NFL draft experts Jordan Reid and Matt Miller recap Day 1 of the combine workouts, evaluating the top performances, picking prospects who are rising (and potentially falling).
Reid:
Bralen Trice, a Washington edge rusher, had a difficult evening. He finished the workout early, running a 4.72 at 6 feet 3 inches and 245 pounds. Trice also had trouble performing drills correctly and had to do them more than once. Scouts will question his quickness and ability to get to the next level, but he is a possible top-50 player.
Houston I noticed Christian’s Jalyx Hunt. He had been a safety at Cornell before making the unusual switch to edge rusher. Despite his size—he weighs 252 pounds and is 6-foot-2—he is still raw in many ways. He nevertheless cleared 37.5 inches in the vertical jump and leaped 10 feet 8 inches in the broad jump. Those are impressive figures. Although he’s still developing and probably will be selected in the middle of the third round, clubs regularly overdraft edge rushers with elite physical attributes.
Pass-rusher for Kansas Austin Booker—who I had ranked as my No. 73 overall prospect coming into the combine—put on a perplexing display this week that is inconsistent with his tape-measured skill. At six feet five inches and 240 pounds, he was supposed to compensate for his small stature with great burst and speed. However, his dismal 40-yard sprint time of 4.79 seconds is in no way comparable to what we witnessed this season against Texas, BYU, and Illinois. Although Booker had a 10-foot broad jump, even his 32.5-inch vertical was not good enough for his size.
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Because this is a classic example of the tape not matching the numbers, the combine is crucial. On his pro day, he will have an opportunity to improve on his 40-times.
One of the most important aspects of the combine is finding athletes you want to look at further after they have strong workouts. I should put Washington linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio on my homework list. Athlete 6 feet 8 inches and 236 pounds set breath-taking leap times, including a 10-foot-8 broad jump and a 39.5-inch vertical. As the greatest two linebackers in the game, he was in rarefied air. Add it to a solid time of 4.56 seconds for the 40-yard dash, and Ulofoshio is at the top of my “watch again” list. Read more…