2011 Post-Combine Buzz - The Slow Small Guys

The buzz after the weekend of the 2011 NFL Combine - The surprisingly slow small players

2011 NFL Post-Combine Buzz

The Slow, Small Prospects
 
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2011 NFL Combine Results
- QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | Cs | OTs | OGs 
- DEs | DTs | ILBs | OLBs | Ss | CBs

2011 Post-Combine Buzz
- The Julio vs. A.J. Battle
- Cam The Entertainer
- The No. 2 RB Is ...
- The No. 3 WR Is ...
- The Slow Little Guys
- The Small School Stars
- The No. 1 OT Is ...
- The Mark Ingram Workout
- The Mediocre Tight Ends
- The New Wave Of Athletic QBs

2011 NFL Combine Position Analysis
- QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | Cs | OTs | OGs 
- DEs | DTs | ILBs | OLBs | Ss | CBs

2011 Pre-Combine Buzz
- The Tebow Issue
- The Luckless quarterback class
- Cam Newton is expected to do it all
- The star defensive tackles
- All the North Carolina talent and what they'll do
- Where have all the good running backs gone?
- The lousy tight end class
- The 40 star speedster will be ...
- The three players everyone will be talking about
- The offensive tackle pecking order
- The strongest position is ...
- Da'Quan Bowers' knee
- Breaking Down the 2011 NFL Combine

If you’re going to be a small guy, you had better bring something special with the quicks. While a bad workout doesn’t necessarily mean a prospect can’t play at the next level, it does mean he’ll be on a short leash and isn’t likely to be the weapon that most offensive coordinators will be hoping for. And that’s why the stunner of the weekend was how little guy after little guy failed to show anything special compared to many of the prospects who had the prototype size and the speed.

TCU receiver and returner Jeremy Kerley might be a good all-around football player and might still go in the third round, but he’ll have to show something more after a stunningly weak 4.62 in the 40. He showed a little explosion in his broad jump and he was fluid, but at 5’10” and 189 pounds, he was way too slow.

Particularly shocking was 5’6”, 181-pound West Virginia receiver Jock Sanders, who was supposed to blow the doors off the dome with his speed and only came up with a 4.53 in the 40. He broad jumped a solid 10’1” and he was relatively quick through the shuttle, but he did nothing to help his stock.

The respect is there for Oregon State running back Jacquizz Rodgers because of his durability and the beating he took as a collegian, but at under 5’6” and 196 pounds, he needed to show more quickness and he needed to be far faster. He didn’t rip through the short drills and he ran a slow 4.64 40.

But the biggest head scratcher was Virginia Tech’s Ryan Williams, who planted and cut well in the short drills and came up with some nice times, but he was explosive out of the blocks and only ran a 4.61 40. At just over 5’9” and 212 pounds, and coming off injury problems, he needed to create more of stir and he didn’t. Too many other backs were faster, more athletic, and bigger.

On the plus side, though, Pitt’s 5’7” 193-pound Dion Lewis was a blur through the short drills – making up for a 4.57 40 – and 5’9”, 203-pound Jordan Todman out of Connecticut flew through all the drills including a 4.4 in the 40. Meanwhile, one of the biggest positives was the workout of Virginia Tech QB Tyrod Taylor, who measured in at just under 6’1” but ran a fast 4.51 40, cranked out a fantastic 10’6” broad jump, and threw the ball like a seasoned veteran. He didn’t exactly let it rip, but he looked like a real, live NFL quarterback worth getting a much longer look.