NFL Combine: Tuesday

Apologies for the lack of a Combine Monday post. A combination of school and work prevented me from watching much of Monday's action. If you want to find a run down of how the defensive line and linebacker prospects did, look here.

One thing that did catch my eye was that neither Ndamukong Suh not Gerald McCoy, the consensus two best football players regardless of position in the draft, were listed as top performers amongst defensive linemen in the most of the Combine drills.

Suh cracked the top ten in the bench press, but apart from that their names were absent from the top performer list in 40, the vertical jump, the three cone drill and the 20-yard shuffle.

Yet another example of the limitations of the Combine when it comes to evaluating the true value of football players.

With that in mind, here goes nothing....

Combine Risers and Sliders: Defensive Backs

Risers:

Eric Berry, S, Tennessee: Ran a fast 40 for a safety at 4.47, completed 19 reps on the bench and leaped 43 inches in the vertical. He looked as good as expected in all the positional drills too. Cemented his spot as a top-10 and quite possibly top-5 pick come draft day.

Earl Thomas, S, Texas: Making a strong claim to be the second safety picked in April. He put on about 10 pounds of muscle since the end of the college season, and proceeded to knock out 21 reps at the bench. He looked very fluid and natural in all of positional drills, had a decent 40 in the 4.5s, and just has the look of a player who can make it happen at the next level.

Taylor Mays, S, USC: People have been questioning Mays' game for the last two months after a disappointing senior year at USC. Before the Combine, he'd slipped from a preseason top-5 cinch to a risky first rounder. He started strong with a 41 inch vertical and then 24 reps on the bench. He had a terrific 40 in the low 4.4s (the NFL Network had his first run mistakenly timed at 4.24 which would have tied Chris Johnson's Combine record and created quite the buzz in the studio). He may not have the instincts of an Earl Thomas or an Eric Berry at the safety position (there was some definite tightness in the positional drills), but he has more of an athletic 'wow' factor than either of them.

A.J. Jefferson, CB, Fresno State: Helped his draft grade with good vertical (44”) and broad jumps (10'6”) (he was top five amongst DBs in both), and ran his 40 in the low 4.4s. Could turn out to be a really good small school product.

Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, CB, Indiana (PA): By all accounts Ghanian-American Owusu-Ansah impressed during his interviews and press conference earlier this weekend and he backed it up on the field on Tuesday. He was fast, and athletic and looked very smooth in the corner drills.

Stickers:

Kyle Wilson, CB, Boise State: After being one of the best performers at the Senior Bowl, he was poised for a big Combine too after completing the second most reps of any defensive back 25. But then he pulled out of the positional drills with a sore hamstring. Expect him to have a scintillating pro day though.

Sliders:

Joe Haden, CB, Florida: The consensus top-rated cornerback, who was considered a top-10 pick by many coming in, raised a huge red flag about himself by running two very slow (for a corner) 40s. His first was clocked at 4.57, his second was even worse at 4.6 flat. He looked as if those poor times affected him in the later drills, where he looked tight and unsure. Haden has a whole bunch of spectacular tape to fall back on and could well be more of a football than a workout guy, but no doubt he cost himself some draft slots here.

Myron Rolle, S, Florida State: His poor 40 time of 4.69 overshadowed the smooth turns and soft hands he showed in the positional drills.

Dennis Rogan, CB, Tennessee: Another prospect with a poor 40 time, he couldn't get under 4.7 (which would have been a poor time for a safety, let alone a cornerback). Without great height (he stands just under 5'9”) or great speed, talent evaluators might struggle to find much to like about him.