 6’6” 351 lbs. NFL Network opens the coverage by showing the glamour event, the 40-yard dash. Davis is the 4^th player to run the 40 and he blows the roof off Lucas oil stadium. The Big Man ran a 4.82 timed by NFL Network. Twitter blew up over that performance. The official time came back even faster at 4.78. Most analysts questioned whether Davis could be an every-down player. He answered that question.

Winners

Jordan Davis- Davis stands 6’6” and weighed 341 lbs down from 351 during the season. His 40 time was second to teammate Devonte Wyatt at 4.78. He was 1^st in the Broad Jump (explosiveness) at 10’ 3” and 2^nd in Vertical Jump at 32”. enough said

Devonte Wyatt DL Georgia – How did anyone score on Georgia? Wyatt stands 6’3” 304 and ran 4.77 (1). Some scouts feel Wyatt will be a better pro than Davis.

Travis Jones DT UConn – He is a player that I think will be on the Patriots’ radar. Jones is pure Nose Tackle and had a great week at the Senior Bowl. He walked opposing Centers right back into the feet of the QBs, collapsing the pocket. At 6’4” 325 lbs and has 34” arms, he ran a 4.92 40. He also did a great 7.33 3-cone drill which was tied for #1.

Thomas Booker DT Stanford – This is a name that came out of nowhere for me. His 4.92 40 and 7.33 3- Cone (tied with Jones) made me take notice. He is 6’3” 301 lbs and would be an interior lineman. Booker’s Broad Jump was 9’2” (4^th) and his Sort Shuttle (20 yards) was 4.41, 1^st among DTs. He is one of those players the scouts will go back and re-look at the game tapes.

Travon Walker DL Georgia 6’5” 272 and posted a 4.51-second 40-yard dash, a 35 1/2-inch vertical, a 10-foot-3 broad jump, and an elite 6.89-second three-cone drill. We knew he would test well and Walker didn’t disappoint

Troy Andersen LB Montana St – 6’3” 243 lbs ran a 4.42 40, 36” Vert and 10’ 8” Broad Jump. He looked good in the field drills, especially those that mimic covering backs and TEs. He only has 2 years playing LB. In his 1^st two years at Montana St, he was a QB and in one year ran for 1400 yards and 21 TDs and 1st team All-Conference. SB Nations Keegan Steifel said that Andersen was the Patriots’ gain because he has that positional versatility Bill Belichick covets.

Leo Chenal LB Wisconsin – Chenal checked in at 6’3” 250 lbs and was able to run a running back like 4.53. He made himself some money on Saturday. Both Andersen and Chenal were players I highlighted that needed a big combine. Both delivered in a big way.

Losers

Devin Lloyd LB Utah – Ran a 4.77 unofficial 40 reduced to 4.66 official. That’s not bad but not what was expected. Lloyd is a little smaller than Patriots Kyle Dugger! Lloyd’s fieldwork was shoddy as well. He has great production at Utah and game tapes. he will not drop past the 2nd round.

Myjai Sanders Edge Cincinnati – Dropped 30 lbs for the Combine. At 228 lbs he is no longer an Edge player but an outside linebacker with no experience playing that position. He did run a 4.67 40. At that weight, he couldn’t possibly hold the edge.

Jo Jo Dormann LB Nebraska – He is not a linebacker but a big safety. He looked lost doing the field drills.

Notes

A follow-up to the issue brought up about the 40 timing. The combine used a new starter on the laser clock this year, which was the reason given for the wider discrepancies between the official and unofficial times. It is yet to be seen if this issue will be fixed for the remaining three days of testing.

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About Mark Morse

Merrimack Valley native and lifelong fan of the New England Patriots. My earliest memories of the Patriots were attending as a child with my dad, the off-season practice at Phillips Academy. I was at the Patriots game at Harvard Stadium in 1970 where Bob “Harpo” Gladieux was called out of the stands by the stadium announcer over the PA to play in the game. Analyzing the draft since ESPN first started to televise it in 1980 and former writer for the Lowell Sun Newspaper.

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