10 Players Whose Stock Skyrocketed (at Combine)

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1084993-2012-nfl-combine-10-players-whose-draft-stock-skyrocketed

Did up an article on 10 guys that have increased their stock most during Combine week.

As a bonus, here are some guys that I DID NOT mention in the article that impressed me:

Drake Dunsmore - First off he's a productive player. I believe he had 500 yards receiving and 6 TDs this year at Northwestern. He caught 5 TDs in 2010 and 3 TDs in 2009, so you know this man finds the end zone. The caveat is at only 6'2" and 241 lbs, a lot of people are considering him more of a fullback, and more the Charles Clay type that catches the ball than the John Kuhn type that will log short yardage carries. In other words, he's probably not for the Fins, but that doesn't mean he's not a good prospect. He was the only guy in TE field drills that truly showed the ability to plant and drive on his routes. There's obviously a lot in his game that needs to be cleaned up but as far as going out there and running routes, getting open and making clean catches, he might actually have had the most ability out of the group. His Combine numbers were pretty top notch, but it was the drills that caught my attention.

Marvin Jones - He actually belongs in the article because his stock is going up something fierce. He had a strong Combine where he ran a 4.46 and people are starting to get it that he's got a great combination of route running skills and run after catch ability, at 6'2" and 199 lbs. He was one of my guys I was watching heading into this process, pretty underrated player.

Tony Bergstrom & Tom Compton - They have what Bill Walsh would refer to as good "bone girth". They have the makings of players that display excellent power, and yet they're both very athletic and have the potential to be good in pass protection as well. A good base is important, but great bone structure and ability to bend your knees and use your upper body efficiently to connect your power base to your opponent, that's probably more important. That's what these guys have, and it showed in field drills. Then you look at their numbers and sure enough, they showed well in athletic drills.

Adam Gettis - Not my favorite player during drills, but the simple fact of the matter is the athleticism and explosion he showed at this size should catch teams' attention. He needs a lot of work on his lateral movement, but it's clear that he generates a lot of power from that explosive lower body. You're looking at him as a guard anyway, so you don't need him to have Joe Thomas' feet in pass pro.

Phil Blake & Quentin Saulsberry - Both these guys present much of the same thing, to me. They're not highly athletic and don't show great range, but they are technically sound, lunch pail pros. They honestly looked like if you invited a couple of blue collar journeymen starters (not stars) to the Combine to participate in drills with all these kids. They both just put their heads down, went to work, and showed that experience pays dividends in your technique. They could both start games.

David Wilson - He really killed his measurements, and also showed that he's got some pass catching versatility in his drills.

Cyrus Gray - I'm probably among a very few that thought him capable of the 4.47 second 40 yard dash time that he posted. I pay close attention to who you're running away from and what they're reported speed is from camps and spring practices, so I knew Cyrus had this in him. Tom Wort told us a year ago that Cyrus was the most difficult talented he's played against.

Chris Rainey - I hated how he pulled up with a hamstring after his 40 yard dash, as if he looked up at the board and saw his disappointing time, and decided he's got to make an excuse for it. But the fact of the matter is, aside from the disappointing 4.45 official time, this guy showed he could run with some of the best shuttle and cone drill times I've ever seen. He didn't suddenly lose his world class speed, it just didn't translate on Sunday, for whatever reason. Fact of the matter is Rainey's gone from being a 7th round slot receiver prospect to more like a 3rd or 4th round factor back that you will use in the slot and to take carries. He performed really, really well in catching drills, running routes. And eventually if you ever need to give him the pink slip, you can write, "Time to die, b-tch" on it.

Bruce Irvin - All the way around there were a lot of guys that were impressive from the DLs and LBs units. But for Bruce Irvin to show up at 245 lbs and run the way he did, and look the way he did in drills, that was a big win for him. He's as fast as Zach Brown, moves extremely well in linebacker drills, and he's twice the pass rusher/blitzer Brown is. Brown isn't really a very good cover guy anyway so at least Irvin's got the excuse that he'll just be learning it for the first time. I thought that, while Mike Mayock honestly couldn't shut up about Melvin Ingram even to the point of lying and claiming Ingram is 30 lbs heavier than Irvin (he was 19 lbs heavier at weigh-in), Irvin was having just as good field drills and had a better measurement session.

Dwight Bentley - His stock has been on the rise for months. He finished off his season with a great game against San Diego State. He went to the Senior Bowl and stood out as perhaps the best corner there. Then he goes to the Combine and busts out a legit 4.43. He's a ball of butcher knives that will stick you and kill you in support, and he's got the ability to stay in anyone's hip pocket.

Josh Robinson - Running the official fastest time at the Combine at 4.33 seconds will get you on anyone's radar. Posting an 11'1" broad jump with sub-4 second shuttle drill and a 6.57 second cone drill, that's just showing off.

 

I honestly didn't get a chance to digest many of the DB performances because I had to write the article last night and the DB drills just happened yesterday.

 

I thought it was in the eye of the beholder on Cam Johnson. I LIKE the guy, and so I saw good stuff in his drills, but I could see how some others saw nothing special, etc.