Cavanaugh's Combine Notes: Wednesday
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Welcome humans to my observations from Wednesday at the NFL Draft Combine.
- Had White Castles. They were delicious.
- Every step of this combine matters. I'll always reference that the tape is the most important thing about these players, and it is. But the medicals, the measurements, the agility drills and the interviews here in Indy all have value to the players in attendance. For instance, two head coaches today mentioned a measurement on QBs that they do care about. Hand size. Both Hue Jackson (Browns) and Jason Garrett (Cowboys) made mention of it as an important trait they look at for the position in the draft. Some will point to Romo being one of the smaller handed QBs in the league, which is fair, but the Cowboys didn't draft him.
- Jared Goff is rumored to be a 'small handed' QB. The QBs haven't been measured yet. I'm interested to see if either of these teams (Browns/Cowboys) would take him in the top 5.
- Enjoyed the interview of Laremy Tunsil, I'd imagine the guy will be the #1 overall pick in the draft. Tunsil claimed he was a shy guy, but he was outgoing and confident with the media around. He also looked physically impressive.
- I thought Alex Collins (Arkansas RB) had an interesting interview as well. He's a guy that on tape I love as a downhill runner, he pointed out that he's really looking forward to catching the football out here to show that he can excel at that part of the game. If he's able to do that, it can be really helpful for his value.
- Tyler Ervin (San Diego State RB) says he's shooting for the 4.2s on his 40. I've still got Kolby Listenbee as my pick to run the fastest 40 at the combine, but Ervin's throwing his hat in the ring. Ervin said he played last season at 195 pounds even though he was listed in the 170s during the season. Ervin said that he was weighed in the spring and he gained that weight over the summer. For a team looking for a guy and hoping he can run the ball between the tackles, that weight difference is big.
- Ronnie Stanley (Notre Dame OT), who is a projected top ten or so pick, had an interesting revelation in his interview. He mentioned that his goal during the combine (paraphrasing here) was to show people how important football is to him. Apparently his demeanor has led to questions from scouts about his passion. He does carry himself in a very laid back way. His game on tape is also finesse. That's part of the reason it's so important to coach these guys up on how to handle these interviews. It was a huge contrast to walk from Stanley's podium to where Tunsil was. Tunsil carries himself so confidently. He aced the media portion, Stanley had a rough go of it.
- Jason Garrett seems to want no part of Greg Hardy on his football team. He answered a question about him with "Greg Hardy is a free agent." He was willing to comment on other free agents, but not Hardy. Unless the owner makes a move on his own, that guy isn't coming back.
- Derrick Henry weighed in at 247 pounds. He didn't want to share his goal for the 40 yard dash. To me, his short shuttle and three cone times are more important because on tape, his issue is that if he doesn't have a clean runway to get going, he struggles to make guys miss in the backfield. I don't have doubts about his straight line speed, just his short area quickness.
- Ezekiel Elliott didn't come through for a media session. Neither did Devontae Booker from Utah. Hopefully we'll see them tomorrow and it doesn't have anything to do with a medical holding someone up.
- Jonathan Williams (RB Arkansas) will only bench press here, he'll do all of his running at his Pro Day in March.
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