2006 Hot and Not:
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Week 9
2007 NFL Combine, Part One
Here's the basic rule of thumb coming out of the NFL Combine: everyone
has a notion of who they like and who they don't, but a player can
either up his stock big-time by putting up great numbers, or get knocked
off the map with a horrible workout. If a prospect is merely average,
that's good enough. In other words, it's all about not screwing up if
you're not going to go ballistic.
Based on the rumors, scuttlebutt and talk among the scouts and the pro
types, here are the Hot and Not players coming out of the
combines in Indianapolis after second part of the workouts.
Who’s
Hot …
Quincy Black
All of a sudden, everyone was looking for New Mexico game tapes.
The Lobo linebacker joined Arizona RB Chris Henry as the talk of the
Combine after a phenomenal workout leaping a ridiculous 41.5 inches,
benching 225 pounds 22 times, and running a corner-like 4.42 in the 40.
He was also one of the quickest linebackers in the cone drills. After
making a team-leading 114 tackles, the measurables matched the
production.
Chris Houston
While other corners like Leon Hall and Darrelle Revis are being
talked about on all the mock drafts as certain top 20 picks, Houston
might end up being the first cornerback taken when all is said and done.
He made his reputation with the scouts with a good performance against
Dwayne Jarrett in the opener holding him to 35 yards on five catches,
and then opened up everyone's eyes benching 225 pounds 27 times
(Wisconsin stud OT Joe Thomas cranked out 28) and ripping off a 4.32 40,
fastest among the corners. The only knock on him was the defense he
played at Arkansas as purely a man coverage corner, but it's not hard to
make the adjustment to zone.
Jarvis Moss
In a good year for defensive ends, the former Florida Gator
might not be a top 15 type of pick, but he showed enough at the Combine
to earn a spot in the first round. At 6-6 and 250 pounds, he has the
room to add more weight to his frame and become a pure end, or he can
stay as is and be used as a hybrid seeing time as a linebacker after
running a nice 4.7 and looking fluid in all the drills.
Adam Carriker
Talk about your physical specimens, the 6-6, 296-pound former
Nebraska Cornhusker cranked out a defensive tackle-like 33 reps of 225
but showed excellent agility in the cone drills and ran a solid 4.85 40.
Originally considered a late first round pick, he now likely moved his
way into the top 20. As good as he was, the number one end off the board
will be ..
Gaines Adams
The former Clemson star was magnificent running a 4.64 40 and
moved like a much smaller player in linebacker drills. He posted a
vertical jump of 35 inches and a broad jump of 9 feet and 11 inches. He
solidified himself as a top eight pick, and likely the five to Arizona.
Who’s
Not …
Daymeion Hughes
The former Cal cornerback dropped off the map after an awful
Combine. Originally thrown in the mix with Leon Hall and Darrelle Revis
as a likely top 20 pick and possible first corner taken, after so many
others were running 4.4s and 4.3s without a problem, Hughes will likely
be a mid-second round selection.
Quentin Moses
After an extremely disappointing 2006, everyone wanted to see if
the former Georgia end could come up with a big workout to get his draft
stock back up. It didn't happen. He followed up a mediocre 4.82 40 with
a 4.84, but that wasn't as bad as the weak 17 reps of 225 pounds. He
didn't show nearly enough overall athleticism to be the type of
unstoppable NFL speed rusher many thought he might be going into last
year.
Lawrence Timmons
In an awful draft for outside linebackers, many had Timmons
going in the top 15 as one of the few viable options to become a
do-it-all disruptive force. Unfortunately, he lost two inches on the
trip from Tallahassee to Indianapolis measuring in at 6-1, not the 6-3
he was originally listed. Worse yet, he was relatively slow running a
4.6. Even so, he did just about everything else well.
Michigan defensive linemen
Alan Branch, likely the first tackle taken, ripped off an impressive
33 reps of 225 pound and ran a not-that-bad 5.08 40, but he appeared to
be out of shape and didn't look agile. Even so, he's still a near-lock
to go in the top ten, unlike Lamarr Woodley, who didn't do anything at
the Combine outside of getting measured. Rumors swirled about horrendous
individual workouts that would've completely killed his draft stock had
he run or lifted in Indy.
Troy Smith
The scouts
needed to see him workout, but Smith, who admittedly hit the banquet
circuit hard after the season, wasn't prepared and didn't go through the
drills. With his stock falling through the floor after the BCS
Championship loss to Florida, this was his chance to make a statement,
and he did for the wrong reasons.