Combine Stars

[OldSchool]

Every year there are players whom most people aren't aware of who put up superior numbers at the combine, the most significant of which is the 40 yard dash for all players and the bench press for linemen. Does their speed, power, and athleticism translate to what they can do on the football field? Or are they just workout warriors? This thread will compile a list of the top relatively unknown performers from the scouting combine with my take on them.

TE:

AC Leonard, TE, Tennessee State, Junior:

Measurables: 6' 2.3", 252 pounds, 33 inch arms, 9 1/4 inch hands

40 time: Low: 4.43, High: 4.56, Official: 4.5

Jumps: 10'8" broad jump, 32.5" vert

Background: Transferred out of Florida after legal issues involving an altercation with his girlfriend. He played behind Jordan Reed while he was at Florida.

Positives: His speed and explosiveness translates to his play on the field. He has good RAC ability for a TE, which is the reason why Tenn. State used him on sweeps and reverse plays. He is a solid pass catcher and shows good ball skills. He displays the ability to use different gears to lull defenders to sleep and surprise them with a sudden increase in acceleration in order to get open on a route. He has the ability to take the top off of a defense and flashes the awareness to get open in a zone coverage. When he decisively fires off of the line to get into his route pattern, he looks like a dangerous threat in the middle.

Negatives: Although he displays a decent ability to block sometimes, he loses leverage too much and will get thrown around by NFL level defenders if he doesn't improve on his hand usage and leverage. He looks more like a big WR than he does a TE. He can be sloppy in his route running and needs to improve his hand usage and power in getting away from more physical defenders. He is more finesse than he is physical without the ball in his hands. He needs to improve his aggressiveness when firing off the line in the run game and passing game; I don't like how he tends to start out slow in an attempt to get open with a sudden burst of acceleration, it will get him in trouble with safeties and LBs who will press him at the line. He looks like he doesn't play with 100% effort all of the time. His altercation with his former GF is a red flag.

Overview: Leonard is an athletically gifted TE who can truly threaten a defense on all levels of the field; the numbers that he put up at the combine are reflected in his play on the field. Like almost every college TE, he needs a lot of improvement on the consistency of his blocking and route running. He needs to improve his tenacity at the point of attack in the run game in order to be a better blocker. Teams will be concerned, and rightly so, about his character off the field and whether or not he has taken any real steps towards changing and becoming a better person. His upside and best fit in the NFL is as a H-Back similar to Hernandez (before he got caught for killing people) and Delanie Walker with better hands(when he was with SF). He could be a steal for someone in the middle rounds but it all depends on his character whether or not he can become a successful NFL player, and more importantly, a good human being.

[jonzie04]

Originally Posted by OldSchool

CB

Phillip Gaines, CB, Rice, Senior

Measurables: 6' .3", 193 lbs, 31 7/8" arms, 9 5/8" hands.

Bench Reps: 11

40 time: 4.35 unofficial, 4.38 official

Background: Played CB at Rice. He was a dominant CB in his senior year. He was targeted 40 times in 2013 and allowed 13 receptions while making 4 INTs with 9 PBUs, 32.5% success rate. He has 38 PBUs in his career at Rice which is their career record. Gaines had legal troubles in 2011 when he was arrested for possession of 2 ounces or less of weed.

Positives: Aggressive defender in coverage, he plays fearlessly and isn't afraid to challenge receivers at the line. He's experienced as a press-corner and looks comfortable in the zone as well. He has great ball skills and broke up a ton of passes when playing at Rice. He has tremendous speed and quickness to mirror even the fastest WRs to go along with his good length, great closing speed. He was left on an island for most of his career and performed at a high level in that role; shows good awareness in coverage to fall off his man and make a play on the ball when it is thrown elsewhere. Very fluid athlete who is a willing tackler.

Negatives: Needs to improve his technique to in order to be more effective as a press corner (though he is fine in his trail technique). Struggles to get off of blocks in the run game; needs to add more strength to deal with WRs blocking him or improve his physicality at the point of attack. Needs to do a better job of catching the ball when he gets an opportunity.

Overview: Gaines is a confident, aggressive, and physical corner who has the potential to become a top cover corner in the NFL in either zone or press-man schemes. He has all of the tools to succeed but could stand to improve his strength, teams also have to check out his character. I would take him as soon as the 4th round in this draft in order to improve our pass coverage.

never heard of him before today, but damn i love what i see in that guy. not a lot of corners with that kind of fire on the field. especially with the tools he has.

[jonzie04]

can anyone post gaines video from draftbreakdown.com? it wont let me post links... but man i love what i see in that game. he comes off his man and shows that 4.3 closing speed and gets a nice pick... blasts a huge TE, shows sportsmanship by tapping a WR who makes a great catch. i'd love for him to be a chief.

[Jakemall]

Originally Posted by jonzie04

never heard of him before today, but damn i love what i see in that guy. not a lot of corners with that kind of fire on the field. especially with the tools he has.

Short arms...

[jonzie04]

Originally Posted by Jakemall

Short arms...

his arms are 3/8 of an inch shorter than richard shermans.

[Jakemall]

Originally Posted by jonzie04

his arms are 3/8 of an inch shorter than richard shermans.

Does he also take PEDs?

But seriously, he's 6' Sherman is 6'3 with big hops..

All that said, I was kinda kidding.

[OldSchool]

Originally Posted by Jakemall

Does he also take PEDs?

But seriously, he's 6' Sherman is 6'3 with big hops..

All that said, I was kinda kidding.

His arms aren't the longest but they are long enough. More importantly for me, he's a good sized corner who can run, jump and has the same short area quickness as Jason Verrett. I would love for us to draft him.

[Jakemall]

Originally Posted by OldSchool

His arms aren't the longest but they are long enough. More importantly for me, he's a good sized corner who can run, jump and has the same short area quickness as Jason Verrett. I would love for us to draft him.

He'd be fine I'm sure....what's he going to be like 5th or 6th round?

Personally, I like Kyle Fuller, Keith McGill and Bradley Roby.

[OldSchool]

Originally Posted by Jakemall

He'd be fine I'm sure....what's he going to be like 5th or 6th round?

Personally, I like Kyle Fuller, Keith McGill and Bradley Roby.

Looking at draft sites, they all say 7th round. His play is way above that of a 7th rounder, I would rate him as high as the 2nd for just his physical abilities alone; you're talking about a good sized corner at 6'1" and almost 200 pounds who has the movement skills of a 5'9" and under guy. The only reasons that I could think of why he would be rated so low are off the field issues and the fact that he didn't play against NFL level talent all of the time. However, his skill set translates very well to the NFL and he would immediately become a solid contributor for us.

His big problems: suspended for the Texas A&M game due to team rules violation; and arrested in 2011 for posession of 2 ounces or less of weed.

[Jakemall]

Originally Posted by OldSchool

Looking at draft sites, they all say 7th round. His play is way above that of a 7th rounder, I would rate him as high as the 2nd for just his physical abilities alone; you're talking about a good sized corner at 6'1" and almost 200 pounds who has the movement skills of a 5'9" and under guy. The only reasons that I could think of why he would be rated so low are off the field issues and the fact that he didn't play against NFL level talent all of the time. However, his skill set translates very well to the NFL and he would immediately become a solid contributor for us.

His big problems: suspended for the Texas A&M game due to team rules violation; and arrested in 2011 for posession of 2 ounces or less of weed.

That would drop a 1st rounder into the mid rounds...so I could see that dropping him to the 5-7th rounds.

[kcbubb]

Originally Posted by Reaper16

If by 'tape' you mean 'YouTube clips' then sure. But there's just as much actual gametape on John Brown as there is for any player in the country. All of the MIAA conference schools have multiple cameras at every game.

[Saccopoo]

Donte Moncrief.

That is all.