Another day closer to the big Combine day everyone is waiting for...Day-3 with the QBs-RBs-WRs. At least we got the TEs to look at yesterday (for more FF interest), but all the good ones at TE skipped doing anything...so, it ended up being a total letdown, and we’ll get to that in a bit.
Going in order of the position group workouts...
Cornerback Notes (the first group up):
-- 25 of 35 (well over 50%+) CB prospects actually did the 40-yard dash. The corners like to run/show their speed, so a high participation rate. A 70% +/- participation rate by prospects this day across the board...it was only just over 50% on day one.
-- Maxwell Hairston stole the show with a 4.28 40-time, so everyone on the broadcast saw that and flipped out...which is cool, but there were six other guys who ran in the 4.3s...poor Darien Porter ran a 4.30, and no one cares. The Combine is so silly on so many levels -- .02 seconds separated fawning coverage from being ignored.
And really, all the talk from the analysts seemed to be about Travis Hunter...aside from the Hairston 4.28. The camera was often on Hunter just sitting there or standing there. The speculation/topic/debate in the first part of this Combine day was about ‘what position’ and ‘can he play two positions’...it was a lot of focus on Hunter...and it should’ve been. Did you see his press conference at the media session? They packed the room double the size of media there over any other prospect to talk to/listen to Hunter.
If you just judged the media and fan attention/heat factor...Travis Hunter would be the projected #1 overall pick.
-- Who was my ‘winner/s’ of the CB group?
Looking at all the data, Hairston is in the running...but why wouldn’t we be more impressed with Darien Porter running nearly identical 40-times and splits but doing it 3.5” taller and 12 pounds thicker?
On that same vibe, Tulane’s Caleb Ransaw ran a 4.33 at 197 pounds.
Considering the sizes, I have to say Darien Porter was #1 ‘winner’, for me...and Caleb Ransaw #2. Ransaw is close...he led all CBs with a 40” vertical as well. Plenty of solid performances, but Porter-Ransaw stood out the most for me with Hairston in the top mix as well.
-- The most disappointing CB performance? Hmmm...no one really bombed this Combine at CB. Having to pick one, I guess USC’s Jaylin Smith? Ran a 4.45 but had the slowest 10-yard (1.6) and near-lowest vertical (32.5”) with nearly the shortest arms (29.78”) of any CB here.
-- Ross Jacobs’ quick notes: The two biggest winners at CB were Maxwell Hairston who was already a fringe 1st or early 2nd round prospect and might have just cemented himself in the first and Darien Porter who checked in a 6'3” and proceeded to run a 4.30 with a 1.49 10-yard split. That's Tariq Woolen territory.
The biggest loser at CB was probably Mello Dotson, a guy whose tape I liked, but a 4.59 40 is not going to cut it.
Measurable Leaders:
Tallest: Darien Porter and Zah Frazier (6’2.7”)
Biggest Hands: Jemari Harris and Caleb Ransaw (9.5”)
Longest arms: Darien Porter (33 1/8”)
Longest Wingspan: Zah Frazier (80 1/8”)
Fastest GPS Top Speed: Maxwell Hairston (24.25 mph)
40-yard dash: Maxwell Hairston (4.28)
10-yard split: Darien Porter (1.49)
Best Vertical: Caleb Ransaw (40.0”)
Best Broad Jump: Robert Longerbeam (11’2”)
Fastest Shuttle: Darien Porter (4.04)
Fastest Three-Cone: Darien Porter (6.71)
Bench Press Reps: Upton Stout (21)
Safety Group Notes (the second group up):
-- This one was the easiest ‘winner’ analysis of the Combine so far, both days...the ‘star is born’ was Nick Emmanwori. He crushed the Combine...6’3.1”/220 and ran a 4.38 40-time and had a safety-leading 1.49 10-yard split...and also rocked the vertical at 43.0”...and the broad jump as well (11’6”). A near perfect performance for Emmanwori.
Emmanwori was so good that everyone else was a footnote among the SAF group, but there were some really nice performances outside of Emmanwori...
K-State’s Marques Sigle actually ran the fastest 40 at 4.37 with a 1.50 10-yard and a 38” vertical at a 5’11.3”/199 size. I did not see that coming. But poor Sigle...it all got lost behind Emmanwori’s stellar day.
Several SAF prospects had very nice numbers...a very deep/good group this year.
-- So, with all the ‘goodness’ at Safety, the ‘disappointment’ of the day was Georgia’s Malaki Starks...the far & away (before today) #1 safety prospect in the draft for the consensus/mainstream.
Starks didn’t do anything wrong...it’s just everyone else was clocking faster and more athletic, and several of them bigger than Starks. Starks would have been better served skipping all this...because now he has comparison numbers that don’t compare well to many others who did things this day.
Shout out to the FFM Mock Draft experts -- Xavier Cromartie and Ross Jacobs...both of them had Emmanwori going middle of the 1st-round and Starks going late 1st-round from the jump. Our mock draft experts don’t play around...and their national mock draft report cards, year after year, back them up as true experts.
-- Ross Jacobs’ notes: I would say Nick Emmanwori was the big winner at safety, but it was apparent from the tape that he was a freaky athlete with range. So instead, I'm going to go with Marques Sigle of Kansas St, a guy not on my radar before today. He put up some terrific numbers to get his name in the conversation for top 100 possibly.
The big loser at safety was undoubtedly Sebastian Castro, another player with good tape. A 4.59 40 isn't a death sentence at safety but it's not great and the rest of his measurables didn't help ease concerns about his overall athleticism.
Measurable Leaders:
Tallest: Malik Vernon (6’3.5”)
Biggest Hands: Sebastian Castro (10.5”)
Longest arms: Kevin Winston (32.5”)
Longest Wingspan: Kevin Winston (80 7/8”)
Fastest GPS Top Speed: Nick Emmanwori and Marques Sigle (23.53 mph)
40-yard dash: Marques Sigle (4.37)
10-yard split: Nick Emmanwori (1.49)
Best Vertical: Nick Emmanwori (43.0”)
Best Broad Jump: Nick Emmanwori (11’6”)
Fastest Shuttle: Kitan Crawford (4.03)
Fastest Three-Cone: Hunter Wohler (6.72)
Bench Press Reps: Nick Emmanwori (20)
Tight End Notes (the final group):
-- Well, let’s start with the ‘losers’ here...us, the viewing public. All the interesting TE prospects skipped this...Arroyo, Lachey, Loveland, Taylor, Warren.
The only kinda intriguing name that did the drills was Harold Fannin, and he did alright but nothing earth shattering...a 4.71 40-time was middle of the pack, but he had a nice 6.97 three-cone. Overall, athletically...very middle of the road.
-- The ‘winner’, for me...Terrance Ferguson. The fastest 40-time, 10-yard split, and vertical...of the group that DID participate. Probably would’ve been not even in the top 5 of anything if the group that skipped would have all participated.
-- The biggest ‘disappointment’ for the TE group, for me...all of them...all the ones who actually did the drills here. The CB and SAF groups were very intriguing and deep...this TE group (the ones who worked) were an overall ‘meh’ -- all day three TEs, to me. All the day one and day two guys sat it out.
-- Ross Jacobs’ Notes: At TE I'm going with Joshua Simon of South Carolina, a guy who looked athletic to me on tape, but I wanted confirmation. He checked the boxes today with the 2nd best marks on every measurement. Terrence Ferguson also had a nice day with the fastest 40 and the top vertical jump.
There are two big losers at TE to me, Gunnar Helm, a popular mid-round pick for many in the media that RC and I weren't too keen on to begin with and Bryson Nesbit, a very raw prospect that looked very athletic on tape during our summer Devy series last year. He was barely draftable before today and now he's almost certainly going undrafted.
Measurable Leaders:
Tallest: Luke Lachey and Colston Loveland (6’5.6”)
Biggest Hands: Thomas Fidone (10 5/8”)
Longest arms: Thomas Fidone (34”)
Longest Wingspan: Thomas Fidone (82 5/8”)
Fastest GPS Top Speed: Terrance Ferguson (21.83 mph)
40-yard dash: Terrance Ferguson (4.63)
10-yard split: Mitchell Evans and Terrance Ferguson (1.55)
Best Vertical: Terrance Ferguson (39.0”)
Best Broad Jump: Thomas Fidone (10’6”)
Fastest Shuttle: Jalin Conyers (4.27)
Fastest Three-Cone: Jalin Conyers (6.94)
*Bench Press numbers are not in yet from the day two group.
