The longest day of the combine takes place between the quarterbacks, wide receivers, and tight ends. Overall this is a very week wide out group in particular. The group averaged a 40 yard dash time of 4.56 which is the slowest since 2011.
The Number One:
The best of the bunch is Ole Miss wide receiver Laquon Treadwell. He reminds me a lot of Alshon Jeffery coming into the league. Treadwell isn’t a very fast guy be he wins a ton of 50-50 balls in the air. I was disappointed he decided not to run because depending on how fast he is would determine how high I would take him. In a year that lacks talent at the position Treadwell remains the only clear cut first round pick of the group.
The Deep Threat:
The guy I thought that had the best day was Notre Dame’s Will Fuller. His great day started by compiling the top 40 yard dash time thus far at a 4.32. Fuller reminds of Torrey Smith who is truly on of those home run deep threats. The question I had going into the day was if he was a natural pass catcher having a lot of drops in college. He did nothing but catch every pass during the drills even during the timed gauntlet drill. Fuller in my opinion should be regarded as a late first early second round prospect.
The Slot Guys:
A couple of slot guys caught my eye. The first was Braxton Miller from Ohio State. Miller is a converted quarterback who is very new to the postion. He didn’t test as well as I expected but I don’t really care about his measurables. I admire his courage and guts for taking a backseat and helping his team win football team win games once his quarterback role got relinquished. I liken him to a possible Percy Harvin in the future but is extremely raw in his route running ability. I would be scared to pull the trigger in the first two rounds based on how raw he is but we are looking at a guy who could be a star in the making.
The other guy I really liked was UCLA’s Jordan Payton. Payton looked like a very polished route runner going through the drills very smoothly. He also run a lot faster than I expected with a solid 4.47 time. This is the type of guy I could see the Patriots getting ahold of converting key third downs for them going across the middle. Another player in this group is Sterling Sheppard from Oklahoma who has a chance to be that next sort of Tyler Lockett.
The Big Body Possession Guys:
There are a bunch of possession guys that really stood out as well. Tyler Boyd, Michael Thomas, and Josh Doctson should all find themselves in that second round range. Boyd is from Pitt and all he did was break all Larry Fitzgerald’s school records. Boyd is a great route runner and kind of reminds me of Chargers wide out Kennan Allen. Thomas is another Ohio State kid who is Keyshawn Johnson’s nephew. Thomas reminds me of Anquan Boldin and should find a nice career as a possession guy. Finally there is Josh Doctson who was a part of a high-powered TCU offense. Doctson works wonders in the red zone and catches everything. All three players had good days during the on the field drills.
The Projects:
A few developmental guys are also very intriguing to me. Pharoah Cooper reminds me of Golden Tate. He has played multiple positions including running back in college and has some great route running ability already. Cody Core is a height weight speed guy who ran a 4.47 despite being 6’3”. Similarly there is Marquez North who was a talented guy from Tennessee who came out a year early despite very little college production. Injuries were the man reason for this having knee and back issues. North was a 5 star high school recruit and has the talent to develop into a big play threat in a few years. Finally there is Tajae Sharpe from UMass who ran his routes very smoothly. He also caught just about everything during the drills.
*Honrable Mention: Malcolm Mitchell, Charone Peake, Devon Cajuste
*Baylor’s Corey Coleman did not run the 40 yard dash or participate in the on the field drills
Wide Receiver Rankings:
- Laquon Treadwell (Ole Miss)
- Will Fuller (Notre Dame)
- Michael Thomas (Ohio State)
- Braxton Miller (Ohio State)
- Corey Coleman (Baylor)
