With Day 3 of the NFL’s Scouting Combine almost in the books, quarterbacks, tight ends and wide receivers have completed their medical testing, on-the-field drills and media availability; while there are still meetings with teams happening throughout the weekend and a lot of combine evaluations should be taken with a grain of salt, some conclusions can be drawn even from the small corner of the puzzle that is starting to be put together to determine where these prospects will be drafted come April. So what can be gleaned from the quarterback and tight ends’ performances in Indianapolis? Let’s take a look at a few players who may have moved the needle for themselves, some in the right direction with positive performances, and a couple who may have hurt their draft position as they came up short.
Movin’ On Up
Amazing stuff from Josh Allen at the NFL Combine. Has looked the best out of the first group. Baker, Rudolph and Rosen are in the second group. pic.twitter.com/sjxQbHeEor
— Buffalo Sports Talk (@BUFSportsTalk) March 3, 2018
Josh Allen
This was always meant to be Josh Allen’s day to shine and with a second-placed 4.75 40 and group topping performances in the vertical jump (33.5″), broad jump (119″) and three cone drill (6.9s) he established himself as the most athletic of the quarterbacks doing drills at the combine. In the throwing sessions, he demonstrated the huge arm that he was known for at Wyoming. For Allen the questions have never been about his athleticism, but a performance like this should only help his quest to be taken in the top five picks of the upcoming draft.
Josh Rosen
While he was always expected to show well in the field drills, the testing sections of the combine were never meant to be something that helped Josh Rosen’s stock. However, his forty yard dash of 4.92 was at least in the same area as the likes of Mayfield and Darnold, who were seen as far more mobile (both ran in the mid-4.8s). Additionally, he finished third in both the vertical jump and the 20 yard shuttle and his other numbers were also respectable. These numbers will not rise his stock by themselves, but for a player whose main question was regarding his athleticism this was a day that should have silenced a lot of doubters in that regard.
Mike Gesicki
Mike Gesicki is another guy who everybody knew was going to put up big numbers, but nobody expected him to put up numbers that were this good. He finished second to fellow-freak Dallas Goedert in the bench press with 22 reps, but with Goedert not participating in movement drills, Gesicki was able to post the top number in every other drill. As somebody who was largely seen as a mid-round pick coming into the combine, he has very much pushed his name into day two consideration.
Picked A Bad Day To Have A Bad Day
NFL COMBINE: More from @pringle_byron, this time on the post with Heisman winner Baker Mayfield. Pringle’s hard cut may have thrown the timing off but nobody will ever question Pringle’s route running. Superb. pic.twitter.com/P5s1zS9dfx
— Ryan Wallace (@GPCwallace) March 3, 2018
Baker Mayfield
Baker Mayfield’s bad day was more in his failure to separate himself athletically from some of his competition than anything else. His 40 time was comparable to both Darnold and Rosen, his jumps were better than Darnold’s but behind Rosens and while his 20 yard shuttle was in the top three his three cone drill was unremarkable. Not a bad day as such for Mayfield in terms of his performances themselves, but his stock compared to the other top quarterbacks might have taken a hit.
Mark Andrews
Mark Andrews entered the combine as one of the two best tight ends, and with his closest competition Dallas Goedert not participating in drills, he would have hoped to cement that distinction between himself and the rest. While his game is not hugely based on athleticism, his agility drills were disappointingly in the bottom three for both three cone and sixty yard shuttles and while his third place 4.67 forty yard dash was good, it was not the exclamation mark he might have wanted to make.
Ryan Izzo
Ryan Izzo might have hoped that with a strong showing in the combine he might have been able to emerge from among the second tier of tight ends in this class to be the third tight end taken come draft day. However, with generally poor performances throughout and a disconcertingly poor 4.94 forty time he could well have seen himself slip back in the pack somewhat. Izzo was never going to be a star, but teams might question what his upside might be and could drop his stock accordingly.
