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[Dynasty] 2016 Draft Class (1 Viewer)

Stanford WR/TE Devon Cajuste's three-cone time of 6.49 was tops among receivers at the Combine and the No. 5 showing of all receivers this decade.
This is what makes that test all the more incredible: Cajuste probably isn't a receiver in the NFL. He's most likely a TE or an H-Back. As a tight end, Cajuste tested out in the 88th SPARQ percentile. Measuring in at 6-foot-4, 234 pounds, Cajuste ran a 4.60 in the 40-yard dash. We've heard some talk that astute teams who value chess pieces and draft value -- the Pats are one example -- are already heavily sniffing around Cajuste, who was criminally underused in Stanford's Christian McCaffrey-based offensive system last year.

 
 
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Source: Three Sigma Athlete

 
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No-Names... For Now

This draft’s top prospects might be lacking in the Q-ratings department, but five years ago you could have said the same thing about prospects named Watt and Wilkerson. And like those two stars, the talent atop the Class of 2016 appears to be real

Joe Robbins/Getty Images
To the casual NFL fan, this year’s draft is a tough sell. A naysayer’s version of the elevator pitch would go something like this: The best player is an offensive tackle, and the top two quarterbacks are a guy who went 4-5 in the Pac-12 and an FCS champion who missed most of his senior season. But don’t worry! There are defensive linemen galore! When it comes to intrigue, Goff-Wentz isn’t quite last year’s to-the-wire clash between the past two Heisman trophy winners.
Keeping down this cough syrup of a draft would be easier if the anonymity of the quarterbacks were offset by a collection of flashy skill players, but no such luck there either. After the recent deluge of receiver talent entering the league, there’s a possibility that only a receiver or two makes it into the first round (with none going in the top 16). Couple that with our continued march through the running back desert—save for the oasis that is Todd Gurley—and it feels like non-draftniks will be left saying, Who? a lot on April 28th.
A draft like this isn’t ideal for fans or the league, but that doesn’t preclude it from accomplishing exactly what the first round is supposed to: arm teams with stars that ultimately make them better. Based on early projections, as many as a dozen defensive linemen are worthy of first-round picks, compared to only a handful of receivers and running backs. Considering recent history, that is a bit strange. Over the past 10 seasons, the average number of D-linemen and skill players in the first round is about even. Since 2006, 72 front-four players and 67 runners/pass catchers have come off the board in the first round. But if you’re looking for a year when the talent level cratered for skill position guys, you don’t have to go very far back.
• BEHIND THE SCENES FOR A COMBINE INTERVIEW: An unprecedented look as the Dolphins interview a quarterback prospect.
Seven defensive linemen came off the board in the 2013 first round, and the results were a mixed bag. It’s impossible to argue with the impacts Sheldon Richardson and Ziggy Ansah have made. But the inverse is true for Barkevious Mingo and Björn Werner. That same year, only four combined receivers and running backs went in the first 32 picks, and it wasn’t until last season that we figured out how fascinating that group is. For DeAndre Hopkins (27th overall) and Tyler Eifert (21st), 2015 was the year they turned into superstars. For Cordarrelle Patterson, it was the season that his fate as a failed wide receiver was probably sealed. The returns truly hit both ends of the spectrum.
That draft is cruising toward a place alongside the worst in NFL history, but that has little to do with the lack of offensive firepower (or EJ Manuel being the sole first-round quarterback). As Peter King wrote before the combine, drafting an offensive lineman in the first handful of picks has become an increasingly dubious proposition. The boss noted that only three of the 17 tackles picked in the top 10 since 2005 have been first-team All Pro, and over that stretch; the 2013 draft is maybe the most egregious offender.
The first two players off the board were Eric Fisher and Luke Joeckel, both of whom can safely be called disappointments to this point. Lane Johnson, a solid building block in Philadelphia, went fourth, but where it comes off the rails is with the two guards also taken in the top 10. Arizona’s drafting of Jonathan Cooper sixth overall and Tennessee taking Chance Warmack four picks later felt like a sea change when it happened, a sign that, with the proliferation of quick-trigger passing games, the hierarchal relationship between guards and tackles was eroding. We might have been a little overeager with that one.
That group matters because it illustrates how the quality of a single draft will never be linked to the success, failure, or prevalence of the players we draft in fantasy. Drafts full of linemen can run the gamut. In this case, it was a train wreck. Two years earlier, we had what’s shaping up to be one of the greatest drafts in NFL history.
The 2011 draft had the same number of first-round skill position players—four—as the 2013 version, but the big boys taken that season mostly turned into superstars. We’re all familiar with J.J. Watt’s work, Marcell Dareus is now a wealthy man, and that Von Miller character in Denver seems like he’s headed toward big things. What sends the ’11 crop over the top are the two superhuman receivers wedged between all that defensive talent (A.J. Green and Julio Jones). But while there aren’t any Julio Jones types available this time, the best-case scenario for this year’s draft is still an outcome resembling the one from five years ago.
In the current landscape—before we hit Pro Days and before paralysis by analysis sets in—many of the archetypes from this year’s group resembles that group from 2011. Jalen Ramsey is a massive, impossibly athletic defensive back in the same mold as Patrick Peterson. They’re vastly different players, but Joey Bosa had the same impressive big-conference production that Von Miller enjoyed. And similar to 2011, this year’s crew of pass rushers has everything from the traditional edge force (Robert Quinn and Noah Spence) to the position-less wonder (DeForest Buckner and Muhammad Wilkerson).
• RESUSCITATING THE TITANS:  Tennessee has been the worst team in football over the past two years. Good thing the man charged with turning around the team knows a thing or two about coming back from the dead.
With five years’ (and a whole lot of sacks’) worth of perspective, it’s easy to look at the 2011 draft through gold-colored glasses, but at the time, these weren’t picks that inspired much enthusiasm. Let us remember that Texans fans booed a guy who’d win three Defensive Player of the Year awards in his first five seasons. No Jets fans were running around the block when they took a guy from Temple with 17 sacks over his college career. Robert Quinn didn’t even play his final season in Carolina.
Outside of Bosa, this year’s group carries a similarly low level of name recognition, but that won’t matter if Buckner turns into Calais Campbell, Kevin Dodd turns into Michael Bennett, and Bosa turns into Ryan Kerrigan. I copped all those comps from the excellent Lance Zierlien of NFL.com, but each actually furthers the point about players and drafts like this.
Before he started dancing in primetime, Bennett wasn’t a name. Despite their talent and production, Kerrigan and Campbell still aren’t. But each is the sort of player whose presence leads to wins. Campbell is a mainstay for a defense that consistently ranks in the top five, for a team that won 14 games last season. Kerrigan got a $57.5 million extension last summer. Outside of Earl Thomas, Bennett may be the most valuable piece on a defense in the middle of a historically excellent stretch.
This draft may lack excitement, but that shouldn’t be confused for lack of quality. It’s a deep crop of quarterback-hunting, run-stuffing mountains, and it might not be long before fans are replacing Who? with Wow.
• THE POST-COMBINE MOCK:  Tunsil on top, Cleveland gets Goff, and all the projections for Round 1 of April’s draft.
The acrobatic Doctson could make a team picking in the late first round very, very happy.
Photo: Tony Gutierrez/AP
The acrobatic Doctson could make a team picking in the late first round very, very happy.

Five Things I Think
1. Drafting for need continues to be a moving target. General managers can usually be found shouting “Best player available!” at clouds, but in the case of the Panthers, the importance of looking past need is readily on display right now. Carolina’s release of Charles Johnson means that its two starting defensive ends from the Super Bowl—Johnson and Jared Allen—are gone. That comes a year after the Panthers let Greg Hardy walk. When the Panthers drafted Kony Ealy in the second round with both Johnson and Hardy already in the fold, it left some people scratching their heads. Less than two years later, Ealy, coming off a breakout game in the Super Bowl, stands atop the depth chart.
2. The Cowboys and the siren song of a quarterback. Earlier this week, personnel legend Gil Brandt wrote about the Cowboys’ need for a long-term answer at quarterback and the pull of possibly finding that player with the fourth overall pick. Brandt wrote that Jerry Jones told him he will “unequivocally not” take a quarterback at No. 4, which leads to yet another conversation about the prudency of reaching for a quarterback. Johnny Manziel’s career to date makes it easy to champion the Cowboys’ decision to pass on him in favor of Zack Martin two years ago, but even less disastrous quarterback outcomes still speak to the consequences of pulling the trigger on a signal caller. Jacksonville went after Blake Bortles two seasons ago, and although Bortles started to come on in his second season, Oakland’s one-two punch of Khalil Mack and Derek Carr—a combination Jacksonville also could have had—looks a lot better to this point. The pressure for a solution at quarterback is real, but succumbing to it sometimes means leaving valuable talent on the table.
3. Jalen Ramsey gets more enticing by the day. It’s been a foregone conclusion that Laremy Tunsil is the odds-on favorite to be the No. 1 pick, but with his monster showing at the combine, it feels like Jalen Ramsey is starting to make a very serious bid as the best player in the draft. If Tennessee thinks Ramsey has the chance to be the cornerback/safety/condor that many analysts do, the appeal of keeping Marcus Mariota clean shouldn’t be enough to scare them off from the Florida State star. Tennessee finished 24th in pass defense DVOA a season ago, has a need at both cornerback and safety, and could be well served by a player like Ramsey.
4. What, exactly, is wrong with Josh Doctson? Less than a month out from the Super Bowl, I’m still in the early stages of really getting to know all this year’s top prospects. But from what I’ve seen with Josh Doctson, I’m running out of reasons this guy shouldn’t go in the top half of the first round. The former TCU receiver had 79 catches for 1,327 yards and 14(!) touchdowns in 11 games this season, he was the most physically gifted receiver at this year’s combine, and his tape is full of catches that just shouldn’t happen. He comes down with everything, contested or not, and many of those plays required last-second reactions and adjustments that few receivers can even imagine making. Flexibility is a trait I’ve increasingly come to value in receivers. On top of otherworldly tools, it’s what makes Martavis Bryant terrifying. And along with possibly being Spider Man, it’s what has sent DeAndre Hopkins into the upper echelon of NFL stars. Doctson has it in bulk, and I have a feeling a team near the back end of the first round is going to reap the benefits.
5. What if the Chargers—not Dallas—are the team that picks a quarterback of the future? Philip Rivers is still an excellent quarterback, and was just handed a new deal that runs through 2019, has $13.5 million in dead money after this season and includes a no-trade clause throughout. But there’s still a way to piece together an argument for why San Diego should consider its future at No. 3:
a) Rivers is 34 years old and has expressed his trepidation about a move to Los Angeles, which still may be in the Chargers’ future.
b) Much like the Cowboys and Romo, a healthy Rivers is usually enough to keep San Diego from the top of the draft. A rash of injuries and a set of terrible breaks (see Bell, Le’Veon) gave San Diego the third pick in the draft. As long as Rivers is playing, they may not be there again.
c) On the chance the Chargers do move to Los Angeles, a shiny new quarterback would be a selling point in a new market where they’d be fighting for attention with a team that employs Todd Gurley.
d) If I remember correctly, the Chargers already had a quarterback when they drafted Rivers and sat him on the bench for his first two seasons in San Diego. The situations were very different—Drew Brees was set to be a free agent in two years and was yet to become a star in the way that Rivers has been and still is—but the history does exist.
Not giving Rivers more protection or giving their defense more bite would be a hard sell in the short term. But many of the same arguments are being made for the Cowboys securing their post-Romo future could apply to San Diego. Shocking as it would be, the logic isn’t impossible to follow.
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http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2621543-2016-nfl-draft-matt-millers-post-combine-scouting-notebook?utm_campaign=tsiphone&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=twitter.com

— Ole Miss defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche needed to nail his team interviews at the combine to quiet doubts about his off-field past. One team official I spoke to this week, who was in the room for Nkemdiche's interview, called it "the worst I've ever seen".

— The release of Marques Colston in New Orleans opens the door for a big outside receiver. I'm told area scouts there have a real liking forMichael Thomas of Ohio State, and could consider him if Sheldon Rankins and Darron Lee are off the board in Round 1.

                    — What happens to Jared Goff if Wentz goes to the Browns? "No way (the 49ers) let him slip past 7" is what one rival general manager told me.                      Bleacher Report's own Jason Cole reported early this week that the 49ers are rumored to love Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook.

— Could Paxton Lynch be the quarterback the Houston Texans build around? While a fall to pick No. 22 would be a surprise at this point, I'm told by multiple teams that Lynch didn't interview or handle the whiteboard session well during his formal combine interviews.

 
CBS Sports draft analyst Dane Brugler noted that Georgia RB Keith Marshall "has better plant-and-go burst than most backs."
Brugler wrote that Marshall "hits the accelerator [with] ease." The 5-foot-11, 219-pounder was one of the true standouts at the NFL Scouting Combine last week, wowing evaluators with a sizzling 4.31-second time in the 40-yard dash. A torn ACL in 2013 sidelined the former five-star recruit, and it didn't help that he had to jostle with Todd Gurley and Nick Chubb for carries after he recovered. As a result of his lack of exposure, he's something of a draft mystery man. An NFL evaluator recently compared him to Dolphins RB Lamar Miller in that aspect. After his warp-speed 40-yard sprint, CBS Sports' Rob Rang wrote that he "stole the spotlight" from the rest of the backs on hand.

 
 
Source: Dane Brugler on Twitter 
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In a conversation with Yahoo Sports, an NFL evaluator compared Georgia RB Keith Marshall to Lamar Miller "in terms of pedigree, measurables, speed and limited college opportunities."
The evaluator went on to say that Marshall could have a similar profile to Miller in the NFL. Marshall, who your boys at Rotoworld have been pulling for hard during the process, ran the fastest 40-yard dash (4.31 seconds) of any offensive player at the NFL Combine this year. He did so at a manly 5-foot-11, 219 pounds. Oh, and he's also a former five-star recruit who shared carries with Todd Gurley for one season. So why are some readers out there hazy about who he is? Because Marshall's body betrays him at every turn, specially his knees and ankles, obviously ominous for a runner. Most famously, Marshall tore his ACL in 2013.

 
 
Source: Yahoo Sports 
Mar 4 - 6:21 PM
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ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay wrote that South Carolina TE Jerell Adams "might have the highest ceiling of the [tight ends] in this class."
In a weak, weak field of tight ends, Arkansas' Hunter Henry is generally viewed as being the best in the class. McShay warns not to sleep on Adams, though, who (unlike Henry) had to endure the pain of playing in South Carolina's DOA offense. The 6-foot-6, 231-pound prospect caught 28 passes for 421 yards and three touchdowns for the 2015 campaign. At last week's NFL Scouting Combine, Adams turned in strong work, running the 40-yard dash in 4.64 seconds while completing a vertical leap of 32.5 inches and a broad jump of 117 inches. In late February, TFY Draft Insider's Tony Pauline indicated that he believes that Adams will be snatched off the draft board somewhere in the middle rounds.

 
 
Source: Todd McShay on Twitter 
Mar 4 - 4:36 PM
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An NFL quarterback coach said of Mississippi State QB Dak Prescott: "Someone is going to love this kid."
"Can own the room," the QB coach said. "He impressed us." The Shutdown Corner believes that after Prescott's big senior season and impressive Combine, he could possibly come off the board in the second round. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Prescott, the Most Outstanding Player at the Senior Bowl in January, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.80 seconds in Indy. "We know of one contender who is very interested in him as a two- or three-year development pick," reported Yahoo's Eric Edholm. Prescott still struggles with accuracy and his progressions, but the tools and heart are certainly there.

 
 
Source: Yahoo Sports 
Mar 4 - 1:21 PM
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CBS Chicago expect the Bears to be "aggressive in the quarterback market after the first two rounds."
The Bears did some serious homework on the class' quarterbacks at last week's Combine. "There are also a handful of quarterbacks in the middle part of the draft that I feel good about," Bears GM Ryan Pace said at the Combine. "We’ve got to make sure we’ve accurately graded, and that’s where our scouts really earn their money." The Bears have looked into Dak Prescott ("I have to show people that I can make all the drops from under center," Prescott said), Christian Hackenberg ("Whatever I have to do, the step I have to take, the sacrifices I have to make, I’m willing to do it," he said. "My biggest fear is not being able to reach my full potential.") and Kevin Hogan ("I feel like I am able to learn any offense very well," Hogan said). The Bears, it's worth noting, also met with Prescott at the Senior Bowl.

 
 
Source: CBS Sports 
Mar 4 - 2:52 PM
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Tennessee WR Marquez North had an 89.5-percent similarity score with Josh Gordon based on Combine athletic testing.
If you're looking for the inherent flaws in combine testing, look no further than North. The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder posted mostly respectable numbers in Indianapolis (4.47 seconds on the 40-yard dash, 35-inch vertical jump, 123-inch vertical jump), but his college production was almost non-existent. North's best season came as a freshman in 2013, when he caught 38 passes for 496 yards and a freshman. Nowhere to go but up as he progressed through college? Not so much. Injuries limited him to just 13 combined games over the preceding two seasons. Rivals ranked him as the No. 2 wide receiver in the country out of high school back in 2013. An NFL squad could take a flier on his natural athletic ability in the later rounds of the draft, but that would come with the knowledge that he's simply never produced to his talent-level in college after that promising freshman start.

 
 
Source: Mock Draftable 
Mar 4 - 12:00 AM
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UCLA WR Jordan Payton had an 85-percent similarity score with Sammy Watkins based on Combine athletic testing.
Payton blazed his way through the 40-yard dash in 4.47 seconds. When it came to his ability to jump high/far, the 6-foot-1, 213-pounder logged 34.5 inches vertically while hitting 121 inches on the broad jump. His comparable, Watkins, landed with the Bills via the fourth pick in the 2014 draft. Payton won't reach such lofty heights. Perhaps showing the difference between the straight-line sprint and actual football speed, CBS Sports analyst Rob Rang noted that the former Bruin struggled during the Senior Bowl practice week due to his "lacking the juice to scare defenders."

 
 
Source: Mock Draftable 
Mar 3 - 11:04 PM
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ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. wrote to "start the Darren Sproles comps" for San Jose State RB Tyler Ervin.
"The San Jose State star is explosive, can make you miss in space, and can catch it," Kiper noted. The Sproles comparisons might seem easy, but they exist for a reason. Ervin measures 5-foot-10, 192 pounds (not quite as diminutive as the 5-foot-6 Sproles) and has also shown a strong ability to contribute outside of simply rushing the ball. He recorded 87 catches in his time with the Spartans. At the NFL Scouting Combine, he notched one of the fastest times of any running back when he sped through the 40-yard dash in 4.41 seconds. Kiper views him as a potential fourth or fifth-round selection for this spring's draft. That jives almost perfectly with Sproles, too, as he was selected by the Chargers in the fourth round of the 2005 draft.

 
 
Source: ESPN Insider 
Mar 5 - 4:31 PM
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CBS Sports draft analyst Dane Brugler observed that Tennessee WR Marquez North's "body control and strong hands are NFL quality."
North's hands and body might be ready for the NFL, but Brugler cautions that he's also a "one-note runner." The analyst goes on to call him a "tough NFL prospect to figure out." At the NFL Scouting Combine, the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Tennessee product had an 89.5% similarity score with former Baylor/current Browns WR Josh Gordon thanks to a 4.47-second 40-yard dash, 35-inch vertical leap and 123-inch broad jump. Brugler doesn't really see that speed element on game tape (despite the respectable 40 number), but does believe he has "draftable traits." Injuries have limited him to just 13 combined games over the last two seasons. He should be considered a potential Day 3 selection.

 
 
Source: Dane Brugler on Twitter
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ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. wrote that Georgia RB Keith Marshall "made money with a 4.31 40 time [at the NFL Scouting Combine]."
Kiper's, ahem, on the money here, as Marshall showcased an elite speed factor that particularly stood out in a week where multiple 40 times by multiple players fell short of expectation. CBS Sports' Rob Rang wrote that the 5-foot-11, 219-pounder "stole the spotlight" from more heralded runners, while colleague Dane Brugler noted post-combine that Marshall "has better plant-and-go burst than most backs." In Kiper's eyes, "He's no certainty for Day 2, but times like that can't fall too far."

 
 
Source: ESPN Insider 
Mar 5 - 3:13 PM
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At a regional combine, Cumberland WR Wendall Williams ran an unofficial 40-yard dash in 4.19 seconds, breaking Chris Johnson's 4.24 record.
Let's pour one out (unofficially) for Johnson, whose 4.24 seconds in the 40-yard dash back in 2008 had been the coveted mark to beat. No longer, at least if we're to include regional combines. Williams also reportedly notched a vertical leap of 45 inches. The 5-foot-10, 175-pounder was a track star for Cumberland, an NAIA program, and caught 15 passes for 457 yards (30.5 yards per catch) and eight touchdowns last season. If nothing else, the blazing speed might have perked NFL ears.

 
 
Source: Niners Nation
Mar 5 - 6:29 PM
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Faust said:
At a regional combine, Cumberland WR Wendall Williams ran an unofficial 40-yard dash in 4.19 seconds, breaking Chris Johnson's 4.24 record.
Let's pour one out (unofficially) for Johnson, whose 4.24 seconds in the 40-yard dash back in 2008 had been the coveted mark to beat. No longer, at least if we're to include regional combines. Williams also reportedly notched a vertical leap of 45 inches. The 5-foot-10, 175-pounder was a track star for Cumberland, an NAIA program, and caught 15 passes for 457 yards (30.5 yards per catch) and eight touchdowns last season. If nothing else, the blazing speed might have perked NFL ears.
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Don't believe this for a minute.

 
 


ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. wrote that "nobody made more money for himself than [Notre Dame] Will Fuller, who blazed to a 4.32 [time in the 40-yard dash] and made himself a very good bet for Round 1."
Kiper's statements on Fuller encapsulate the oddity of how perspectives change for no reason at the Combine. It was already well-established that the 6-foot, 186-pound Irish product's best attribute was his speed. Pro Football Focus graded him as a top-3 FBS wideout in terms of catches, yardage and touchdowns on throws of more than 20 yards downfield this past season. Yet when Fuller merely does what we already knew he was going to do at the combine, his stock somehow jumps. It makes no sense on a logical level, the equivalent of stepping into a car that's advertised as fast, finding out that it's fast during the test drive, then telling the dealer you'd like to pay more than the ticket price because it proved to drive exactly as advertised. Regardless, don't be surprised if Fuller's drafted in the first round.

 
 
Source: ESPN Insider 
Mar 5 - 8:01 PM




 


 
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. noted that Oklahoma WR Sterling Shepard "showed everyone that the tape didn't lie" through his workouts at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Sheppard showed off not just his typical wideout skill-set with a 4.48-second 40-yard dash, 41-inch vertical leap and 123-inch broad jump, he also turned in a strength clinic with his 20 reps on the bench press. For reference's sake, that was four more than Kansas State G Cody Whitehair, who one scout recently called "probably the best guard in the draft." Among the highest on Shepard are NFL.com's Matt Harmon and former NFL scout John Middlekauff, with Middlekauff calling him his favorite wide receiver in the draft and Harmon enamored with the 5-foot-10, 195-pounder's route-running. Kiper believes Sterling's locked himself up a second-round selection, but given just how high some analysts are on him, if an NFL team similarly falls in love there's no reason he won't have a chance to sneak into the back end of the first round.
 
Source: ESPN Insider
 
Arizona State WR D.J. Foster had an 88-percent similarity score with Jeremy Kerley based on Combine athletic testing.
It should be noted, that similarity score was based on results from the NFL Scouting Combine, results which Foster eclipsed on Arizona State's pro day (for instance, he ran the 40-yard dash at a full tenth-of-a-second faster in logging a 4.47-second mark). His Combine comparable, Kerley, was selected by the Jets in the fifth round of the 2011 draft. Foster's a dynamic play-maker, but disappeared statistically in 2015 after the Sun Devils transitioned him from running back to wide receiver.

 
Source: Mock Draftable 

 
With his strong Combine performance, ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. believes that South Carolina TE Jerell Adams could be a first-round pick, writing that "teams who had maybe a third-round grade on him will start looking at him as more of an option at the end of Round 1."
There's skyrocketing, then there's what Adams has been doing. Spacerocketing? A recap of how opinions have fluctuated in the positive for the former Gamecock. In November, TFY Draft Insider's Tony Pauline wrote that he thought Adams might have begun to slide toward being an undrafted free agent. Pauline updated that opinion in late February to say that the 6-foot-6, 231-pounder "will not get out of the middle rounds." Then, on March 4, ESPN's Todd McShay wrote that he "might have the highest ceiling" of any tight end in this class. All this leads up to Kiper's bold assessment that his combine performance might have boosted him to the first-round edge. We'll see if this wave of hype can carry him to glory in April. Arkansas TE Hunter Henry had generally been seen as the No. 1 TE in the draft pool.

 
 
Source: ESPN Insider 
Mar 5 - 8:53 PM
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Faust said:
With his strong Combine performance, ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. believes that South Carolina TE Jerell Adams could be a first-round pick, writing that "teams who had maybe a third-round grade on him will start looking at him as more of an option at the end of Round 1."
There's skyrocketing, then there's what Adams has been doing. Spacerocketing? A recap of how opinions have fluctuated in the positive for the former Gamecock. In November, TFY Draft Insider's Tony Pauline wrote that he thought Adams might have begun to slide toward being an undrafted free agent. Pauline updated that opinion in late February to say that the 6-foot-6, 231-pounder "will not get out of the middle rounds." Then, on March 4, ESPN's Todd McShay wrote that he "might have the highest ceiling" of any tight end in this class. All this leads up to Kiper's bold assessment that his combine performance might have boosted him to the first-round edge. We'll see if this wave of hype can carry him to glory in April. Arkansas TE Hunter Henry had generally been seen as the No. 1 TE in the draft pool.
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This is weird to see, because Jerell Adams's combine numbers were better than average but not spectacular. Here is how they compare with Ryan Malleck, Beau Sandland, and Ben Braunecker from this combine, along with the average from the past several draft classes.

Code: 
	Avg	Adams	Malleck	SandlandBraunecker
Ht	76.6	77.1	76.5	76.5	75.4
Wt	252	247	247	253	250
BMI	30.2	29.2	29.7	30.4	30.9
40	4.71	4.64		4.74	4.73
Vert	33.8	32.5	34.5	35	35.5
Broad	116.5	117	121	124	121
SS	4.37	4.31	4.33	4.33	4.20
3C	7.11	7.05		7.10	6.90
Bench	21.4		18	23	20
 
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Faust said:
Wendall Williams sets 40 record at regional combine
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Jeeebus!

I don't know how regional times are compared with official Combine times but even if it is off by .05 seconds he's still uber fast.

And he also posted a 45' in vertical.  The caveat is he's only 170 lbs, so.......

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/03/05/wendall-williams-runs-4-19-second-40-at-regional-combine/

...Williams also recorded a 45.0-inch vertical jump, which is tied for the best jump ever recorded at the regular Scouting Combine.

Those numbers are so shocking that they sound unbelievable at first. But Williams was a track and field star who won the NAIA national championship in the long jump and was fourth in the country in both the 100 meters and 200 meters, so there’s little doubt that he’s a phenomenal athlete.

He also put up phenomenal numbers on the football field: He was an NAIA All-American while averaging 30.5 yards per catch (with eight touchdowns), 32.4 yards per kickoff return (with three touchdowns), 23.5 yards per punt return (with one touchdown) and 17.6 yards per carry (with three touchdowns).

So can the 5-foot-10, 170-pound Williams play in the pros? It’s a huge jump to go from the NAIA to the NFL. But this is a young man who’s used to making huge jumps.

 
Bracie Smathers said:
Jeeebus!

I don't know how regional times are compared with official Combine times but even if it is off by .05 seconds he's still uber fast.

And he also posted a 45' in vertical.  The caveat is he's only 170 lbs, so.......

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/03/05/wendall-williams-runs-4-19-second-40-at-regional-combine/

...Williams also recorded a 45.0-inch vertical jump, which is tied for the best jump ever recorded at the regular Scouting Combine.

Those numbers are so shocking that they sound unbelievable at first. But Williams was a track and field star who won the NAIA national championship in the long jump and was fourth in the country in both the 100 meters and 200 meters, so there’s little doubt that he’s a phenomenal athlete.

He also put up phenomenal numbers on the football field: He was an NAIA All-American while averaging 30.5 yards per catch (with eight touchdowns), 32.4 yards per kickoff return (with three touchdowns), 23.5 yards per punt return (with one touchdown) and 17.6 yards per carry (with three touchdowns).

So can the 5-foot-10, 170-pound Williams play in the pros? It’s a huge jump to go from the NAIA to the NFL. But this is a young man who’s used to making huge jumps.
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4.32 by laser timing. The 4.19 was a hand time. Sounds like the hand times is what is sent to teams.

 
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Oklahoma WR Sterling Shepard indicated that he believes he could play inside or outside in the NFL.
"I've gotten a lot questions about whether I can play inside or outside. I believe I can do both of them. I did it all throughout college, and I don't think size played a big factor in it," Shepard said. Oklahoma cornerback Zack Sanchez (himself draft-bound) stepped to bat for the 5-foot-10, 195-pounder, noting that the three toughest wide receivers he's ever covered in college were Amari Cooper, Tyler Lockett and Shepard (though obviously he never faced Shepard in game-action). Said Sanchez, "He's just a complete receiver. There's not too many like him. He's the best receiver in the draft in my opinion. I may be a little biased because he's my teammate, but from a complete wideout standpoint, I don't think there's a guy like him."

 
 
Source: Sports Illustrated Campus Rush 
Mar 6 - 4:23 PM
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Rials recruiting director Mike Farrell sees Notre Dame WR Will Fuller as "impossible to cover."
Farrell makes his bold statement based on Fuller's "excellent hands and body control." Interesting that Farrell's actually high on his hands, because almost nobody else is. The Irish standout dropped a combined 21 passes over the last two seasons, the most in the FBS over that span. This is where Rivals offers a different angle than other analysts who have focused merely on a player's college days. Farrell scouted Fuller when he was at Roman Catholic High heading into the 2013 recruiting cycle and notes, "The inconsistency with his hands is puzzling because he caught everything out of high school." For what it's worth (very little), Fuller didn't drop a pass while running the gauntlet at the combine. Obviously, his game tape holds far, far more value.

 
 
Source: rivals.com 
Mar 6 - 3:58 PM
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Rivals recruiting director Mike Farrell notes that Colorado State WR Rashard Higgins "didn’t jump off the charts in any category" at the NFL Scouting Combine.
"[Higgins] needed a big combine to shoot up the board, and he didn’t really have one," Farrell wrote. The 6-foot-2, 188-pounder's a sterling route runner, but Farrell's correct in questioning his measurable aspects. Hollywood Higgins ran the 40-yard dash in a sluggish 4.64 seconds and managed a vertical leap of 32 inches at the combine. The numbers read almost like more of those of a top tight end prospect than an NFL wideout, but Higgins doesn't have the size to realistically change positions at this point. It's impossible to tell just how much these lackluster measurable showings will hurt him given his prolific career in college, but at the very least, he's probably slipped out of contention as a Day 2 wideout.

 
 
Source: rivals.com 
Mar 6 - 7:44 PM
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Michigan State QB Connor Cook "didn’t show tremendous pop or accuracy on his passes [at the NFL Scouting Combine]," according to Rivals recruiting director Mike Farrell.
"Cook needed to wow everyone to stay in the first round discussion and he didn’t do that," Farrell noted. The recruitment analyst saw the same issues with accuracy during the 6-foot-4, 218-pounder's days at Walsh Jesuit High, too, so it's not like this is a new thing for Cook. To the accuracy point, he never completed more than 59% of his passes during his three years starting for the Spartans. Indeed, his completion percentage has dropped each season, from 58.7% as a sophomore to 58.1% as a junior to just 56.1% as a senior. Farrell indicated that Cook needed to perhaps be a little more sharp at the combine events just to make up for some of the attitude questions that surround him. No dice. The analyst pegged him as a Day 2 or Day 3 selection for the draft. He probably won't slip to Day 3, but a second or third-round selection is certainly in play.

 
 
Source: rivals.com 
Mar 6 - 7:02 PM
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At Monday's pro day, Auburn RB Peyton Barber ran the forty in 4.59 seconds.
That's an improvement of roughly .05 second than what he did in Indianapolis. The 5-foot-11, 232-pound Barber chipped in 32.5 inches on the vertical and a broad jump of 9-3. NFL Media analyst Lance Zierlein compares Barber to Josh Robinson. "I'm told scouts ran Barber through a bunch of drills, and his footwork, pass-catching and pass-protection skills were impressive," TFY Draft Insider's Tony Pauline passed along.

 
 
Source: Walter Football 
Mar 7 - 9:29 PM
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Arizona State QB Mike Bercovici drew "mixed reviews" at his Friday pro day workout, according to TFY Draft Insider's Tony Pauline.
"While I'm told he looked very sharp inside of 15 yards, he struggled with his downfield throws, especially the deep outs," Pauline wrote. "Bercovici struggled getting speed on his long throws, and they tended to hang in the air. I'm told [D.J.] Foster made an incredible reception on one of the long throws." It hasn't been the best start to the process for Bercovici. At this point, he appears to be on the outside looking in among a large group of developmental quarterbacks vying for a late Day 3 call. The 6-foot-1, 200-pounder threw for 3,860 yards with a 30/9 TD/INT ratio last season. "Bercovici has a very strong arm," wrote NFL Media senior analyst Gil Brandt.

 
 
Source: Walter Football 
Mar 7 - 4:02 PM
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