Risen Star
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Day 1
What was the biggest takeaway from workouts?
McShay: This is a better offensive line group than people think, and the interior is the best part. NC State's Garrett Bradbury can get stronger, but he had a really good day. I don't know that any team would theoretically take a center first among the linemen, but he's the most NFL-ready prospect of this group. Erik McCoy's 4.89-second 40-yard dash time was ridiculous. Chris Lindstrom posted a really good 4.91. Washington State's Andre Dillard might have locked himself into the first round with a 4.92. And then Jawaan Taylorhad a nice workout. For a massive, mauling tackle, his quick feet are really impressive. This group hasn't gotten the credit it deserves.
Kiper: We still don't know if there will be a first-round running back. Alabama's Josh Jacobs didn't work out because of a groin injury. None of the other backs moved into the first-round discussion. Jacobs is my top-ranked tailback. But he needs to have a good pro day on March 19. Teams will be watching closely.
David Montgomery and Florida Atlantic's Devin Singletary -- running backs we have ranked among the top 65 overall -- didn't run well and they weren't clean during drills, while other backs had strong showings. Their production and tape speak for themselves, however. Expect both to be productive NFL backs and repay the teams that take them regardless of where they come off the board.
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How the top running backs fared
McShay breaks down workouts from Day 1:
Devin Singletary, RB, Florida Atlantic
Scouts Inc. position rank: No. 2
Perhaps the most important three components of a running back's workout are the broad jump, vertical jump and weight-adjusted 40 time. Those typically correlate best to NFL success. While Singletary's jumps were pretty average, that 4.66 40-yard dash time is a red flag for a 5-foot-8, 203-pound running back. And it's really surprising because his film is very good. He is quicker and shows more juice than Memphis' Darrell Henderson, who has a similar build. And yet, Henderson ran a 4.49. It's going to force scouts to go back and look at their evaluations again because that 40 time doesn't match what we've seen on the tape.
David Montgomery, RB, Iowa State
Scouts Inc. position rank: No. 3
Montgomery's game is based on contact balance, breaking tackles and a grinding style of play. Because of that, his 28.5-inch vertical jump is a little concerning. The 4.63 40 time is right around the five-year average for running backs (4.61), and the 10-foot-1 broad jump is above average, but I would have liked to see a better performance on the vertical from the 5-foot-10, 222-pound back.
More RB notes from McShay:
Kiper breaks down workouts from Day 1:
Jonah Williams, OT/G, Alabama
Kiper's position rank: No. 1
Williams is going in the first round. Will it be as a guard or tackle? His arms are a little short -- 33 5/8-inches -- but there will be teams that like him at each position. There's value in that versatility because he could be an elite guard after he started 43 games at tackle at Alabama. Williams (6-4, 302) could drop out of the top 10, but he won't fall far. And though he didn't post any freakish testing numbers, you have to trust the tape. He's going to be a really good pro.
Jawaan Taylor, OT, Florida
Kiper's position rank: No. 2
There isn't much we can say about Taylor (6-5, 312) yet. He has a hamstring injury, so he didn't run the 40-yard dash or go through any athletic testing. He did go through drills, and he has great agility. But we're going to have to wait until the Florida pro day on March 27 to see how he tests. Based on his tape, he's a first-round prospect.
Andre Dillard, OT, Washington State
Kiper's position rank: No. 3
Dillard had one of the best days of any prospect in Indianapolis. He had the best broad jump (9-foot-10) and short shuttle (4.40 seconds) among offensive linemen, and he ran a 4.96 40. He also had the second-best 3-cone time (7.44 seconds) of any offensive lineman. That's at 6-foot-5, 315 pounds. I moved Dillard up to my Big Board last month, and he has a shot to be the first true tackle off the board in April's draft. He is a great pass blocker who can step in and start early in the NFL.
Cody Ford, G, Oklahoma
Kiper's position rank: No. 1
Ford played some tackle at Oklahoma, but I like him at guard. How powerful is he? The 19 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press was underwhelming and below the average for guards, though he does have long arms (34 inches). He also was in the middle of the pack in the other athletic testing. At 6-foot-4, 329 pounds, he could be an early second-round pick at this point.
More OL notes from Kiper:
Elgton Jenkins didn't run the 40, but there were no red flags in his measurements (6-4, 310) or on-field workouts.
What was the biggest takeaway from workouts?
McShay: This is a better offensive line group than people think, and the interior is the best part. NC State's Garrett Bradbury can get stronger, but he had a really good day. I don't know that any team would theoretically take a center first among the linemen, but he's the most NFL-ready prospect of this group. Erik McCoy's 4.89-second 40-yard dash time was ridiculous. Chris Lindstrom posted a really good 4.91. Washington State's Andre Dillard might have locked himself into the first round with a 4.92. And then Jawaan Taylorhad a nice workout. For a massive, mauling tackle, his quick feet are really impressive. This group hasn't gotten the credit it deserves.
Kiper: We still don't know if there will be a first-round running back. Alabama's Josh Jacobs didn't work out because of a groin injury. None of the other backs moved into the first-round discussion. Jacobs is my top-ranked tailback. But he needs to have a good pro day on March 19. Teams will be watching closely.
David Montgomery and Florida Atlantic's Devin Singletary -- running backs we have ranked among the top 65 overall -- didn't run well and they weren't clean during drills, while other backs had strong showings. Their production and tape speak for themselves, however. Expect both to be productive NFL backs and repay the teams that take them regardless of where they come off the board.
-
How the top running backs fared
McShay breaks down workouts from Day 1:
Devin Singletary, RB, Florida Atlantic
Scouts Inc. position rank: No. 2
Perhaps the most important three components of a running back's workout are the broad jump, vertical jump and weight-adjusted 40 time. Those typically correlate best to NFL success. While Singletary's jumps were pretty average, that 4.66 40-yard dash time is a red flag for a 5-foot-8, 203-pound running back. And it's really surprising because his film is very good. He is quicker and shows more juice than Memphis' Darrell Henderson, who has a similar build. And yet, Henderson ran a 4.49. It's going to force scouts to go back and look at their evaluations again because that 40 time doesn't match what we've seen on the tape.
David Montgomery, RB, Iowa State
Scouts Inc. position rank: No. 3
Montgomery's game is based on contact balance, breaking tackles and a grinding style of play. Because of that, his 28.5-inch vertical jump is a little concerning. The 4.63 40 time is right around the five-year average for running backs (4.61), and the 10-foot-1 broad jump is above average, but I would have liked to see a better performance on the vertical from the 5-foot-10, 222-pound back.
More RB notes from McShay:
- Oklahoma State's Justice Hill was the exact opposite of Singletary. I thought he was a good player on tape, but I just didn't see this explosiveness. And man, the numbers today were ridiculous. He was the fastest of running backs with an elite 4.40 40. His 40-inch vertical jump and 10-foot-10 broad jump show lower body power that you don't often see from undersized backs. It's obviously important for burst, but it's also very important for pass protection, showing he has the strength to do it when called upon.
- For his size, Damien Harris of Alabama posted some decent numbers. At 5-foot-10 and 216 pounds, that 4.57 40 time is right around what you'd expect.
- Miami's Travis Homer had a very good day. In fact, it would have stood out more if not for Hill performing as well as he did. Homer is a little bit bigger (5-10, 201), but his 4.48 time was the fifth fastest of the backs, to go along with an excellent 39.5-inch vertical and 10-foot-10 broad jump numbers.
- Unfortunately the star power of this group is pretty banged up. Alabama's Josh Jacobs (No. 1 RB), Stanford's Bryce Love (No. 4) and Oklahoma's Rodney Anderson (No. 7) did not participate in the on-field workouts on Friday. Jacobs' absence was somewhat of a surprise. Alabama's pro day is March 19, while Stanford will have its on April 4 and Oklahoma on March 13.
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Kiper breaks down workouts from Day 1:
Jonah Williams, OT/G, Alabama
Kiper's position rank: No. 1
Williams is going in the first round. Will it be as a guard or tackle? His arms are a little short -- 33 5/8-inches -- but there will be teams that like him at each position. There's value in that versatility because he could be an elite guard after he started 43 games at tackle at Alabama. Williams (6-4, 302) could drop out of the top 10, but he won't fall far. And though he didn't post any freakish testing numbers, you have to trust the tape. He's going to be a really good pro.
Jawaan Taylor, OT, Florida
Kiper's position rank: No. 2
There isn't much we can say about Taylor (6-5, 312) yet. He has a hamstring injury, so he didn't run the 40-yard dash or go through any athletic testing. He did go through drills, and he has great agility. But we're going to have to wait until the Florida pro day on March 27 to see how he tests. Based on his tape, he's a first-round prospect.
Andre Dillard, OT, Washington State
Kiper's position rank: No. 3
Dillard had one of the best days of any prospect in Indianapolis. He had the best broad jump (9-foot-10) and short shuttle (4.40 seconds) among offensive linemen, and he ran a 4.96 40. He also had the second-best 3-cone time (7.44 seconds) of any offensive lineman. That's at 6-foot-5, 315 pounds. I moved Dillard up to my Big Board last month, and he has a shot to be the first true tackle off the board in April's draft. He is a great pass blocker who can step in and start early in the NFL.
Cody Ford, G, Oklahoma
Kiper's position rank: No. 1
Ford played some tackle at Oklahoma, but I like him at guard. How powerful is he? The 19 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press was underwhelming and below the average for guards, though he does have long arms (34 inches). He also was in the middle of the pack in the other athletic testing. At 6-foot-4, 329 pounds, he could be an early second-round pick at this point.
More OL notes from Kiper:
Elgton Jenkins didn't run the 40, but there were no red flags in his measurements (6-4, 310) or on-field workouts.
- NC State center Garrett Bradbury had a strong day, posting the fastest 3-cone drill time (7.41 seconds) of all the offensive linemen. He also repped 225 pounds on the bench press 34 times and ran a 4.92 40. Those are outstanding numbers for a center who I think could go in the top 40 picks.
- Chuma Edoga can play tackle. There was some question about his size, but he is 6-foot-3, 308 pounds with 34 3/4-inch arms. The USC product was my No. 7-ranked tackle before the combine.
- Texas A&M's Erik McCoy could play guard or center, and he's creeping up into the first-round discussion. He ran the fastest 40 among offensive lineman here (4.89).
- Top risers
Muench runs through the under-the-radar prospects who opened eyes among scouts on Day 1 of workouts and should move up draft boards:
Chris Lindstrom, G, Boston College
Scouts Inc. position rank: No. 2
At 6-foot-4, 308 pounds, Lindstrom ran the second-fastest 40-yard dash (4.91) and had the second best broad jump (9-foot-9) among offensive linemen. He tied for the seventh-quickest short shuttle (4.54) and had one of the better performances during position drills. He has experience playing right tackle, and his testing suggests he can at least provide depth there in addition to projecting as a starter at guard. We ranked him No. 85 overall on our board, and he should rise.
- Justice Hill, RB, Oklahoma State
Scouts Inc. position rank: No. 17
Hill ran the fastest 40 (4.40), had the highest vertical jump (40 inches) and tied for the longest broad jump (10-foot-10) of all the running backs. He benched 225 pounds 21 times. An injury kept him out of the drills, and he's a smaller back (5-9, 198) who missed time with a rib injury last season, but those numbers will undoubtedly help change the narrative for a player coming off a disappointing season.
Ryquell Armstead, RB, Temple
Scouts Inc. position rank: No. 21
Armstead's vertical jump (30 inches) and broad jumps (9-foot-6) are both below average, but he ran the second-fastest 40 (4.45) at 5-foot-11, 220 pounds. For a back who didn't catch the ball a lot at Temple, he eased concerns about his ball skills during positional drills.
What is one thing you're looking for on Day 2 of workouts?
Kiper: I'll go with the battle to be the third quarterback off the board in April's draft. I think it's going to come down to Missouri's Drew Lock and Duke's Daniel Jones. Will either of them separate during the athletic testing and on-field drills? Lock has a rocket arm and is built for showcases like this. Jones doesn't have a huge arm but is going to impress coaches in interviews.
McShay: There are 19 wideouts working out in Indy who are at least 6-foot-2, including Ole Miss' D.K. Metcalf and Arizona State's N'Keal Harry. I'll be watching to see which ones separate from the pack by showing the combination of top-end speed, change-of-direction skills and flexibility that it takes to become a difference maker in the NFL. The 40-yard dashes will get all the attention, but also keep a close eye on the shuttles and the on-field drills.
Muench: Iowa tight end T.J. Hockenson is the best of the bunch, and it is hard to believe that will change tomorrow. But this is a deep and talented tight end class. It will be interesting to see who rises to the challenge both during testing and position drills.