“No Quarterbacks, No Problem” 2010 NFL Combine: OffenseMarch 1, 2010
When I wasn’t out interviewing people this weekend, I had on an adhesive white t-shirt on so that I could stick to my couch and watch the NFL combine but be able to take bathroom and snack breaks and still be able to return to my spot. I love this time of year, NFL Draft time is always cool. You see the future stars of tomorrow, some names you’ve heard of others, you have no clue who they are but they certainly gained your attention after you saw them workout.
Here are my quick cuts and jukes from the offensive workouts at the 2010 combine.
After watching Saturday’s workout that featured the Offensive Linemen, Tight Ends and Specialist, you should know who Bruce Campbell is by now. The Left Tackle out of Maryland came out after his Junior year. When I say this kid looks like a Greek god, I’m not kidding one bit at all. He doesn’t even look like a Left Tackle, he looks more like a giant tight end, which might explain why he worked out like a Tight End. Campbell stood at 6’6″ and weighed in at 314 pounds running a 4.85 40 yard dash. That’s just disgusting.
The boys from the state of Oklahoma, Russell Okung (OSU) and Trent Williams (OU) also showed out. Okung was second in the bench press with 38 reps of 225 lbs. Williams was second in the 40 running a 4.88 and looking like an Olympic sprinter while doing so, he definitely got out of his start the quickest which will bode will for him coming out of his stance. He also showed good explosiveness with the best vertical of the offensive lineman at 34.5 inches.
Campbell, Okung, Williams along with Anthony Davis of Rutgers make this offensive line class look really good.
The Tight Ends really didn’t impress me to be honest. You have Jermaine Gresham from OU that is coming off an ACL injury and not matter what he says he’s not a full 100% and his 4.78 40 speaks to that. He also looked weak in the bench press only putting up 225 lbs. 20 times, which might prove several scouts thoughts on him being too light to hold up as a blocker at the next level. Dorin Dickerson out of Pitt looked great and put up a baby Veron Davis type workout, but he’s only 6’4 226 pounds at Tight End/H-Back which is way to light in the briches to hold up blocking so you have to be very discerning when looking at his numbers. Jimmy Graham of Miami had a great workout and looked the part, but wasn’t a huge impact at Miami and will take some time to develop in the league. Dedrick Epps, out of Miami might not have had the most impressive numbers, but I predict he’ll be the best tight end in this class.
Yesterday the running backs and wideouts put on a show, and a good one it was. The wide open passing game in the NFL calls for more of the Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson home run hitting type backs and this class has plenty. C.J. Spiller is the most versatile and decorated and ran a 4.37 40 dash and will run faster than that at his Pro Day. Jahvid Best led the pack in the 40 with a 4.35 and in the 3-cone drill with a 6.75. Hopefully his concussion issues are behind him. I had no clue that Best didn’t start playing football until his Junior year of high school. Watch out for Ryan Matthews and Montario Hardesty both are big backs with great balance and should go very early this year and make a big impact.
The wide receivers also looked good. Jacoby Ford of Clemson posted a 4.28 40 which is blazing fast. Hopefully that can translate on the field which he wasn’t always able to do at Clemson. Golden Tate helped himself the most of this class. His speed and explosivness was questioned coming into the combine. He silenced all those doubters. He ran a 4.42 40 and a 10′ broad jump. The wideouts were clearly the deepest bunch of the offensive guys at this combine.
The Quarterbacks were non-existent. Sam Bradford, Jimmy Clausen, Colt McCoy, Tim Tebow and Dan Lefevour all did not throw due to injury or waiting for their pro day. Tim Tebow put up good numbers in his workout, but Peyton Manning and Tom Brady probably put up horrible numbers in their combine workouts but their two of the best quarterbacks in the league right now. I don’t care how well Tebow worked out, I want to see him throw. Tony Pike is the only name woth mentioning who threw and he did well.
That’s all I got,
Ricky Writer
