Revisiting the Players at the Combine to Watch for the Colts

Although I try to watch the NFL Combine as broadly as possible from year to year, we’ve all got our specific guys that we keep our eyes on. Last week, I highlighted several players who I believe fit with the Indianapolis Colts and could really either help or hamper their draft stock with their performance at Lucas Oil Stadium. Let’s check on how they did.

*Measurements/times/scores from NFL Combine website.

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OT Orlando Brown —

• Measurables: 6-8, 345 pounds, 35” arms, 9-3/4” hands
• 40-yard dash: 5.85
• Bench press: 14
• Vertical jump: 19.5”
• Broad jump: 82.0”
• Three-cone drill: 7.87
• 20-yard shuttle: 5.38

Wow... What. A. Bummer. If for some reason you didn’t hear about Brown’s Combine performance by now, just know that he did historically poorly. He finished last among offensive linemen in the bench press, 40-yard dash, vertical and broad jumps. He was near the middle of the pack in the three-cone. I liked Brown’s tape enough for him to be my top offensive tackle entering the Combine, but I absolutely did not expect the sheer lack of athleticism displayed by him in his testing scores.

WR Deon Cain —

• Measurables: 6-2, 202 pounds, 33” arms, 8-3/4” hands
• 40-yard dash: 4.43
• Bench press: 11
• Vertical jump: 33.5”
• Broad jump: 115.0”
• Three-cone drill: 6.71
• 20-yard shuttle: 4.37
• 60-yard shuttle: 11.78

My main concern with Cain coming in was his ability to separate deep. He can do whatever he wants in the short to intermediate because he’s a good route runner, but I didn’t see him separate deep on tape. He ran a sub-4.5 40, which is basically what I could’ve hoped to see.

LB Lorenzo Carter —

• Measurables: 6-6, 250 pounds, 34” arms, 10-3/8” hands
• 40-yard dash: 4.50
• Vertical jump: 36.0”
• Broad jump: 130.0”

Carter was expected to blow up the Combine, and he did do well in the things that he participated in. His measurables were great, and he had the second-fastest 40, the best broad jump and the third-highest vertical.

ED Marcus Davenport —

• Measurables: 6-6, 264 pounds, 33-5/8” arms, 9-1/8” hands
• 40-yard dash: 4.58
• Bench press: 22
• Vertical jump: 33.5”
• Broad jump: 124.0”
• Three-cone drill: 7.20
• 20-yard shuttle: 4.41

Davenport had a so-so Senior Bowl, being overmatched in one-on-one drills in practice but looking good in the actual game. He couldn’t do much to turn that around at the Combine except for test well, and he did do that. He finished near the top of his group in every drill except for the bench press.

CB Carlton Davis —

• Measurables: 6-1, 203 pounds, 32-3/4” arms, 8-1/2” hands
• 40-yard dash: 4.53
• Bench press: 16
• Vertical jump: 34.0”
• Broad jump: 124.0”

Davis is a physical, in-your-face corner, which can’t really be put on display at the Combine. Instead, Davis was going to be able to really boost his stock with a fast 40 time or other exceptional scores. He didn’t post an impressive 40 time, but it wasn’t bad either. Davis did relatively well in what he participated in. No change here.

LB Tremaine Edmunds —

• Measurables: 6-5, 253 pounds, 34-1/2” arms, 9-3/8” hands
• 40-yard dash: 4.54
• Bench press: 19
• Broad jump: 117.0”

Edmunds cemented himself into the top of the draft. His physical measurables were confirmed, and his speed was as well by running the fifth-fastest 40 among linebackers.

RB Derrius Guice —

• Measurables: 5-10, 224 pounds, 30-3/4” arms, 9-3/4” hands
• 40-yard dash: 4.49
• Bench press: 15
• Vertical jump: 31.5”

Guice did himself a favor by testing well and therefore proving that he is currently healthy. He always seemed to be dealing with a little something while at LSU, so seeing Guice look explosive with a good 40 (fourth-fastest among running backs) and his on-field drills was nice.

CB Mike Hughes —

• Measurables: 5-11, 191 pounds, 30-7/8” arms, 8-3/4” hands
• 40-yard dash: 4.53
• Bench press: 20
• Vertical jump: 35.5”
• Broad jump: 127.0”
• Three-cone drill: 6.70
• 20-yard shuttle: 4.13

Hughes tested very well, which is a big plus for him. He’s considered a fringe Round 1-Round 2 guy, so he reaffirmed what people like about him on film. Arguably the more important part was his interviews, because he’s an “off-field red flag” guy. If enough teams were sold on Hughes (or get that way between now and the end of April), Hughes should go on Day 1.

RB Kerryon Johnson —

• Measurables: 5-11, 213 pounds, 32-1/2” arms, 9-3/4” hands
• Bench press: 11
• Vertical jump: 40.0”
• Broad jump: 126.0”
• Three-cone drill: 7.07
• 20-yard shuttle: 4.29

I would’ve liked to see Johnson run the 40 because one of his biggest issues is that he doesn’t have great downfield speed. However, he was second among running backs in the vertical and third in the broad, which shows explosion. There are only 13 listed three-cone times for running backs, and Johnson was eighth. Still, his score was respectable.

ED Arden Key —

• Measurables: 6-6, 238 pounds, 33-1/2” arms, 10” hands
• Vertical jump: 31.0”
• Broad jump: 117.0”
• Three-cone drill: 7.16
• 20-yard shuttle: 4.25

Key really could’ve used a dominant Combine to bounce back into the spotlight. This time last year, he was viewed as a likely top pick for this draft, but injuries and a brief retreat from the LSU football team in 2017 raised huge red flags. Key elected not to run the 40 or do the bench at the Combine, and none of his tests yielded exceptional results. With him back down into the 230’s, we wanted to see what his strength on the bench might be and what his speed might be like. Now, it’s up to him to dominate LSU’s pro day.

LB Tegray Scales —

• Measurables: 6-0, 230 pounds, 30-3/4” arms, 8-5/8” hands
• 40-yard dash: 4.77
• Bench press: 27

I hoped to see more out of Scales, but the only tests he did were the 40 and the bench. He did the second-most reps on the bench but had a pedestrian 40 time. His tape shows a faster player, so this isn’t a total deal breaker. However, he could’ve improved his stock much more over the weekend.

DT Nathan Shepherd —

• Measurables: 6-5, 315 pounds, 32-3/8” arms, 10-1/8” hands
• 40-yard dash: 5.09
• Vertical jump: 31.0”
• Broad jump: 112.0”
• Three-cone drill: 7.50
• 20-yard shuttle: 4.53

Shepherd is one of the big-time small-school darlings in this year’s draft. He followed up a strong Senior Bowl with a strong Combine. He moves very well for a man his size, and it’s hard to find an area of his game that doesn’t look like there will be potential. Stock, way up.

WR Courtland Sutton —

• Measurables: 6-3, 218 pounds, 32-3/8” arms, 9-3/4” hands
• 40-yard dash: 4.54
• Bench press: 18
• Vertical jump: 35.5”
• Broad jump: 124.0”
• Three-cone drill: 6.57
• 20-yard shuttle: 4.11
• 60-yard shuttle: 11.06

While I already loved Sutton after watching his tape, other people voiced concerns that made it sound like he could be the next Laquon Treadwell — big guy who looked great in college but won’t be able to separate in the NFL. However, Sutton running in the the 4.5’s was good for him, and his movement and agility was on display and a nice surprise for many.

LB Fred Warner —

• Measurables: 6-3, 236 pounds, 32” arms, 9-3/4” hands
• 40-yard dash: 4.64
• Bench press: 21
• Vertical jump: 38.5”
• Broad jump: 119.0”
• Three-cone drill: 6.90
• 20-yard shuttle: 4.28
• 60-yard shuttle: 11.77

I really dig what Warner did at Lucas Oil. He measured great, showed strength by putting up a good number on the bench and checked the boxes in explosion/agility drills. It’s going to be hard to keep him out of the second-round discussion after this.