Risen Star
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McShay handles the offense. Mel covers the defense.
http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draf...14-nfl-draft-prospects-rising-falling-combine
Offense risers
WR Brandin Cooks, Oregon State: Cooks ran the fastest 40-yard dash time among wide receivers at the combine with a 4.33 and the fastest short-shuttle time (3.81 seconds) for his position group as well, backing up the playmaking ability and explosiveness he shows on tape. He is not a lock for the first round, but he has put himself in position to be taken in that range as the fourth-best receiver prospect in this class (behind Clemson's Sammy Watkins, Texas A&M's Mike Evans and USC's Marqise Lee).
QB Jimmy Garoppolo, Eastern Illinois: The ball was jumping off his hand during passing drills Sunday, and he showed quick feet. Teams will have to be convinced he can make the leap from playing against lower-level college competition to the NFL, but I was told he really impressed teams during interviews with his knowledge of the game and on tape he appears to have functional NFL arm strength. There's good zip on his short and intermediate throws; the question is whether he can consistently drive the ball down the field on deep balls. He could wind up as a top-five QB in this class and would be a perfect fit as a developmental guy.
RB Jerick McKinnon, Georgia Southern: He is going to be a tough guy to evaluate because he played in an option offense similar to that of Georgia Tech and played quarterback for much of his career. But he is going to be intriguing as a guy who can be involved in the return game and as a complementary back after showing some good explosiveness in his test results. He ranked in the top four among running backs in five events that measure speed and explosion: the 40-yard dash, three-cone drill, 20-yard shuttle and vertical and broad jumps.
Offense fallers
OT Cyrus Kouandjio, Alabama: He struggled in workouts, posting numbers that weren't even close to those of the top tackle prospects. There was also a Twitter report from Ian Rapoport of NFL.com that Kouandjio failed the physicals of several teams due to an arthritic knee stemming from a failed surgery. (When a player fails a team's physical, he is removed from that team's draft board altogether.) It's impossible to know how much the poor workouts had to do with the possible health issue, but those two factors combined with his inconsistent play at the beginning of the season and in Alabama's Sugar Bowl loss to Oklahoma create a perfect storm of negative factors.
WR Jarvis Landry, LSU: He looks really good on tape, from his competitiveness and toughness as a blocker to his excellent ball skills, but while we knew he didn't have a ton of explosiveness, the poor jump distances and 4.77-second 40-yard dash time he posted before leaving with a reported injury are major red flags. We had an early second-round grade on him coming into the combine, but he'll have to work hard and post a time in the low-4.6s at his pro day to solidify a Day 3 grade. A receiver's 40-time certainly isn't the only factor teams consider during the evaluation process, but 4.77 simply doesn't meet the standard.
RB Ka'Deem Carey, Arizona: He showed a lot of explosiveness and burst on tape, so even though we knew he was more of a quick accelerator than a guy with really good top-end speed, his 40 time of 4.70 is eye-opening -- and not in a good way. He looked like the fourth- or fifth-best running back in this class just based on his tape, but he is going to be drafted a lot lower than that if he can't significantly improve his 40 time at his pro day.
Defense risers
DT Aaron Donald, Pittsburgh: There can't really be any argument that Donald wasn't the most disruptive player in college football, not when you see a ranking like this. But Donald has hit the trifecta: great regular season, great Senior Bowl week, great NFL combine. He ran 4.68 and bench-pressed 225 pounds 35 times, and did so at 285 pounds. He could be a mid-first-round pick.
CB Bradley Roby, Ohio State: We knew Roby was fast, and he ran plenty fast at 4.39, just two hundredths of a second slower than likely top-15 pick and fastest CB Justin Gilbert. But Roby also showed good strength, and thus his results matched the best of his tape. When he's on, he's a quick-twitch kind of fast, changing direction with speed. But he'll also come up and make hits and tackles.
S Terrence Brooks, Florida State: Not only did Brooks run faster than any safety at 4.42 in the 40, but he also had a 38-inch vertical and broad jumped well, showing off plenty of power and explosiveness. He needs to tackle better, but he will get there on time and make plays on the ball.
Honorable mention: Kyle Fuller from Virginia Tech moved up on some boards after a great showing.
Defense fallers
CBs Marcus Roberson and Loucheiz Purifoy, Florida: I'll let these former Gators teammates share the misery. Let's be clear: Neither showed well, both running 4.61 and putting the possibility of either going in Round 1 in jeopardy. Purifoy needed to look good because he's still raw and could be coveted by a good coach at the position. I would say both are likelier in the second-round range now.
DE Michael Sam, Missouri: I hate to say Sam struggled, because he faced a ridiculous amount of media attention in a prepared and composed manner, but his workouts didn't help his draft stock at all. I see him as more of a sixth-rounder out of this, and I had previously been one of the more optimistic evaluators on his stock. I thought he needed to run between 4.65 and 4.75 seconds in the 40-yard dash to maintain the third- to fifth-round grade I had on him, but he didn't run well, at 4.91, and didn't bench well or jump that high either. Sam was more of a pass-rushing specialist coming in, and to lack explosiveness with that label hurts him.
DT Timmy Jernigan, Florida State: He didn't have a bad combine, per se, but Jernigan didn't have a single area in which he really distinguished himself in terms of the drills, which may lead to some questions about his upside after a fantastic season. I still think he's a first-round prospect, but a guy like Donald could jump him.
http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draf...14-nfl-draft-prospects-rising-falling-combine
Offense risers
WR Brandin Cooks, Oregon State: Cooks ran the fastest 40-yard dash time among wide receivers at the combine with a 4.33 and the fastest short-shuttle time (3.81 seconds) for his position group as well, backing up the playmaking ability and explosiveness he shows on tape. He is not a lock for the first round, but he has put himself in position to be taken in that range as the fourth-best receiver prospect in this class (behind Clemson's Sammy Watkins, Texas A&M's Mike Evans and USC's Marqise Lee).
QB Jimmy Garoppolo, Eastern Illinois: The ball was jumping off his hand during passing drills Sunday, and he showed quick feet. Teams will have to be convinced he can make the leap from playing against lower-level college competition to the NFL, but I was told he really impressed teams during interviews with his knowledge of the game and on tape he appears to have functional NFL arm strength. There's good zip on his short and intermediate throws; the question is whether he can consistently drive the ball down the field on deep balls. He could wind up as a top-five QB in this class and would be a perfect fit as a developmental guy.
RB Jerick McKinnon, Georgia Southern: He is going to be a tough guy to evaluate because he played in an option offense similar to that of Georgia Tech and played quarterback for much of his career. But he is going to be intriguing as a guy who can be involved in the return game and as a complementary back after showing some good explosiveness in his test results. He ranked in the top four among running backs in five events that measure speed and explosion: the 40-yard dash, three-cone drill, 20-yard shuttle and vertical and broad jumps.
Offense fallers
OT Cyrus Kouandjio, Alabama: He struggled in workouts, posting numbers that weren't even close to those of the top tackle prospects. There was also a Twitter report from Ian Rapoport of NFL.com that Kouandjio failed the physicals of several teams due to an arthritic knee stemming from a failed surgery. (When a player fails a team's physical, he is removed from that team's draft board altogether.) It's impossible to know how much the poor workouts had to do with the possible health issue, but those two factors combined with his inconsistent play at the beginning of the season and in Alabama's Sugar Bowl loss to Oklahoma create a perfect storm of negative factors.
WR Jarvis Landry, LSU: He looks really good on tape, from his competitiveness and toughness as a blocker to his excellent ball skills, but while we knew he didn't have a ton of explosiveness, the poor jump distances and 4.77-second 40-yard dash time he posted before leaving with a reported injury are major red flags. We had an early second-round grade on him coming into the combine, but he'll have to work hard and post a time in the low-4.6s at his pro day to solidify a Day 3 grade. A receiver's 40-time certainly isn't the only factor teams consider during the evaluation process, but 4.77 simply doesn't meet the standard.
RB Ka'Deem Carey, Arizona: He showed a lot of explosiveness and burst on tape, so even though we knew he was more of a quick accelerator than a guy with really good top-end speed, his 40 time of 4.70 is eye-opening -- and not in a good way. He looked like the fourth- or fifth-best running back in this class just based on his tape, but he is going to be drafted a lot lower than that if he can't significantly improve his 40 time at his pro day.
Defense risers
DT Aaron Donald, Pittsburgh: There can't really be any argument that Donald wasn't the most disruptive player in college football, not when you see a ranking like this. But Donald has hit the trifecta: great regular season, great Senior Bowl week, great NFL combine. He ran 4.68 and bench-pressed 225 pounds 35 times, and did so at 285 pounds. He could be a mid-first-round pick.
CB Bradley Roby, Ohio State: We knew Roby was fast, and he ran plenty fast at 4.39, just two hundredths of a second slower than likely top-15 pick and fastest CB Justin Gilbert. But Roby also showed good strength, and thus his results matched the best of his tape. When he's on, he's a quick-twitch kind of fast, changing direction with speed. But he'll also come up and make hits and tackles.
S Terrence Brooks, Florida State: Not only did Brooks run faster than any safety at 4.42 in the 40, but he also had a 38-inch vertical and broad jumped well, showing off plenty of power and explosiveness. He needs to tackle better, but he will get there on time and make plays on the ball.
Honorable mention: Kyle Fuller from Virginia Tech moved up on some boards after a great showing.
Defense fallers
CBs Marcus Roberson and Loucheiz Purifoy, Florida: I'll let these former Gators teammates share the misery. Let's be clear: Neither showed well, both running 4.61 and putting the possibility of either going in Round 1 in jeopardy. Purifoy needed to look good because he's still raw and could be coveted by a good coach at the position. I would say both are likelier in the second-round range now.
DE Michael Sam, Missouri: I hate to say Sam struggled, because he faced a ridiculous amount of media attention in a prepared and composed manner, but his workouts didn't help his draft stock at all. I see him as more of a sixth-rounder out of this, and I had previously been one of the more optimistic evaluators on his stock. I thought he needed to run between 4.65 and 4.75 seconds in the 40-yard dash to maintain the third- to fifth-round grade I had on him, but he didn't run well, at 4.91, and didn't bench well or jump that high either. Sam was more of a pass-rushing specialist coming in, and to lack explosiveness with that label hurts him.
DT Timmy Jernigan, Florida State: He didn't have a bad combine, per se, but Jernigan didn't have a single area in which he really distinguished himself in terms of the drills, which may lead to some questions about his upside after a fantastic season. I still think he's a first-round prospect, but a guy like Donald could jump him.
