The Scoop on the NFL Combine

On Tuesday, February 26, 2019- Monday, March 4, 2019, former college players had a chance to prove their drill skills at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. There are many scouts there from 32 teams in the NFL looking to see who stands out in the combine. Some players make it pro, some don’t.

There were great and bad performances by great college players, but the good ones are exciting to talk about. Zedrick Woods is a safety from Ole Miss who ran  4.29 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

There are other great players that followed him. Another great player, who didn’t run as fast, but ran the fastest for his position. His name is Erik McCoy, an offensive lineman from Texas A&M and he ran a 4.89 in the 40-yard dash.

Great players can be even greater athletes if they can jump high. Juan Thornhill is a safety from the University of Virginia and he can jump 44 inches high. DK Metcalf (Ole Miss) had the best performance for the wide receivers. According to Darrel Williams, a former high school football head coach affirms,”…he shocked in his athleticism…”

Unfortunately, there were lots of players who didn’t stand out at the combine but could get another chance at Pro Day at their own facility in college. We are only going to speak of the performance most NFL scouts saw. Nate Herbig is a 333-pound offensive guard out of Stanford University, he is a big boy that ran a 5.21 40-yard dash. D’Cota Dixon is a defensive back that ran a 4.81. This time is very slow for a defensive back.

Dwayne Haskins (Ohio State University) is a star quarterback coming into the combine. He is a great player that can make plays through his arm, but there some other aspects that he needs to work on. Dwayne Haskins had a 28.5 inch vertical jump. For a quarterback that is decent, but for a star quarterback, it isn’t. Although he had the best rating for a quarterback he still needs to be able to run. His 40-yard dash time was a 5.04. That was probably one of the worst 40-yard times since Tom Brady, but he is still the best passer in the combine.

Kyler Murray was probably going to be the best quarterback in the combine, but he decided to not do the combine and instead compete in Oklahoma under his own clocks and with his own teammates.

The best athlete could’ve been anyone, but Darrel Williams thought it was David Long. David Long is a former Michigan Wolverine safety. He had great highlights, with tons of big hits. He really stood out. Darrel Williams stated that, “ … David Long did a good 40 [yard dash] time and was the very best at the 3 cone drill…”