Quick Highlights Of Combine Results...

[tynimiller]

I'll try to share my positional group thoughts and notes more specifically...but this is more of a massive highlight summary of thoughts. As many know measurables (for the most part) are unteachable (refine-able as a coach told me once though) - so really the combine is a chance for guys to confirm or showcase that their raw athletic gifts are undeniable, and the chance to interview in many ways at times can be their icing on the cake of cementing themselves on boards across the league either higher, lower or even on finally.

- Aidan Hutchinson, hate wasting time on guys that I don't see falling to us at all, but folks Aidan Hutchinson is a FREAK. This dude's short shuttle and cone drill was right there with the best slot receivers that were in Indy for the combine. Yes, you read that right. Calvin Austin III WR out of Memphis is a 4.32 type speedy slot guy that is big play threat due to his speed, his shuttle was 4.07....Aidan's was 4.15. Garrett Wilson, one of the highest ranked WR put up a 4.36 shuttle. Of those guys that did the cone drill at the combine...Aidan's 6.73 was good enough for the 5th best of the entire group! Only CB Zyon McCollum (6.48), S Dax Hill (6.57), S Tycen Anderson (6.64), WR Calvin Austin III (6.65), WR Kevin Austin (6.71) beat his score...essentially folks offensive lineman that will be blocking him are taking on a guy that 6'7' 260lbs that moves like a 190lb slot receiver or DB....good luck.

- 40 yard times notes....so as some predicted this year was LOADED with speed. A trait that is clearly getting taught and refined more at a young age and built on in today's sports world than ever before. Kalon Barnes CB out of Baylor tops the board at 4.23, but I'm beyond ecstatic to see what two of my favorite CBs did. Tariq Woolen out of Texas-San Antonio ran a freaking 4.26....big deal right? Wrong, this cat stands 6'4' and is a solid 205lbs, that is a big frame with long arms (33 5/8) that can essentially run with ANYONE he lines up against; oh and folks he posted the highest vertical out of EVERYONE (Tindall LB tied him) at the combine with a 42 inch vertical. A borderline first round HIGH ceiling type guy, do not be shocked if Gute falls in love with this guy....after all after the combine he is the CB with the highest RAS at 10.00. Zyon McCollum from Sam Houston State is the other one that showed out with his 40 being one of the top displays. Jumping 39.5 inches , an eleven foot (tops of CBs) broad jump and a blazing 4.33 forty time I fear is going to keep him from a Day 3 steal lock to a guy that could flirt on some boards to creep into that end of Day 2 time frame. Raw, small school talent though so he may still be there after Day 2 ends but this 6'2' 199lbs corner clearly has the "unteachables", from all accounts is a grade A human being and folks may be surprised where he goes.

- I'm a Notre Dame fan...and I've struggled to not pick Kevin Austin on Day 3 in nearly every mock draft of mine....well folks I can now confirm that my biasness to the Irish isn't the reason he is a guy I like, his measurables are there and he just put up one of the best combines and from that RAS out of all WRs that took part. He was the 14th fastest WR, 5th best vertical at 39inches, 5th best broad jump at 11 feet (best was Watson's 11'4"), 2nd best cone drill only beat by Austin III, 2nd best short shuttle. Kevin has had very limited exposure to being a target at ND however, 2021 was the first year he was called on as the #1 WR target essentially and he answered the call continually putting up 888yards, 18.5 YPC and 7 TDS....he is a Junior so still young, explosive abilities and excelled and timing and catching deep balls along sideline. Keep an eye on Austin folks, he is that mid rounder/Day3 type WR that I think could surprise some folks. He has the third highest RAS score (9.89) out of all WRs (Isaiah Weston and Christian Watson are above him at 9.98)

- Speaking of Christian Watson, he is another smaller school WR that many of us have been banging the drum for quite a while now. He showed out at the combine, and I would be blown away if he is still on the board when the 2nd round closes. Mind you these results are on a 6'4' 208lb frame folks. He has 4.36 speed (only 8 WRs beat 4.4....he was faster than Olave and Wilson), he jumped 38.5 inches - good enough for 6th best and the dude won the broad jump at eleven feet four inches.

- Boye Mafe edge out of Minnesota, did solid all year long, exploded in the Senior Bowl and kept the momentum going at the combine. His RAS as a LB (which it defaulted to) is HIGH at 10.00...if you run him as a DE it is still HIGH at 9.88 which is crazy. The OLB type guys are mixed between DEs and LBs on the RAS site, but point is MAFE is a stud and has the tools many drool over. Let me put a side by side up against the FREAK Aidan who can drop down inside more naturally of course than Boye.

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-While everyone knows I love Devin Lloyd and Nakobe Dean, I concur with the thoughts off ball LBs are not as pivotal in today's NFL as before, nor do I feel Gute holds them in high regard of need. With that in mind a 3rd/4th round type LB is what I'm trying to feel out and pick my favorites. Troy Anderson out of Montana State (6'3" 243lbs) could be the one with the highest ceiling and the rawest floor. This cat probably finally got on some folks radar with stellar numbers and to be fair I had him pegged as a top 150 level player without blinking but now with a few answers on measurables, this cat I could see creep into a top 100 pick even. This joker ran a stinking 4.42 forty (best), jumped 36 inches and his broad jump of 10'8" was 5th best. All the more blessing is he did all this weighing in over 240 at 243, as it seems smaller (near 220lbers) lbs are the ones putting up the fast and catchy numbers. Example of this is Harris out of Alabama ran a 4.44 but was nearly 20 pounds lighter, Tindall a 4.47 was 13 lbs lighter. Devin Lloyd (6'3" 237lbs) and concensus best or 2nd best ILB in the draft ran a 4.66, jumped 35 inches and broad jump of 10'6" for comparison. Anderson's RAS is 9.98.

- Couple other LBs that showed out to keep eye out for realistically after first round and at our picks are Leo Chenal out of Wisconsin (RAS of 9.99), Chad Muma of Wyoming (RAS 9.78), Quay Walker of Georgia (RAS 9.66), Brian Asamoah of Oklahoma (RAS 8.42) and a darkhorse favorite of mine I'm mixed on who did well was D'Marco Jackson out of Appalachian State


- Defensive Tackles went about as predicted IMO. Jordan Davis showed out and illustrated why some like myself believe he is the #1 and not his counter part Devonte Wyatt...however I understand some question Davis's motor more than Wyatt. The guy who really showcased is a guy I've mocked to us in the middle rounds a couple times is Thomas Booker from Stanford. He was one of only 5 DL to put up sub 5.0 forties, nearly hit 10 feet in his broad jump and tied with the best 3 cone drill with Travis Jones (Connecticut) at 7.33 - which is "light years" faster than the next time which was 7.85. Booker also put up the best short shuttle time. Now this isn't a NT type body build like perhaps Davis (making his numbers MORE impressive)...but Booker made noise this combine IMO essentially locking down the concept or idea that he is a top 10 if not higher type prospect at his position than many felt before. His RAS is 9.81 and third best in his position group.

- The EDGE/light DEs group is massive and plentiful with guys...but a few mid rounder type guys that I have liked that showed up well were Jeffrey Gunter out of Coastal Carolina who put up figures good enough to have the 7th best RAS score (9.4) of all listed DEs. Sam Williams out of Mississippi also excelled and is two spots better at 5th RAS wise now (9.54) as well. Many will point to Amare Barno showing out against his DE competition, but folks this is a sub 250lb, and no doubt is going to be a stand up edge type guy purely at the next level. So to compare him let's run him as a LB, if you do that he shines even more and is a 9.96 RAS level dude...

- Few names that disappointed me this combine were Kingsley Enagbare EDGE, George Karlaftis EDGE (still a 8.71 RAS), Garrett Wilson WR, Romeo Doubs WR (because he didn't do on field drills...will wait for Wolfpack workout day to see if he does).


Will be very interested to see as college days happen and we get more measurables from certain folks who will continue to cement their "position" and who we may see raise flags or increase their stock.

 

[tynimiller]

Oh crap forgot...

BIGGEST LOSER as far as their stock IMO this combine was David Bell. This cat was electric in college and his gamespeed seemed to suggest elite or close to it speed...his measurables argue the opposite:

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I'll self admit I'm shocked at how poorly he tested. I think this tremendously hurt Bell's stock and he most likely just fell out of the second round minimum...IMO

 

[El Guapo]

Great write up. I watched Boye Mafe play the past several years. The kid seems to be taking off. He was a stud but wasn't consistent IMO. His trajectory is going the right way and he is a real quality person.

As for David Bell, my default for anyone that stars in college but lays an egg at the combine is to merely follow the tape. Gamers and gamers.

 

[tynimiller]

Great write up. I watched Boye Mafe play the past several years. The kid seems to be taking off. He was a stud but wasn't consistent IMO. His trajectory is going the right way and he is a real quality person.

As for David Bell, my default for anyone that stars in college but lays an egg at the combine is to merely follow the tape. Gamers and gamers.

I'm there with you on Bell, the kid is still a playmaker...however as we have seen time and time again, many truly skilled and successful WRs at the next level rarely drop that many eggs across the board of testing. He is still going to get drafted, and to me his tape and production says he shouldn't see Day 3 still, but man I really expected more from him - cannot remember another prospect in recent memory that just shocked me with his crazy low numbers at every single drill he did like Bell did.

Boye, is for sure the type that is rising at the right time and I'm betting if he'd had one more year at college that growth would have merely been seen there instead of Senior Bowl and combine. Love the character notes found everywhere on the guy - Packer type for sure.

 

[OldSchool101]

After thoroughly enjoying that..

I wish we had more draft picks

Who was that 340lb DT that ran a 4.78 X40? How would you like to get chased by that in the back Alley of a bar?

 

[tynimiller]

After thoroughly enjoying that..

I wish we had more draft picks

Who was that 340lb DT that ran a 4.78 X40? How would you like to get chased by that in the back Alley of a bar?

Jordan Davis from Georgia, the debate is hot between him and the other Georgia Devonte Wyatt as to which is the first true DL to come off the board....Wyatt is lighter but is three inches shorter. Many argue Wyatt gives you a much higher and consistent motor than Davis, but when Davis has his motor revving at a high RPM the dude is destructive on another level.

 

[Dantés]

Very good list.

Not having the time to do anything like this, I’ll just say +1 to the DL group being massive and talented.

I would put money on Gutekunst taking an edge or an iDL in the first round.

 

[Dantés]

Jordan Davis from Georgia, the debate is hot between him and the other Georgia Devonte Wyatt as to which is the first true DL to come off the board....Wyatt is lighter but is three inches shorter. Many argue Wyatt gives you a much higher and consistent motor than Davis, but when Davis has his motor revving at a high RPM the dude is destructive on another level.

I’d happily take any of the three UGA linemen, and would be thoroughly shocked if any of them drop low enough for that to happen.

I would also be really nervous drafting any UGA player from the back 7. Hard to know how good they really are when they were playing behind those dudes.

 

[tynimiller]

Very good list.

Not having the time to do anything like this, I’ll just say +1 to the DL group being massive and talented.

I would put money on Gutekunst taking an edge or an iDL in the first round.

I am settling into if he stays and not trades back, it will be a Edge/DL or a DB mindset quite strongly. The value vs need points to those two position groups very heavily. A lot of this would change if I was him and I had a better feeling as to what the plan is for Rasul and even a lesser degree with King/Sullivan at CB. There are some VERY good safeties I expect to be there as well from pick 28-64 possible too.

 

[tynimiller]

I’d happily take any of the three UGA linemen, and would be thoroughly shocked if any of them drop low enough for that to happen.

I would also be really nervous drafting any UGA player from the back 7. Hard to know how good they really are when they were playing behind those dudes.

I assume you're speaking to Walker, Wyatt and Davis. Walker will be gone for sure, and I'd bet my house one of the other two will be gone - with my personally believing neither should drop to us at our current first round pick. It is rare that true DTs deserve first round grades, but these two are built different and honestly Winfrey is an excellent DT to boot too.


I will say Cine is my favorite Georgia back 7 not named Dean - he is immensely athletic and truly should be a starter at the next level. Derion Kendrick the top CB from Georgia is a guy I'm very mixed on for much of what you said and the fact he avoided testing at the combine I think confirms it may have shed some light on his inabilities a tick.

 

[OldSchool101]

Very good list.

Not having the time to do anything like this, I’ll just say +1 to the DL group being massive and talented.

I would put money on Gutekunst taking an edge or an iDL in the first round.

One thing I would offer is that a Day1 iDL can often produce higher results sooner than other position groups “out of the gate“. Whereas Edge or CB are absolutely important, but more often take a year or two to get traction.

If we go all in again I’d rather have a formidable DL upgrade if the remaining choices are relative equal value. I think the effects of that player (if he plays admirable) will be felt sooner.

If we don’t have Rodgers, then I retract that statement.

 

[tynimiller]

One thing I would offer is that a Day1 iDL can often produce higher results sooner than other position groups “out of the gate“. Whereas Edge or CB are absolutely important, but more often take a year or two to get traction.

If we go all in again I’d rather have a formidable DL upgrade. I think the effects of that player (if he plays admirable) will be felt sooner.

You ain't lying, the upper level picks along both trenches typically can take hold of serious snaps out the gate as the "learning curve" isn't as steep for sure. That's however also where Gute found himself with Stokes pick, with us resigning King and Sullivan still on the roster when picked, I have no doubt they envisioned less need to have Stokes line up year one than we did, but dang did we learn how crucial that third corner can be - that is the only reason I cannot cross of a CB as well or even a S with slot dropping down coverage abilty.

 

[Dantés]

One guy who had a great showing but got overshadowed by the UGA duo is Travis Jones.

He's 6'4" 325#, which is in the ~90th % for size.

He ran a 4.92, which is ~80th%.

His vertical (28.5") was good for his size, and his broad (110") was great.

His three cone (7.33) was also ~80th%, and his 4.58 shuttle was above average.

So he tested way above average even for a normal size iDL despite being among the biggest guys there.

He had a stand-out season on a bad team and then an excellent showing at the Sr. Bowl.

 

[tynimiller]

One guy who had a great showing but got overshadowed by the UGA duo is Travis Jones.

He's 6'4" 325#, which is in the ~90th % for size.

He ran a 4.92, which is ~80th%.

His vertical (28.5") was good for his size, and his broad (110") was great.

His three cone (7.33) was also ~80th%, and his 4.58 shuttle was above average.

So he tested way above average even for a normal size iDL despite being among the biggest guys there.

He had a stand-out season on a bad team and then an excellent showing at the Sr. Bowl.

Jones was excellent as you said at the Senior Bowl for sure. I have him for 5th best overall at the true DT types personally...but wouldn't be shocked if he goes 4th even.

 

[OldSchool101]

One guy who had a great showing but got overshadowed by the UGA duo is Travis Jones.

He's 6'4" 325#, which is in the ~90th % for size.

He ran a 4.92, which is ~80th%.

His vertical (28.5") was good for his size, and his broad (110") was great.

His three cone (7.33) was also ~80th%, and his 4.58 shuttle was above average.

So he tested way above average even for a normal size iDL despite being among the biggest guys there.

He had a stand-out season on a bad team and then an excellent showing at the Sr. Bowl.

Yes! I noticed him also. I jumped out because when you look at his upper body he has a LB build bit at 325lb. I looked for his bench press thinking he’s going to be like 40X but noticed he didn’t test there. Injury?

Would he be overlapping Slaton? I’d want someone who can play inside or out in that 280-298 range with similar explosiveness. The mold iof a Keke but with a turbo.

Just wishful thinking I’d like to have 2 guys that are dangerous to block upfront.

 

[Mondio]

Keke apparently deciding to be a bonehead I think hurt us. He was developing nicely, I think he's going to be hitting some good years here coming up and now they're going to be productive for someone else.

 

[OldSchool101]

Keke apparently deciding to be a bonehead I think hurt us. He was developing nicely, I think he's going to be hitting some good years here coming up and now they're going to be productive for someone else.

I know. Can’t blame him for going back home. His issues will catch up with him eventually you can run but you can’t hide

 

[Dantés]

Yes! I noticed him also. I jumped out because when you look at his upper body he has a LB build bit at 325lb. I looked for his bench press thinking he’s going to be like 40X but noticed he didn’t test there. Injury?

Would he be overlapping Slaton? I’d want someone who can play inside or out in that 280-298 range with similar explosiveness. The mold iof a Keke but with a turbo.

Just wishful thinking I’d like to have 2 guys that are dangerous to block upfront.

If I had the luxury of picking a player in whatever style fit the Packers' current needs best, I would choose a guy like Devonte Wyatt. But given that they're picking at the back end of round 1, I just want them to take someone good; they can't be as picky.

Jones and Slaton (and Clark for that matter) may overlap quite a bit in skill set, but that doesn't concern me on the defensive line. That's such a heavy rotational position and they just need quality bodies there right now. Last year, this was the snap distribution:

-Clark: 782 (74%)
-Lowry: 674 (62%)
-Keke: 393 (36%)
-Lancaster: 319 (30%)
-Slaton: 255 (24%)

That's 2423 snaps total. 393 of them are gone (Keke). 319 more probably leaving (Lancaster).

I'd like to take about ~100 off of Clark to give him sweet for the long haul. And I personally wouldn't expect Lowry to maintain the same level of play that we saw from him in 2021 (that was a positive outlier season for him). If he drops back to average, then you're going to want to play him less. So all told, you could be wanting to replace ~900 snaps.

That kind of opportunity could see huge upticks for Slaton and a guy like Heflin while still leaving plenty for a 1st round rookie. We also want to remember that Slaton, while promising, was a 5th rounder. The odds are against him beginning a good starters. More realistically, he will be a good rotational piece.

Something else to consider is that the proliferation of light boxes, especially among that Vic Fangio coaching tree, has brought the big two gappers back into vogue. In that system, if you can reliably defend the run with 6 man boxes, that's a big consideration.

 

[Dantés]

One thing I would offer is that a Day1 iDL can often produce higher results sooner than other position groups “out of the gate“. Whereas Edge or CB are absolutely important, but more often take a year or two to get traction.

If we go all in again I’d rather have a formidable DL upgrade if the remaining choices are relative equal value. I think the effects of that player (if he plays admirable) will be felt sooner.

If we don’t have Rodgers, then I retract that statement.

CB aside, I generally find the reverse of this to be true when I look backwards.

 

[OldSchool101]

CB aside, I generally find the reverse of this to be true when I look backwards.

Obviously QB. But also TE, WR, OL .. they all seem to struggle a bit more year 1 imo. Think Bakhtiari, Newman that strong league TE group with Andrews etc..
About the only secondary (no pun) position option that possesses more true, year 1 redeeming benefits is RB and we obviously don’t need that right now. (Also maybe ILB as a tertiary option). Thinking Martinez, LVE types etc..

My main desire is to get more seasoned, ready to go plugs this season, as a whole.

Not the drafting “high ceiling” (Jordan Love) projects etc.. No Oren Burks, no Datone Jones, no “High RAS but struggles in instincts” type college players pretty please.
That’s my only wish (wish not) list

I haven’t time yet to study the plethora of incoming players just yet past watching a few highlights and 40 times etc

 

[Dantés]

Obviously QB. But also TE, WR, OL .. they all seem to struggle a bit more year 1 imo. Think Bakhtiari, Newman that strong league TE group with Andrews etc..
About the only secondary (no pun) position option that possesses more true, year 1 redeeming benefits is RB and we obviously don’t need that right now. (Also maybe ILB as a tertiary option). Thinking Martinez, LVE types etc..

My main desire is to get more seasoned, ready to go types this season as a whole. Not the usual raw but high ceiling (Jordan Love) projects etc.. No Oren Burks, no Datone Jones, no “High RAS” but struggled in instincts type please.

Yeah, I agree generally with what you're saying here. My last post was just to say that I have generally found it's more common for edge rushers to make a bigger impact out of the gate than it is for interior DL.

 

[tynimiller]

Obviously QB. But also TE, WR, OL .. they all seem to struggle a bit more year 1 imo. Think Bakhtiari, Newman that strong league TE group with Andrews etc..
About the only secondary (no pun) position option that possesses more true, year 1 redeeming benefits is RB and we obviously don’t need that right now. (Also maybe ILB as a tertiary option). Thinking Martinez, LVE types etc..

My main desire is to get more seasoned, ready to go types this season as a whole.

Not the drafting “high ceiling” (Jordan Love) projects etc.. No Oren Burks, no Datone Jones, no “High RAS” but “struggles in instincts” type college players pretty please.
That’s my only wish list.

I haven’t time yet to study the players

More seasoned and draft prospects don't really go together honestly. There are very very few sure things in the draft, your likelihood may arguably be higher of course the higher you pick, but Burks was 3rd rounder - who essentially was the first hybrid lighter type LB we had really went with, vastly more the norm nowadays. He hasn't been anything special, but also hasn't done anything bad arguably as well - he is a solid ST'er on an otherwise terrible ST team. Would I have liked our 3rd to give us more - 100% - but the pick wasn't autrocious no matter how you sliced it; kid produced very well at Vanderbilt, his athleticism was awesome (RAS) and appeared to be projecting awesome at the next level especially for lighter coverage type sub packages the NFL was forcing you into more and more.

Datone was just a miss, plain and simple - no one really thought he would be that terrible; dude put up some gaudy DL stats his years at UCLA and an astounding 19 tackles for loss that senior year.

Love is really the only massively future minded pick we've selected in the first round or with our first rounders in years:

2021 - Stokes, played more than we ever intended or thought though
2020 - Love
2019 - Gary & Savage
2018 - Alexander
2017 - No first rounder
2016 - Kenny Clark
2015 - Damarious Randall
2014 - Ha-Ha
2013 - Datone Jones
2012 - Nick Perry
2011 - Derek Sherrod

Out of all of those man we've done very well...with all but Jones and Randall not being day 1 starters for us (Sherrod was going to be)...Especially last five drafts we've done very well on the top round picking honestly.