Day 2 of the NFL Combine is always the most watched because of the speed of the WRs and you get to see the QBs throw. During day 2 of the 2016 combine, most would argue that you only got half of that. The top 4 QBs all threw and I’ll get to that in a second, but the forty times of the WRs were very underwhelming. On an average, they were the slowest group of WRs in 5 years and with people already down on the WRs this year, some scouts now put as low as only 1 WR drafted in the 1st round. But with that said, let’s get to all the highlights and lowlights of Day 2 of the NFL Combine.
Quarterbacks
Jared Goff – California – If there was 1 guy that truly stood out, it was Goff. He showed that he is not only the best of the group, but that he looks like he is the most ready to play immediately.
Carson Wentz – North Dakota State – A lot of people praised Wentz after his week at the Senior Bowl and those same people praised him now, but I saw a lot of inconsistency and inaccurate throws. I have him projected as a 2nd round QB and he is 3rd on my rankings in a weak QB class.
Paxton Lynch – Memphis – Lynch probably is ranked 3rd by most media scouts, but I have him 2nd. One thing that you cannot deny is he has the most NFL ready size being 6 foot 6 and half inches and 244 pounds. He should go middle to end of round 1.
Connor Cook – Mike Mayock seemed to love Cook, but I thought he was very erratic. Very similar to Wentz in that he just had some off throws. I like him as a 3rd round pick, but most project him round 2.
Helped Their Stock:
Brandon Doughty – Western Kentucky – Most people probably didn’t pay much attention to Doughty, but I thought he was 1 of the most accurate QBs on the field. He was projected to possibly be taken at the end of the draft, but I like him as a 5th round pick.
Wide Receivers
Josh Doctson – TCU – I think by far, Josh Doctson was the best WR on the field. He killed the Gauntlet challenge, ran a 4.50 forty and had a 41 inch standing vertical and a 10 foot 11 inch broad jump. A case could be made that he should be in the 1st round and another case could be made that he’s the best WR.
Laquan Treadwell – Ole Miss – Most scouts have the same 8 or so guys in their top 10 WRs, and most of them have Treadwell #1. He will likely be the 1st WR selected in the draft, but I still don’t like him as a true #1 guy. Didn’t help that a knock on him was speed and he passed on running the 40. He has a big body and could be a possession guy in the NFL.
Will Fuller – Notre Dame – There were 2 things that Fuller had to do, don’t drop the ball, and kill the 40 time. He did both. He had the fast 40 time of anyone with 4.32 and he didn’t drop 1 pass. He solidified himself as a 2nd round pick.
Tyler Boyd – Pittsburgh – Boyd didn’t have the greatest of days. He had a slow forty time of 4.58, he had a broad jump less than 10 feet and he just didn’t seem to stand out at doing anything, still could go in round 2.
Of the rest of the WRs, neither Michael Thomas of Ohio State nor Braxton Miller of Ohio State stood out and Corey Coleman passed on numerous drills due to injury. All of the WRs listed above are projected to be selected by or before round 3.
As a side note, it is hard to have as bad of a combine that De’Runnya Wilson of Mississippi State had. He had numerous drops, a horrible 40 time of 4.85 (slowest of anyone), and he had the lowest vertical jump of any WR that performed that drill. He better turn everything around by his pro day.
Tight Ends
Hunter Henry – There is only 1 TE that is projected to be taken in the 1st and maybe even in the 2nd round and it’s Henry. He did not do most of the drills, so there is much to review on him before his pro day.
Today is always the most exciting day of the combine as we get to see the potential future franchise QBs of the sport. The combine isn’t everything, but it gets a good read on the athleticism of a player. Saturday showed that with the right guidance and coaching that the league has a lot of added athleticism that will be entering the league. Thankfully we can sit back and enjoy it. On day 3 of the Combine we will get to the players that will be chasing down the offensive players mentioned in this article as we move on to the defensive linemen and linebackers and tomorrow highlights the dfensive front 7. They always say “Defensive wins Championships” so the next article is a must read.