NFL Combine Day 3 – Winners & Losers

Tight End:

Winners:

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Colt Lyerla, Oregon (6’4, 242)  – Ran well (4.61) and had the best vertical leap (39″!) and best broad jump (128″) of the tight ends. Lyerla is a heck of an athlete. He made up for his weak bench press results on day 2.

AC Leonard, Tennessee St (6’2, 252) – Looks like a stud in shorts, ran the best 40 time of all the tight ends (4.50), had the 3rd best vertical leap (34″), tied for the best broad jump (128″), and looked smooth catching passes in the drills. Interesting tight end prospect who started his college career at Florida before transferring due to some off-field troubles. I think Leonard moved into the late rounds of the draft today.

Eric Ebron, NC (6’4, 250) – His 4.6 40-time was slower than expected, but still 2nd best among tight ends. Unfortunately, Ebron pulled a hammy at end of the the 2nd run and sat out the rest of the tight end drills. Ebron did show off his athleticism with the 2nd best broad jump and a 32″ vertical. Ebron solidified his mid-1st round grade.

CJ Fiedorowicz, Iowa (6’5, 265) – Good all-around day for Fiedorowicz. His 40 time was about expected (4.76), but his 3-cone and 20-yard shuttle times were the best of all the tight ends. He also showed good strength with 25 bench reps. I have Fiedorowicz locked in as the 5th best tight end.

Crockett Gilmore, Colorado St (6’6, 260) – Ran a very slow 40 time (4.89,) but showed good athleticism with the 2nd best broad jump, 4th best vertical leap, and looked smooth in the position drills while showing great hands.

Losers:

Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports

Jace Amaro, Texas Tech (6’5, 265) – Ran slower than expected (4.74) and dropped a few balls in the drills. I didn’t like his body language after the drops.

Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Washington (6’5, 262) – Medical testing done at the combine revealed  a pre-existing foot condition and the NFL would not allow him to work out. A medical red flag isn’t going to help his draft stock.

Jordan Najvar, Boylor (6’6, 256) – Had the slowest 40 among tight ends (4.93) and 2nd lowest broad jump. Combined with his poor performance in the bench press (18 reps), it’s looking like Najvar doesn’t have NFL strength or athleticism.

Jacob Pederson, Wisconsin (6’3, 238) – 2nd slowest 40 (4.89) which isn’t good for a small receiving tight end. He also had the shortest broad jump of the tight ends.

Richard Rodgers, California (6’4, 257) – Another receiving first tight end who ran much slower than expected. His 4.87 was the 4th slowest time of tight ends. Rodgers isn’t a blocker at all, so this is going to drop his stock a little.

Marcel Jenson, Fresno St (6’5, 259) – Ran the 5th slowest 40 (4.85) and struggled to take directions in the positional drills making multiple mistakes in what looked like a relatively simple drill. Not a great sign.