NFL Combine- Part 3

So, I decided to condense the defense into one day. I know it isn't fair, but the storylines on D aren't as compelling as the deep WR core or the battle for who will be the 3rd and 4th QB taken. Here are my thoughts from the defensive line, linebackers, and secondary.

- Every combine there is one guy who unexpectadely puts on one hell of a show, launches himself into the first round, and somehow ends up on the Oakland Raiders. This year's candidate? Dontari Poe, DT, Memphis. He is 6'4, 345 lbs... And he ran a sub-5 second 40 yard dash. He was insane. He pressed 225 lbs 44 times. He has a 30 inch vertical jump. When your performance across the board is better than Haloti Ngata's, and you are being compared to him favorably, you win the Combine.

- I have strong rooting interests in two players at defensive end in this year's draft. The first is Chandler Jones from Syracuse. His two older brothers are Arthur Jones of the Ravens (and also of Syracuse), and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon "Bones" Jones. He is amazingly athletic, has a great motor, and could be comparable to Cuse alum and All-Pro Dwight Freeney. The other is UVA DE and former Gonzaga College High School player Cam Johnson. He put up very similar numbers to Jones at the Combine, and we Eagles always stick together. Jones is projected to go late-1st to early 2nd, and Cam Johnson shouldn't fall far behind.

- Vontaze Burfict might win the All-Name Award, but he certainly did not win the Combine. Instead, he ran very poorly, had slow and underachieving cone drills, and did nothing to ease concerns that his ability can outweigh his character and off the field issues. Dare we say it, but if he doesn't ace his pro day, his draft may be anything but burfict... See what I did there? You're welcome.

- Morris Claiborne of LSU has long been considered the #1 DB in the draft. He did nothing to make people re-evaluate him, as his solid numbers should have solidified a top 10 pick.



Now we head into the world of Pro Days. Rarely does anyone hurt his chances here, but certainly someone can vault up the boards if he puts up insane numbers. I'll try to keep you posted. Less than 2 months to draft day!