NFL Combine 2017: Colts-centered Monday notebook

It may be hard to believe, but today is the last day of the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine! It seems like it just flew by, as it was a busy week in Indianapolis that saw hundreds of the top prospects in the draft go through team meetings, medical evaluations, on-field drills, and more.

We’ve been recapping each day at the Combine, and we’ll do it again today - but be warned that this day had the least amount going on of any day at the Combine. That’s because today there wasn’t the media availability with prospects or with coaches and GMs, and there was only one final group working out: the defensive backs. So really, the one main thing to update today is about the performance of those DBs...

Defensive backs go through on-field workouts

This year’s defensive back group is a deep one, and that was on display with a lot of athleticism at today’s Combine workouts. The star of the day was UConn safety Obi Melifonwu, who ran a 4.40 40 (5th among DBs), had a 44.0 vertical jump (1st among DBs), and had a 141.0 broad jump (1st among DBs). His vertical jump is the seventh-best among all players at the Combine since 2003, while his broad jump was the second-best among all players at the Combine since 2003. There’s little doubt about who was the star of the show at the Combine among the defensive backs, and it should help Melifonwu’s draft stock as his athleticism was on display. At the same time, however, there were other good performers, such as USC cornerback Adoree Jackson.

The Colts could use some defensive back help, and it’s an athletic and deep group for them to study in this year’s draft.

Marshon Lattimore suffers hip injury

One notable thing to come out of today’s workouts was that Marshon Lattimore, the Ohio State cornerback, suffered a hip flexor while running through drills. That’s obviously not great, but it was originally reported as a hamstring injury - which raised a lot of concerns. Lattimore had hamstring problems in college that resulted in him missing the 2014 season and half of the 2015 season, so that was concerning. But it sounds like it was a hip injury instead, which obviously wouldn’t tie into past issues. He’s only been starting one year, but he’s a talented player who will be a top cornerback prospect in this year’s draft. The Colts could really use cornerback help, so he’s a guy that’s worth mentioning with the Colts - and it’s especially worth monitoring his injury situation. He did impress at the Combine, however, running a 4.36 40-yard dash.