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Risdon's Sunday Combine Notes
Authored by Jeff Risdon - 25th February, 2008 - 12:46 pm
With John Herrera standing to his right dressed in black and appearing not unlike an undertaker, Lane Kiffin sat down at the podium for Sunday's postgame news conference.
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Today was the day that fans look forward to most -- the offensive skill position workouts. And those who love speed were certainly not disappointed.
The fastest time of the day went to East Carolina RB Chris Johnson, at 4.24 seconds. But the unquestioned focus of attention was Darren McFadden. His 4.33 time was about .2 lower than even his biggest proponents proposed he'd run.
For prominent pundits like Mike Mayock and Russ Lande, who have pounded McFadden's perceived lack of propulsion, it provided a perfect pie in face. It also won at least two reporters, that I'm aware of, some serious cash.
Another Sunday winner: Desean Jackson, the emaciated WR/KR from California. He needed to flash the jets to overcome his extreme lack of mass (he's just 169 pounds, about 35 less than typical NFL WR's of his height), and he came through with a 4.35, fastest amongst wideouts. I was disappointed he didn't attempt any of the shuttle drills, though.
Florida WR Andre Caldwell continues to get lots of under-the-radar love (the White Lion cover, not the Golden Earring original). He posted the 2nd fastest WR time at 4.37 (along with Mizzou's Will Franklin and a couple of others), but what makes his time look better is that he's six feet tall and muscularly built, whereas all the other top timers are Jackson's size. He's definitely solidified himself as a top 40 pick, and a couple of scouts I talked with have him as one of their top 3 WR's.
The NFL Network is perhaps the most annoyingly self-important organization this side of Ralph Nader. A number of the guys from there are really good people, but you know how in all the glimpses of North Korea you never see anything but glorification of Kim Jong Il and people trying not to show their enmity towards him but at the same time not stifle it either? That's the general feel of the NFL Network presence here in Indy.
Following the gymnastics front from yesterday: I was in the hotel lobby for breakfast when I heard one of the girls whimpering to her mother on the phone that 5 of her 6 teammates had suffered "awful" injuries, including a broken leg "so nasty our coach passed out". Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be gymnasts!
I spent a great deal of the workouts chatting up scouts and front office types. Some notes and quotes:
"I don't see any place for Colt Brennan in the NFL."
"James Hardy is either going to dominate or be out of the league in two years. And right now I honestly can't say which is more likely." I lean towards the former, having watched Hardy beat up some pretty good Big 10 CB's although his lack of consistent separation and effort troubles me.
"I like Chad Henne just as much as I like Matt Ryan, and I like them both better than Brian Brohm or Joe Flacco quite a bit."
"Look at how at ease Mendenhall is all the time, even when he's sprinting. He's got that Emmitt Smith vibe to him. That kid is a winner."
"Desean Jackson made himself a lot of money today."
"That Jackson ke-yid from App-e-lay-chun State (my phonics -- picture that coming out of an overweight 50-something man with grey chest hair pluming from his golf shirt who can't go 15 minutes without running for an exit to have a cigarette) he caught my eye." Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be him, either!
"These tight ends all suck" -- that's a basic paraphrasing of the general sentiment. Many times there was a choice expletive between the words "all" and "suck". That led to an interesting, often animated, discussion about the evolution of the TE. There is a serious cultural rift between those of us who picture Ozzie Newsome or Todd Christiansen as the ideal TE and those who think Antonio Gates or Dallas Clark are the prototype. Suffice to say that anyone looking for the old school guys, you're going to be bitterly disappointed with this draft class. John Carlson was the most like those older guys, but he barely broke the 5 second mark in the 40 and seemed both nervous and unfit. Personally, I think both Fred Davis and Martellus Bennett are horribly overvalued which draws either knowing nods or looks that make me wonder if I should get someone else to start my car for me.
I'll trumpet my own horn here on tight ends: Over the past 4-5 drafts I have batted almost 1.000 on evaluations of the position, from nailing Vernon Davis as a freakishly athletic bust to Jeff King as an under-the-radar quality starter. Trust me when I tell you that you really don't want your team picking any TE's in the first two rounds.
I'm in the process of updating the Top 103 prospects and have begun putting together another mock draft. Both should be done by the time the smoke clears from Indy, keep checking back!
