NCAA Football

NFL Combine Wrap-up: Top corners live up to the hype on the final day.

If you didn’t know who Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was before the last few weeks, you certainly should now.

Rodgers-Cromartie, the 1-AA star from Tennessee St. who’s been shooting up everyone’s draft radar thanks to his size, speed, cover skills, and versatility, came into the combine off the heels of a performance at the Senior Bowl, and with a chance to solidify his status as an elite draft prospect.

Job well done would be an understatement after what he did on Tuesday. Rodgers-Cromartie ran a 4.33 40, which was good for third among the cornerbacks, and posted the best vertical jump (38.5 inches), broad jump (10′11”), and 3-cone drill time (6.74) among the corners.

Talib, Other Top Corners Stand Out

Rodgers-Cromartie wasn’t the only top corner who had a great showing at the combine.

Running in the 4.5 range would have been a more than respectable time for Kansas’ Aqib Talib, even with the sub 4.4 times several of the other corners put in. But, by running a 4.47, Talib went a long way in answering the one big question mark that surrounded him coming into Indianapolis and sealing a place in the first round.

And while Rodgers-Cromartie might have had the best day of the corners, Talib was right behind him in both the vertical and broad jump, and had the fourth-best 3-cone drill time at 6.82 seconds.

The NFL Network’s Mike Mayock had a lot of questions about Talib’s performance in games, most notably when he got beat by Kansas St’s Jordy Nelson last season, and also by Nebraska’s Maurice Purify, but then again, what corner hasn’t gotten beaten a time or two?

Troy’s Leodis McKelvin (#1 in our CB rankings) and South Florida’s Mike Jenkins (#3) didn’t hurt their standing in the least, as both ran sub 4.4 40s.

There were several lower-rated prospects that made an impression as well.

UConn’s Tyvon Branch led the way for the corners with a scorching 4.31 40, which could vault him into the third round.

Colorado’s Terrence Wheatley ran a 4.37 40 and finished among the top performers in the vertical and broad jumps, the 3-cone drill, and the 20-yard shuttle, which might have pushed him solidly into the first day as well.

Other notables:

Indiana’s Tracy Porter helped his stock by showcasing his speed in the timed drills: 4.37 40, 4.07 20-yard shuttle (tied for best time), and an 11.22 in the 60-yard shuttle (2nd). Porter looks like a solid second-round pick, at worst, and he could very well sneak into the bottom of the first round.

A few sleepers helped themselves with solid showings, as Arkansas’ Michael Grant (4.37 40) and Auburn’s Jonathan Wilhite (4.38) are now likely mid-rounders now. Grant has the versatility to play corner or safety in the NFL (he played both at Arkansas), and that speed will certainly make a team feel better about putting him on the field as a corner.

Eastern Kentucky’s Antwaun Molden may have also worked himself into that range by having an impressive all-around day, including posting the best bench press numbers among the corners with 27.

It wasn’t all good, though. Virginia Tech’s Brandon Flowers (4.58), LSU’s Chevis Jackson (4.58), and San Jose St.’s Dwight Lowery (4.62) ran slower than expected.

But, just how much can you read into some of the 40 numbers? Penn St.’s Justin King ran a 4.32, but that won’t vault him into the elite because the consensus is that he’s still got a ways to go to become the complete corner that he can be. He’s certainly got the potential to, and if he can translate potential into production, then his likely draft slot (3rd, at best) would be an extreme bargain.

Oh, There Were Safeties There Too!

In all of the hoopla surrounding all of the impressive performances by the cornerbacks, if I had left out the safeties, not too many people may have blinked.

But, there were some notable performances among the safeties.

UTEP’s Quintin Demps had some struggles at the Senior Bowl which hurt him a little, but rebounded at the combine by running an excellent 4.38 40.

Cal’s Thomas DeCoud is looking all the more like a solid first-day selection after going under 4.5 in his 40, and a fellow Pac-10 safety, Arizona St.’s Josh Barrett, leapt into first-day contention with a blistering 4.35 40, which at 6′2, 223, equals a pretty painful if he comes at you full speed. Barrett had his struggles as a senior, but with that size and speed, he’s a very intriguing prospect. A team could actually try to get him to pack on some pounds so that he could be a ferocious, hard-hitting linebacker, or keep him at safety, where he could wreak just as much havoc.

Notre Dame’s Tom Zbikowski, who’s one of those ‘coulda/shoulda entered in 2007′ prospects, ran a 4.52 40, had 24 reps in the bench press, and put the strength and conditioning coach in his place when he called him Rudy.

As for some of our other top-rated safeties - Miami’s Kenny Phillips, Texas’ Marcus Griffin, North Carolina State’s DaJuan Morgan, Alabama’s Simeon Castille, and Tennessee’s Jonathan Hefney - their days could have gone better.

Phillips and Morgan ran respectable 40s (4.54 and 4.52 respectively), but really didn’t help (or hurt) themselves, while Griffin (4.76 40), Castille (4.7), and Hefney ran a lot slower than expected. Worse yet for Hefney, he came in at 5′7, instead of at 5′9 like he was listed.

As far as sleepers go, the two guys who helped themselves the most among the safety group were TCU free safety David Roach and Arkansas State strong safety Tyrell Johnson.

Johnson, the Sun Belt’s all-time tackles leader, showed off good speed with a 4.47 40, and great strength with 27 reps in the bench press. He could very well go as high as the fourth round. As for Roach, he ran an excellent 4.4 40, and had an equally excellent 38-inch vertical leap. Roach looks like a solid pick somewhere in the middle rounds.

So, that’s it. The combine’s over, and it told us quite a few things about quite a few players. But, the scouting process is far from over, as there are still pro days to go, and more video to be dissected.

The picture is clearer for a lot of prospects, while others clouded our perceptions of them, and others jumped onto our radar.

So, pull out the pencils, and make sure you have a good eraser, because it’s time to change those mock drafts for the umpteenth - and not the last - time.

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