2024 Combine Results & Discussion

[mnkcarp]

Maybe second for second the most profitable time of his life.

[YoHoChecko]

Gauntlet one of my secret indicators for NFL success. I have a laughably good history for predicting good and bad WR’s, ncf would vouch, but not trying to toot my horn here.

But guys who ran away from the ball nearly all suck eventually. Guys who will body catch these at all, will suck. Guys who go slow will suck. Coleman did well, passed 1 test. But you can still even find guys who run with their hair on fire and go get the ball or look even smoother.

Gauntlet was what made me fall in love with Trevor Davis, so I echo the comments about the drill but I don't match the interpretation skills

My issue with the original tweet is that while yes, Coleman had great speed while running the gauntlet, he's a guy whose play tape was marred by a limited ability to separate consistently and relying too much on contested catches. For a guy like that on film, a below-average speed will confirm those concerns to many. It's not that it's all about the 40-yard dash. It's that the 40 falls in line with some of the film concerns.

[YoHoChecko]

Brian Thomas and AJ Mitchell with those times at those sizes.... whew.

I know we don't need/want an early WR but those guys can be fun.

[Pckfn23]

Don't draft Allen. He'll be the next in a line of UW busts. He bulked up too much and lost his speed.

Allen weighs in at 235... Biggest back at the combine. Didn't run at all.

He got some really bad advice after he made the switch to RB.

[BF004]

Think I saw Braelon Allen will be the youngest person every draft come April. He's far from a fully developed man.

[BF004]

Don't draft Allen. He'll be the next in a line of UW busts. He bulked up too much and lost his speed.

Allen weighs in at 235... Biggest back at the combine. Didn't run at all.

He got some really bad advice after he made the switch to RB.

I'll always root for the local kids.

[Papa John]

Brian Thomas and AJ Mitchell with those times at those sizes.... whew.

I know we don't need/want an early WR but those guys can be fun.

I'd have no problem with this organization taking a WR RD1, if we think that the guy can be a real game changer.

[Pckfn23]

Don't draft Allen. He'll be the next in a line of UW busts. He bulked up too much and lost his speed.

Allen weighs in at 235... Biggest back at the combine. Didn't run at all.

He got some really bad advice after he made the switch to RB.

I'll always root for the local kids.

100% will root for him, just don't want to draft him.

Now we know where the advise came from. 32" vertical and 9' 9" broad jump... Product of being too big. If he had stopped at 220 the last few years he would be much better off.

[Pckfn23]

Brian Thomas and AJ Mitchell with those times at those sizes.... whew.

I know we don't need/want an early WR but those guys can be fun.

I'd have no problem with this organization taking a WR RD1, if we think that the guy can be a real game changer.

Isn't it a given that if the team takes a WR in round 1 they think he will be a real game changer?

[wallyuwl]

Allen weighs in at 235... Biggest back at the combine. Didn't run at all.

He got some really bad advice after he made the switch to RB.

I'll always root for the local kids.

100% will root for him, just don't want to draft him.

Now we know where the advise came from. 32" vertical and 9' 9" broad jump... Product of being too big. If he had stopped at 220 the last few years he would be much better off.

He was best as a freshman. You could see on the field the progressive loss of speed and just overall athleticism.

[YoHoChecko]

Some OL fitting our athleticism criteria:

Cooper Beebe
Sedrick Van Pran
Taylor Bortolini
Frank Crum (OT)
Beaux Limmer


I'm sure there are tons more; this was a first glance, not an analysis


Also the RB who won the combine is Isaac Guerendo--who transfered out from behind Braelon Allen--and I still think he's, like, a round 4 or 5 guy, but watching him, I think he has the explosive open field speed and good YAC/screen awareness to be really useful and valuable. Finishes runs strong, has good size, great speed. His vision and patience in the running game looks a little suspect, but as an explosive backup/pass-catching back (who has the frame to be a good pass protector) seems like he really could be a good value fit for us.



https://www.nfl.com/prospects/isaac-gue ... e05fdb16a1

[YoHoChecko]

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These are disappointing.

How much do we care? I sorta care. But I also have like this thing where a U of Miami ball hawking centerfielder safety running a disappointing 40 in the 4.6s still can't be ruled out because I came up in the era of Ed Reed.

But Williams and Vatu, as well.

[lupedafiasco]

I expected Williams to run like &%$@. Just too big to run well. He ran exactly where I expected him too.

Can’t remember who it was in the scouting community but one of them said Kinchens would woefully disappoint and I didnt see it. He looked like on the field he has crazy closing speed but I guess not. Hard to tell on TV and YouTube sometimes which is why the combine is important to me. I think Kinchens running poorly changes a lot.

[YoHoChecko]

Tyrone Tracy from Purdue had a really nice workout at the combine. Looks like he was a WR at Iowa and became a RB at Purdue. Had good but not noteworthy 40 (4.48) and size (5'11" 209), but was near the top of every remaining measurable--very similar in that regard to Jones back in the day. His run style is very slashing, seems to have good contact balance and elusiveness. Scouting report says he bounces it outside or goes for the home run when he could get more within system, but also compliments his vision through trash. Could be a really interesting guy; has some return and cover experience on STs too.

[YoHoChecko]

Just a quick little comparison

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[YoHoChecko]

Ok, so with the caveat that Gutey has acquired guys outside of this range--Cole Madison, Royce Newman, Jake Hansen, and Billy Turner come to mind.

But here are the measurements of the current core of our OL. The Packers reliably look at metrics--especially the shuttle and ten-yard split--to draft OL. I predicted/wanted JRJ and Tom just by identifying mid-round picks with decent reviews/analysis and perfect measurables.

So here is what the Packers have:

image.png (46.27 KiB) Viewed 544 times

Unfortunately, some of the top interior types--Jackson Powers-Johnson, Zach Frazier, Christian Haynes--did not so workouts. But here are the available numbers for a bunch of guys who are close-ish. I put numbers outside of our range in red (I skipped a couple due to laziness and oversight). This list is also not exhaustive from the combine--also due to laziness and oversight. But it can get us there.

I also left out the heights because I like the 4-digit version that goes to the eighth of an inch and that will require checking nfl draftscout individually right now since CBS and NFL websites use the regular heights. Also remember--red is outside of the range of these guys but not necessarily prohibitive, as guys have been acquired that would be red here. BUT I like my players more like Zach Tom and JRJ than Royce Newman and Hansen, so....

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LOTS of OL skipping the bench and a whole bunch of athletic short-armed guys. A lot of teams' arm threshholds will be put to the test this year.

[YoHoChecko]

Interesting that Mason McCormick's write-ups say he lacks the athleticism and flexibility teams might desire, but he aced every athletic threshold we have in testing. That might mean that he hasn't been coached in a way that helped him learn to USE his athleticism. So he's a toughness/durability guy who looks stiff, but might actually have the tools to unlock a new level if coached in proper technique. Just a guess, but a guess worth thinking about.

I still would like a Barton or Haynes or Frazier or Jordan Morgan early (Jackson Powers-Johnson, too, but might be too rich for my taste or our pick). But it's nice to see a host of potential day 2/day3 guys who meet some of our criteria. Definitely a good year for our tastes to add some OL prospects and depth.

[YoHoChecko]

OK, this is a zany projection, but....

There's this guy Jalyx Hunt out of Houston Christian University. He was an edge rusher for them this year. He transferred from Cornell, where he had been a starting safety. He's 6'4" 252 pounds and ran a 4.64 40-yard dash. As an edge rusher, he's a raw total work in progress. Obviously, any change can be a projection, but a guy who played WR/CB in high school and then 3 years of S in the Ivy League should be someone with pretty good field awareness.

And his physical profile could easily fit that of an off-ball LB. I'd be interested in seeing if he could convert to a SLB/nickel rusher role. His weaknesses almost all stem from being on the line of scrimmage, where he struggles to maintain the point of attack or needs to refine his pass rush moves or eliminate false steps. Eliminate some of those problems by not asking a former DB to play at the line of scrimmage!

Even in a "4-3" defense, we're going to be 4-2-5 most of the time, so we don't need that 3rd LB that often. But having a guy who could be a strongside LB and/or an edge rusher depending on the circumstance would be nice. Kind of reminds me of the biography of a Kyle Van Noy--a former safety edge rusher who has had mixed results in the league depending on how the coordinators used him.

It'd be a later Day Three pick and take some development, but it seems like a really nice athlete, a smart guy, and a guy with built in versatility. I'm intrigued if this projection is possible, but I grant that it's a pretty big ask of this kid.

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(unfortunately no 3-cone or shuttle for him; probably will do that at pro day)

[APB]

This is interesting to me.

Combine warriors are a great indicator of athletic traits…but some guys just know how to play football.

[Labrev]

The draft and FA are different. By the time players hit FA, the game has already weeded out the sub-par (RAS below 5) athletes.

5.72 and 5.85 scores indicate that their athleticism is about average, or marginally above average. So they have enough athleticism to be viable players in the NFL.

I would also add that at RB and S, you need certain things that can't be tested to be even a decent starter, in addition to a baseline of average (by NFL standards) athleticism. At RB, vision. At S, instincts. Whatever athleticism you have above average is a bonus.