Monday's best performances from the NFL Scouting Combine
By Bryan Fischer and Chase Goodbread NFL.com
INDIANAPOLIS -- The NFL Scouting Combine wrapped up Monday with a thin class of defensive backs taking center stage for scouts at Lucas Oil Stadium. With fast 40-yard dashes and a plethora of on-field drills designed to test their flexibility, the top cornerbacks and safeties in college football were able to show what they're made of in front of all 32 NFL teams.
Here is a recap of the day's events:
Monday's top performances
1. Florida State cornerback Ronald Darby blazed a 4.38 40-yard dash, which was the third-fastest time among defensive backs Monday. Throw in a quality outing in the drills portion of the event, and there was some well-earned praise thrown his way.
2. UConn's Byron Jones wowed NFL scouts in a couple of areas Monday, but nowhere more than on the broad jump, where he soared a combine-best 12 feet, 3 inches. It was the best mark at the combine in 11 years, and he looked very rangy when being put through the paces during drills.
3. Cornerback Trae Waynes was considered by NFL Media analyst Mike Mayock to be the top corner in the 2015 NFL Draft, and he did nothing to change that with a blazing-fast 4.31 in the 40-yard dash, the fastest time of the day, and some terrific moves when running through drills. In short, he locked up his first-round selection and made himself a hot name on the road to Chicago.
4. Josh Shaw has been a buzzed about name around the combine because of the story surrounding his suspension from USC, but there were questions about his speed, and most viewed him as a press corner. He answered those questions with a 4.44 in the 40-yard dash, which most analysts agreed was a great mark for him. Add in the bench press number -- 26, the highest among defensive backs -- and Shaw helped himself at Lucas Oil Stadium.
5. Alabama's Landon Collins ran a 4.53 40-yard dash, and a 4.54 on his other attempt, to help solidify his status as the top safety prospect in a draft that is razor thin at that position. Don't expect Collins to do much other than position drills at Alabama's pro day event on March 11 -- his draft stock couldn't be helped much more.
What they're saying
"I thought he was going to be a little faster." NFL Media analyst Mike Mayock on second-rated cornerback Marcus Peters, who ran a 4.53 in the 40-yard dash.
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"Golson tracks the ball as well as anyone I've seen in years." -- Mayock on Ole Miss All-American corner Senquez Golson, cautioning only that height (5-foot-9) will definitely be an issue for some teams.
Biggest workout winner
Many thought LSU cornerback Jalen Collins could solidify himself as a late first-round pick with a strong combine performance, but it was Florida State's Darby who might have inserted himself into the same discussion with an impressive afternoon. A former track star, Darby was expected to be fast and blazed a terrific 40 time of 4.38, but more important, he showed the quick hips and ability to roam that scouts were looking for. On top of that, he caught the ball better than most expected and didn't seem to have the "DB hands" he showed at times on his tape.
Biggest workout loser
TCU's Chris Hackett left school a season early in order to join the NFL and was hoping to stand on his quality tape. There were questions about his speed, however, and that seemed to be confirmed with his 4.81 40, the slowest time of any defensive back. Speed certainly matters at the position, so he'll need to keep training and run a better time at the Horned Frogs' pro day.
What NFL Network analysts are saying
"I think the two fastest corners in the building today might be in suits." -- NFL Media analyst Mike Mayock on the lack of depth of the cornerbacks at the combine, referring to Deion Sanders and DeAngelo Hall, who contributed to the NFL Network broadcast.
"The safety class is poor." -- Mayock said, giving his opinion of the group overall that many think is one of the weaker ones in some time.
Six other things we learned
1. There was a lot made about ex-Washington cornerback Marcus Peters after he was dismissed from school and missed most of last season, but he didn't show much rust when going through drills. His slower than expected 40 time of 4.53 might concern some, but he looked pretty sharp when moving around the turf and picking off passes. Peters had a nice backpedal and kept his center of gravity right where you wanted it.
2. UConn's Byron Jones managed to put on a big show Monday without even running a 40-yard dash. According to NFL Media insider Ian Rapoport, the UConn defensive back is still recovering from a surgery and will hold off on his 40 test until UCF's pro day March 31.
3. The New England Patriots figure to make a strong investment in the offensive line area in this draft, and bostonherald.com has connected some interesting dots between that search and the bevy of offensive line talent at Florida State. Seminoles guard Tre Jackson and versatile center Cam Erving are FSU's top prospects up front.
4. It's a thin year for safeties behind Alabama's Landon Collins, but a few of them had an opportunity to step up and throw their name into the mix -- yet they didn't. Obviously, more work will have to be done on this group, but there seems to be a significant drop off in terms of athletes after Collins and many folks' No. 2 player, Louisville's James Sample. If anybody helped his stock recently, Arizona State's Damarious Randall looked the part and had some good testing numbers.
5. You hate to put so much emphasis on 40 times, but Utah's Eric Rowe is a player many teams are looking at as both a safety and a corner. He ran a 4.45, which suggests he's fit to play corner, but given how thin the safety position is in the draft, he could have just earned himself some money with his ability to truly play both at the next level.
6. It might not have meant much, but it seemed like the throwing quarterbacks at the combine had their best day passing in terms of accuracy. That it came against the defensive back group meant it probably wasn't the greatest of news they received in Indy.