Combine thoughts

If anyone is following the Combine, post your thoughts in this thread.

So far I've seen the TEs, and the first WR and QB groups.

Initial thoughts...
--The TEs were very underwhelming. The one guy that stood out was Adam Trautman from Dayton. 6'5", 255. Looked really good in the blocking drill and was impressive in receiving drills.
--This WR class is insane. I know it's not a priority for Miami, but this group is too good - we have to take a receiver at some point. Justin Jefferson really helped himself, and Gandy-Golden showed really good route-running skills.
--I thought Jalen Hurts was the best of the group 1 QBs. He really showed good accuracy and anticipation on his throws, and he throws a very catchable ball. I thought Fromm looked great with ball placement and timing. Kevin Davidson from Princeton showed that he has some skills to work with...looks like a draftable player to me. Jacob Eason, as expected, looked raw but has skills to work with. Anthony Gordon did some nice work.
--I expected Justin Herbert to dominate, and he did do very well, but I just thought he'd stand head and shoulders above everyone in these drills and he really didn't. His footwork is a bit sloppy, and he struggled on some of the shorter passes. He showed excellent touch in the endzone fade drill, and his deep balls were very accurate. He definitely helped himself and I'm probably being a bit nitpicky, but like I said, I just expected him to be the clear-cut #1 based on his skillset.

Hopefully I'll have a chance to watch the group 2 QBs and WRs later today. I've heard great thing about Jordan Love's performance.

Forgot to mention the Notre Dame WR Claypool. He had an outstanding day, running a sub-4.5 40 and looking smooth in all receiving drills. I know some teams were looking at him as a TE, but he's way too atheltic - this guy is a freak WR.

To be honest I not seeing Herbert as a top 10 prospect even though the lack of talent will make him a top 10 he not. The biggest thing right now is gonna be will Miami make the push or will they stay. From a article I saw, it doesn't sound like the Redskins will pass up Tua is they really want him, so they gonna ask for a king's ransom to move up.

I don't know if Rivera is gonna give Haskin a true chance to prove himself.

rightchea wrote:To be honest I not seeing Herbert as a top 10 prospect even though the lack of talent will make him a top 10 he not. The biggest thing right now is gonna be will Miami make the push or will they stay. From a article I saw, it doesn't sound like the Redskins will pass up Tua is they really want him, so they gonna ask for a king's ransom to move up.

I don't know if Rivera is gonna give Haskin a true chance to prove himself.

I'm thinking I like Love more than I do Herbert at this point. I really wanted Herbert to be the guy. I watched a lot of his games this season and kept hoping to see him shine - and he never really did. He's certainly good and should have some success in the NFL, but to me he's just very "meh" and I don't think he has that win-at-all costs mentality. Love that arm though - he throws a real sweet deep pass.

I don't see any way the Redskins take Tua. They are in full smokescreen mode right now and I'm not buying it. They hired a defensive-minded coach, and I think they are going to prioritize defense and build around Haskins.

Just watched QB group 2. Love is the best thrower at the Combine, and it's not close. The ball comes out of his hand so smoothly, and he has a nice combo of zip and touch on his passes. He's making some $$$ this weekend, for sure.

At WR, CeeDee Lamb is a beast. No surprise there, but he is the cream of the crop. Looked fantastic in drills.

News from the Combine....

Tim Daniels wrote:The Washington Redskins selected quarterback Dwayne Haskins with the 15th overall pick in 2019, but it's reportedly still a "very real possibility" they take another QB at No. 2 in the 2020 NFL draft.

Michael Silver of the NFL Network reported the update Friday and noted the chances of the Redskins taking a quarterback will further increase if Alabama signal-caller Tua Tagovailoa receives a clean bill of health after suffering multiple injuries during his final season with the Crimson Tide.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2878446-redskins-rumors-drafting-a-qb-no-2-very-real-possibility-amid-tua-buzz

Wouldn't be surprised by this at all. There not a lot of love for Haskin in Washington and if Rivera feels that Tua would be a better pickup then he will go after him.

This also popped up for Miami meeting with Tua

Mike Chiari wrote:Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa reportedly felt there was an awkward energy at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine during his meeting with the Miami Dolphins on Wednesday.

According to Safid Deen of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, a source said Tagovailoa left the meeting "uncertain" about whether the Dolphins are truly interested in selecting him No. 5 overall and making him their franchise quarterback.

The source added: "No one was excited. They didn't give any indication of 'he's their guy.' He felt weird, like is this a joke? ... He's not turned off, but it was just weird."

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2878452-tua-tagovailoa-reportedly-uncertain-about-dolphins-interest-after-nfl-combine

I know that everyone has some weird interviews but at the same time, Miami showing him interest seems to be weird as well. Maybe they don't want all it to seem like they are feeding into all the hype.

Looks like my recently acquired influence with the Fins' scouting department through methods that totally weren't nefarious is finally paying off. MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

He's certainly got a lot of "feelings" for a team leader.

EDIT: Here's what I mean by that.

Hush, kid. Don't talk about how you feel about any of these teams with anyone. Just be quiet for now. If you don't want to play somewhere, pull a Manning. Too much "sources say Tua" or "Tua thinks that" lately. Just shush. The more you let on about anything, the worse it gets for you. Even innocuous statements can screw up your early career. Just be quiet, be a man.

I get more worried everyday Tua is going to be drafted and be complete flop with the Fins.

Quite frankly, I don't believe the stories about Tua complaining about his Phins interview. That's totally out of character for him. Unless it's part of some kind of smokescreen by the Phins, which is entirely possible this time of year. Always take "unidentified sources" with a grain of salt.

Regardless, it's not the Phins' job to make anyone feel "wanted". They are trying to find out as much as they can about each player in the draft, and they're not there to kiss ass.

JEGnj wrote:I get more worried everyday Tua is going to be drafted and be complete flop with the Fins.

No need to be worried. The kid has "superstar" written all over him, both on and off the field. If the Phins are fortunate enough to draft him, he's going to turn this franchise around.

rightchea wrote:News from the Combine....

Tim Daniels wrote:The Washington Redskins selected quarterback Dwayne Haskins with the 15th overall pick in 2019, but it's reportedly still a "very real possibility" they take another QB at No. 2 in the 2020 NFL draft.

Michael Silver of the NFL Network reported the update Friday and noted the chances of the Redskins taking a quarterback will further increase if Alabama signal-caller Tua Tagovailoa receives a clean bill of health after suffering multiple injuries during his final season with the Crimson Tide.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2878446-redskins-rumors-drafting-a-qb-no-2-very-real-possibility-amid-tua-buzz

Wouldn't be surprised by this at all. There not a lot of love for Haskin in Washington and if Rivera feels that Tua would be a better pickup then he will go after him.

I'd say there's zero chance of the Skins drafting a QB at 2. Not worried about that at all.

they could always pull a Cardinals where they draft a QB and trade off Haskins.

JEGnj wrote:I get more worried everyday Tua is going to be drafted and be complete flop with the Fins.

I've been worried about that a lot longer than you, so THERE~!

Seriously, my Bust Sense that is never wrong was activated about 5 months ago. Now I have constant headaches from the nonstop ringing of alarm bells about Tua in my mind, it sucks.

DolFan 316 wrote:

JEGnj wrote:I get more worried everyday Tua is going to be drafted and be complete flop with the Fins.

I've been worried about that a lot longer than you, so THERE~!

Seriously, my Bust Sense that is never wrong was activated about 5 months ago. Now I have constant headaches from the nonstop ringing of alarm bells about Tua in my mind, it sucks.

rightchea wrote:they could always pull a Cardinals where they draft a QB and trade off Haskins.

It's possible, but I don't see it. Everything they've done this offseason seems to point toward them trying to build the team around defense. That D could be special if they add a guy like Chase Young or Derrick Brown. I think that's their focus.

After the combine (and based mostly on on-field production), I believe the top 5 in terms of BPA strictly based on pure talent are Chase Young, Isaiah Simmons, Joe Burrow, Jeff Okudah and CeeDee Lamb.

As far as the RBs, I know that Taylor, Akers and Swift all ran faster and are bigger, but when you watch them play, I’ll take Edwards-Helaire over all of them. And I think I’d put Dobbins second.

Love your top 5, merc. I'd find a way to include Tua and Derrick Brown in that list, and Tristan Wirfs isn't far behind.

I haven't finished watching the DBs yet, but Florida CB CJ Henderson was outstanding yesterday.

I was particularly impressed with the athleticism of the OL, DL and LB groups. It's insane to see big guys move like that.

The RB group is VERY deep...so many good players. Taylor's 40 time was eye-popping and I think he's #1 on my list. And I really, really like Dobbins. Edwards-Helaire might be my third. Something about Swift turns me off...not really sure why. I love Benny Lemay as a later-round pick to be a 3rd down back/pass catcher.

To be honest, I wouldn't mind Miami going after isaiah Simmons at 5. This guy is a guaranteed to start day one and to cause havoc anywhere.

I know that JMP loves Tua but Simmons is the best LB in the draft.

Simmons is awesome and is the exact type of player we need in this defense. But QB is much more important.

If we miss out on Tua and Simmons is still there at 5, I'd run to the podium to pick him.

I'm cool with Simmons, he would look great in this defense.

You never know how these evaluations will turn out and what the teams will do.

What if we can get Love or Hurts later in the first? It's a great pick if they work out, and we can't just "punt" on QB if the Skins or Detroit decide they want Tua, and we decide Herbert is not the guy at #5.

white1 wrote:I'm cool with Simmons, he would look great in this defense.  

You never know how these evaluations will turn out and what the teams will do.  

What if we can get Love or Hurts later in the first? It's a great pick if they work out, and we can't just "punt" on QB if the Skins or Detroit decide they want Tua, and we decide Herbert is not the guy at #5.

If we don't land Burrow or Tua, than the 2019 season was a colossal fail.

That said, yes, we can still take a chance on Jordan Love.  Love needs to work on reading defenses first and foremost, but his raw skill and playmaking ability are off the charts.  There's a lot there to work with.

I was never on board with Hurts, but the more I've watched his games combined with his Combine performance, it has me re-thinking.  He's made big strides as a passer, greatly improving his accuracy and ball placement.  I'm almost at the point where I would be OK giving him a chance.  I love his attitude/leadership and he's a winner.

I'm almost entirely off the Herbert bandwagon.  A nice set of tools, but he just seems more 'loser' than 'winner' to me.  I don't trust him...just seems too robotic/on-script for today's NFL.

The bottom line is, we need to get the QB position right.  If we can get Burrow or Tua, that's an easy fix.  But if we can't get either of them, Grier and his staff need to earn their $$$ by getting the RIGHT QB, regardless of who that is.  Can't whiff on this one - it's too important.  There is no rebuild without the QB.

On another note...cool photo, white. I had no idea you had red hair!

JMP wrote:

rightchea wrote:News from the Combine....

Tim Daniels wrote:The Washington Redskins selected quarterback Dwayne Haskins with the 15th overall pick in 2019, but it's reportedly still a "very real possibility" they take another QB at No. 2 in the 2020 NFL draft.

Michael Silver of the NFL Network reported the update Friday and noted the chances of the Redskins taking a quarterback will further increase if Alabama signal-caller Tua Tagovailoa receives a clean bill of health after suffering multiple injuries during his final season with the Crimson Tide.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2878446-redskins-rumors-drafting-a-qb-no-2-very-real-possibility-amid-tua-buzz

Wouldn't be surprised by this at all. There not a lot of love for Haskin in Washington and if Rivera feels that Tua would be a better pickup then he will go after him.

I'd say there's zero chance of the Skins drafting a QB at 2.  Not worried about that at all.  

I don't see the skins taking a QB with 2. Snyder is a big Haskins fan. In fact, he is said to have mandated that they picked him last year. Plus, his son played with Haskins in high school. We all know that what snyder wants he gets. I don't see the skins going QB this year.