By Lucas Camacho
So here we are almost a month removed from the Philadelphia Eagles’ utter destruction of the now dethroned Kansas City Chiefs. Even in the off-season, the gears of the NFL is still moving. This weekend saw the annual NFL Combine; a collection of players going into this year’s NFL Draft hoping to show their stuff and increase their chances of being drafted. The drills are meant to evaluate a player’s athleticism and health. While that’s only half of what you need to see from a prospect, it’s still important to see how they do physically (remember the old adage: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak). Let’s break down some of the drills and the top players from each (because some of us don’t want to look at a bunch of numbers all day).
40-YARD DASH
This is self-explanatory: run as fast as you can for 40 yards. It’s also the event made famous by NFL Network analyst Rich Eisen’s annual attempt at it for raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The top performer for this drill was Maxwell Hairston, cornerback from Kentucky. Hairston managed to run the 40-Yard Dash in 4.28 seconds, just missing Xavier Worthy’s 2024 record of 4.21 seconds.
Still, this does put Maxwell Hairston in a better light, as scouts have noted his inconsistence in locating the football downfield. There is also the concern about his health as he missed 5 games in the college football season with a shoulder injury. However, he still has long arms and is capable of playing all forms of zone and man coverage. He’s got the speed, but can he prove he has the physicality of the professional leagues is the question.
10-YARD SPLIT
Now, you may be wondering what this is for if prospects already run a 40-Yard drill. Well, let’s put it this way: the 10-Yard Split sees a prospect’s short-area burst speed abilities (basically how fast you can kick it into high gear). This year, we had five young men who clocked in at 1.49 seconds during this drill: Nick Emmanwori (safety) from South Carolina, Matthew Golden (wide receiver) from Texas, Darien Porter (cornerback) from Iowa State, Jalen Royals (wide receiver) from Utah State, and Bhayshul Tuten (running back) from Virginia Tech. For those curious, the record for this event belongs to Chris Johnson back in 2008 (Johnson then went on to have a pretty good career in the NFL).
Of the men that I listed, I like Darien Porter best. Yes, there isn’t many tapes to study on him as he got his first start at cornerback only last year, and that typically means he may not be up to snuff yet on what it takes with the basics such as tackling or containing the run. But he shows mature field awareness and zone discipline. With a little more experience and mentoring, this kid’s athleticism and skill should take him far in the NFL. He would fit in great with a team that has veteran leadership in its defensive corps (like the Chargers or Ravens as an example…and yes I know I just listed BOTH of the Harbaugh brothers…)
VERTICAL JUMP
Again, this title explains itself, but if you really need an explanation…here it goes. The vertical jump is exactly as advertised: you jump up into the air as high as you can. It’s not just an exercise for building endurance and strength; it’s also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. Once again, we see Safety Nick Emmanwori literally jump to the front of the pack with a jump of 43.00”, just narrowly missing the record of 45” held by both Chris Conley and Donald Washington (Conley being still active as a receiver for the San Francisco 49ers while Washington had a rather short career).
Emmanwori already had top billing in the 10-Yard Split, so this event only added to his draft stock. The problem that some scouts and analysts have is that you don’t know which Emmanwori you’re getting. Depending on which games you rewatch, you’ll either be watching a physical specimen with rare size and speed, or you can be getting the guy who doesn’t quite have the right mentality in run support or giving too much ground to blockers. He may have only average instincts, but he can still rack up tackles and can compete with top tight ends such as Travis Kelce or Sam LaPorta. He’s a development project, but the right coach can turn him into another diamond in the rough (just don’t expect a singing, dancing genie).
BROAD JUMP
We’ve covered the vertical leap, now comes the horizontal leap. Those familiar with Track and Field should know all about this event. What some of you may not know is that it’s also an athletic test that measures a prospect’s explosive leg power as well as their horizontal jumping ability. The top performer this year is…oh, you got to be kidding…Safety Nick Emmanwori coming in with a jump of 11’ 6”. So that’s three events where he’s gotten top billing so far. For those curious, the record in this event goes to Byron Jones back in 2015 with a jump of 12’ 3” (Jones hasn’t played since the 2021 season after injuring his Achilles before 2022 training camp).
Since we’ve talked about Emmanwori already, let’s look at who came behind him in the Broad Jump. That would be Robert Longerbeam, cornerback from the Rutgers with a jump of 11’ 2”. Longerbeam has the right mindset and skills for a cornerback, but his slender frame isn’t exactly what NFL teams require. While he’s played outside a good deal of his college career, his size will probably have him moving towards the inside. Despite that, he has the competitive fire, the football IQ, and the leadership skills that Rutgers coaches couldn’t stop praising about. This kid has my interest as sometimes leadership is more necessary for teams like the Eagles who already have plenty of skilled players. For the Chiefs in particular, maybe Longerbeam is the spark and leader needed for Patrick Mahomes and company to reclaim their throne.
3-CONE DRILL
I can already see some of you reading this already asking “what the heck is this?!” In layman’s terms, the 3-Cone Drill, or the L-Drill for those who are nitpicky, is a test to evaluate prospect’s agility, quickness, and fluidity of movement. To perform the drill, you simply set up three cones in a straight line, five yards apart. Starting at the middle cone, run to the cone on your left and touch it. Then, run to the cone on your right and touch it. Finally, run back to the middle cone. Typically you repeat the pattern for 10 reps (I can already imagine some of you sweating just thinking about it). The top performer here is Tez Johnson, wide receiver from Oregon with a time of 6.65 seconds. The record for this drill is 6.42 seconds set in 2011 by Jeff Maehl who was also from Oregon (if you’ve never heard of him…that’s because his career wasn’t too long).
So let’s talk Tez Johnson. Well, despite how good he was in this event, there are a few red flags. He has a slight frame with skinny limbs, he’s easily undercut by defenders, and has too many bobbles and drops. However, he’s have a lot of targets in his career and made the best of them, and when he does catch the ball…he can be rather slippery to catch. He’s a good support guy who should be able to open things up for the rest of the team. Personally, I think he would be great on a team like the Vikings, who are desperate to get the attention off of the league’s top receiver, Justin Jefferson.
20-YARD SHUTTLE
This is a guess on my part, but I bet some of you reading this need an explanation as to how this works. The 20-yard shuttle, or the short shuttle or Pro Agility test if you want to get technical, is a drill used to test a prospect’s lateral quickness and change-of-direction ability. The drill requires the player to start in a three-point stance (the basic position that football linemen get into before the snap of the ball), run 5 yards to their right, touch a line, then sprint 10 yards to the left and again touch a line, and finally sprint back 5 yards to the spot where they started. This year, the best time went to Kitan Crawford, safety from Nevada with a time of 4.03 seconds. The record is 3.81 seconds in this event held jointly by Brandin Cooks and Jason Allen (both men having moderately successful careers in the NFL).
So, let’s talk Kitan Crawford. He put on a good show at the combine, but scouts have pointed out his inability to carry long speed down the field. He also doesn’t have too much experience as a starter. However, he has plenty of talent and experience on special teams, and there are a few teams in the NFL who have a weakness in this particular area. Overall, he’s got quick feet, and he’s compact and strong. Not too many analysts are giving him a chance, but I’m telling you now that there are some special teams needy teams that are willing to take a gamble on this kid.
BENCH PRESS
I’m sure you don’t need too much of an explanation for this, but the Bench Press is a test of muscle strength and stamina (and not just an exercise). At the NFL Combine, prospects typically will be asked to lift around 225 pounds (and yes, that is the sound of your back and arms breaking just thinking about it). This even typically raises the stock of the linemen, and this year’s top bencher is Luke Kandra, guard from Cincinnati with 33 reps. The record for this is a whopping 49 reps set back in 2011 by Stephen Paea (who had a shorter career in the NFL than many people expected).
I think it’s worth looking more into Luke Kandra, as many analysts don’t grade him very highly. To be fair, it’s because he has a tendency to be a waist-bender who struggles with balance and positioning. He also doesn’t explode into contact and has trouble removing defenders from gaps. However, he doesn’t allow a rush to get into his chest, he’s got big hands, and he is very disciplined as he was penalized only ONE TIME in more than 2,000 snaps at the college level. I know he doesn’t sound like a good prospect to invest in, but there are teams out there that can take guys like Kandra and make them into a real contributor for the team.
OVERALL IMPRESSION
We definitely got to see some prospects boost their stock from the combine. As mentioned, Nick Emmanwori definitely boosted his chances of getting drafted higher with his impressive stats at the combine. There are still the Pro Days at the different colleges though as the last chance for players to show their stuff before the NFL Draft. I’m curious to see Ashton Jeanty, who didn’t work out at the combine but is projected as the top prospect in the running back pool this year. One thing is definitely for sure: this is a deep and talented class of linemen on both sides of the ball in this year’s draft. For teams that need more help on the line like the Houston Texans and the Jacksonville Jaguars: help is here. Look for the Chicago Bears in particular to get more reinforcements on the line to help out Caleb Williams.
OTHER NFL NEWS
There was other news going on besides the NFL Combine. One of the first was the announcement that the Rams and Matthew Stafford had agreed to a restructured deal that keeps him in LA for next year. This is a win for Stafford as he tries to end his career on a high note (while staying close to one of his old high school friends, future MLB Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw), and it keeps the Rams from having to scramble to find a quarterback.
Other news included minor moves. The Eagles announced they were parting ways with six-time Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay. The move saves the Eagles about $4.3 million against the cap if it’s designated as a release after June 1st. The move also saves the Eagles money to keep them competitive in free agency this off-season. Speaking of which, the Bengals also announced they were putting the franchise tag on wide receiver Tee Higgins worth $26.2 million. This is the second year that the Bengals have used their franchise tag on Higgins in a row as they are desperate to keep their one-two punch of Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase intact as they seek to return to the top of the AFC.
The big news though was the trade that may shake things up in the NFC. The 49ers parted ways with standout wide receiver Deebo Samuel Jr. and traded him for a 5th Round Pick in this year’s draft to the Washington Commanders. Now the reigning Rookie of the Year, Jayden Daniels, will get to work with a great wide receiver next season. Samuel has been on a bit of a decline in recent years, but if he can bring his numbers back up to the stats we saw in 2021…that means the biggest challenge for the Eagles to repeat next year will come from within their own division…
