Day No. 4 of the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine drills took place on Sunday, with defensive backs taking center stage. Daniel Jeremiah goes in depth on the top prospects.
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Day No. 2 of the 2020 NFL
Scouting Combine drills took place on Friday, with offensive linemen, specialists and running backs taking center stage.
Below are some of NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah's takeaways from workouts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Projections listed in parentheses are from
Chad Reuter's three-round mock draft.
Day 2
RUNNING BACKS
D'Andre Swift, Georgia (No. 32 to Chiefs): He impressed scouts after running a 4.48 40. D.J. has him ranked 17th in his top-50 prospects.
"He's my top running back here. He's got some DeAngelo Williams to him when you watch him. That's a great run. That's a beautiful time. He's got some power. He's got vision, which is where everything starts at running backs. And this kid has got outstanding vision and just naturally instinctive. Georgia's been pumping out some running backs lately."
DeeJay Dallas, Miami: The 5-foot-10, 217-pound running back ran a 4.58 40.
"The best pass protecting back in the draft class in my opinion. His game is about vision, balance and power between the tackles. And then again, when you get in passing situations, 217-pound back that's aware can really, really pass protect. That's plenty good enough for him the way he plays. You talk about short yardage, this dude is a bulldog in short yardage."
Cam Akers, Florida State: "He's a really good back. He's got a chance, I wouldn't be shocked if he ended up being the second or third back to go off the board. He's that type of talent."
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
Tristan Wirfs, Iowa (No. 18 to Dolphins): The 6-foot-5, 320-pound lineman broke records on Friday night. He posted a 36.5-inch vertical jump, which is a modern record among O-linemen. He also tied the combine record for an O-lineman with a 10-foot-1 broad jump. Then he recorded a 4.85 40, which is the best time of any offensive lineman this year.
"When he's right, when he stays square and gets his hands on you, it is over with his strength. Now he has an issue every now that he'll over set. But when he stays square he finishes and it's easy. How about the ability to pull on the perimeter? Pull, locate, find your man, get on him. Now you see athleticism to be able to reach and seal off the edge, that run game, get out to the perimeter and then the movement.
"We've seen him on the right side of the line of scrimmage at right tackle. Here you see him on the left side at left tackle, able to uproot the defender, get a nice crease here down on the goal line. The major issue with Wirfs that he's had in some of the pressures that he's given up is all been oversetting."
Mekhi Becton, Louisville (No. 6 to Giants): The OL ran
a 5.10 40-yard dash, the fastest time by a player weighing 350-plus pounds at the combine since at least 2003. He's ranked No. 5 in D.J.'s top-50 draft prospects.
"You can't get through him. And he uses his length in pass pro. You can't get around him. And in the run game it's an avalanche when he down blocks. He just takes everybody with him. And he's moving pretty good. When he was training in Texas,
Terron Armstead went down to visit and when he walked in the room and saw him he said 'What is that?' Guys like this are just rare."
Andrew Thomas, Georgia (No. 16 to Browns): "He is quick and powerful. A dominate run blocker. Just uproots people in the run game. Pass protection and the balance was the only concern there. That's a good time for him. He's going to be a starting left tackle in the NFL I believe in Year 1. He's my 21st overall player right now."
Austin Jackson, USC (No. 34 to Colts): "He's got a chance at being a top-20 pick when it's all said and done. He's only 20 years old and just scratching the surface of how good he can be. ... This kid's very athletic. He can bend his knees, he can redirect. Just needs to get physically stronger. ... I think him having a full offseason going into the NFL, you're going to see a stronger type of
Austin Jackson."
Cesar Ruiz, Michigan (No. 22 to Bills): "He's got outstanding football instincts and awareness, too. You watch how aware he is of his surroundings inside. He's going to be a day-one starter."
Jedrick Wills, Alabama (No. 15 to Jets): "Jedrick Wills, I believe, is the mix to be the first lineman off the board. I have Mekhi Becton, but he's right behind him. He ran just over 5.0 in the 40. You see some of that explosiveness in the vertical that shows up when you watch him on tape."
John Simpson, Clemson: "You see
John Simpson moving around a little bit better. He went through an ankle injury this year, so if you watch him before the ankle injury and after, it's like two different guys. Tried to play through it, did play through it at the
Senior Bowl, but with time he let that heal and he's moving around a little bit better."
Day 1
QUARTERBACKS
Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma (No. 104 to Steelers): Hurts was the second-fastest QB of the day with a 4.59-second 40-yard dash. He tied for first among QBs with a 10-foot-5 broad jump. Hurts also had a great day with on-field position drills. Jeremiah doesn't see his athleticism being a problem for him.
"The issues that
Jalen Hurts has sometimes is vision and anticipation, which you're not going to really see in this setting. We saw the athlete that he is and you see him throw the football. The ball is live. It jumps out of his hand. And watching him go through the drop right here I think his feet when you stack him up with the rest of the guys up there looks pretty good."
Justin Herbert, Oregon (No. 4 to Chargers): Herbert, who stands at 6-foot-6, 236 pounds, ran a 4.68 40, which is great for a guy his size.
"He's a tricky evaluation because you love the size. You love the production. He had won a lot of games there at Oregon. I just want to see him cut it loose and be a little more aggressive and enter into that attack mode. Sometimes he plays a little bit too cautious. He never took a snap under center in college. So, this is all brand new for him as well as it is for a lot of these guys."
Jake Fromm, Georgia (No. 38 to Patriots): Out of the 13 quarterbacks who ran on Thursday, Fromm was the slowest with a 5.01 40.
"Fromm doesn't have a big arm. But you will see with him timing, anticipation. He's had the same arm his whole life. So, he knows how to navigate around some of those concerns, get the ball out early. I don't think he fits every team. But I think there's handful of teams. And I look at teams kind of in the south and the west coast. You know play inside. I look at a team like the
Atlanta Falcons to try and get somebody to sit behind
Matt Ryan for a couple of years. Maybe with the payoff down the road. I would imagine in that stadium would be a popular pick."
Jordan Love, Utah St. (No. 23 to Panthers): Love's elasticity earned comparisons from Jeremiah to reigning MVP
Patrick Mahomes.
"He's my 18th overall player, so he's a first-round quarterback all day long."
Steven Montez, Colorado: Montez impressed with his athleticism and arm talent, running a 4.68 40, third-best amongst quarterbacks.
"He's got a lot of upside. For me, it's just making better decisions. He'll have some unbelievable 'wow' plays and then he'll have some easy misses. But we've seen him run today, how athletic he is, and I've seen the ball jump off his hand."
Joe Burrow, LSU (No. 1 to Bengals): Burrow decided not to work out during the combine this week, saying LSU's long run in the College Football Playoff as a reason for sitting out drills. His Pro Day will be on April 3. During the broadcast, Jeremiah compared him to
Patriots QB
Tom Brady.
"When you watch these guys side by side,
Tom Brady mechanically, watch what you see from Brady and tell me this does not look identically the same from
Joe Burrow. It is eerie. And it's just not my opinion in saying that. You see the comparison there. The poise, the pocket awareness and they both absolutely have that swagger. But Kevin Faulk on that staff at LSU. As the scouts have come rolling through there and they ask 'Kevin, you've been in the NFL a long time. What do you think of this Burrow kid?'
"And he goes 'I'm telling you this is
Tom Brady. This kid reminds me so much of
Tom Brady.' And I understand that's the greatest of all-time and I know comparisons get people all upset. But when you watch them mechanically and you're around their personalities, their leadership style, there's a lot of similarities."
WIDE RECEIVERS
Henry Ruggs III, Alabama (No. 21 to Eagles): In his highly anticipated 40-yard dash, Ruggs blazed to a 4.27, not quite breaking
John Ross' record of 4.22 but
impressing nonetheless. Jeremiah said after Ruggs' 40 that he "was in the mix" to be the first receiver off the board.
Unfortunately, Ruggs did not finish drills, missing some position work with a bag of ice wrapped around his right thigh.
Justin Jefferson, LSU (No. 36 to Giants): Jefferson ranks at No. 16 on Jeremiah's top-50 draft prospect rankings. The WR had quite an impressive day receiving high praise from D.J. after running a 4.43 40.
"That is huge. That's the most important time that we've seen today. He's a great player on tape and now you've got some big-time legitimate speed on record to back it up."
Chase Claypool, Notre Dame: The wideout showed great hands during his on-field drills and ran a 4.42 40.
"That's a great time for him. This dude is tough. He's a gunner on punt team, makes a bunch of tackles, really physical in the red zone. That's a great time for him."
Jalen Reagor, TCU (No. 48 to Jets): Reagor was one of Jeremiah's
top five candidates to break Ross' 40 record, but the receiver ran a 4.47 on Thursday, tied for 15th among WRs.
"It looked like Reagor got a little too thick. I saw how well he ran on tape, but it didn't really match up today."
TIGHT ENDS
Cole Kmet, Notre Dame (No. 20 to Jaguars): The only TE to crack
Jeremiah's top 50 prospects, Kmet (No. 42) ran a 4.70 40-yard dash, the fourth-fastest time among tight ends.
"That's a really good time for his size."
Hunter Bryant, Washington (No. 37 to Chargers): "He didn't run as fast as I thought he would, but he's having a good field workout, the way he's moving around."
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