Now that the NFL season is over, the offseason full of coaching changes, contract negotiations, free agency and, most importantly, the draft is here. One of the biggest pre-draft events is the NFL combine held annually in Indianapolis, and the top prospects from college football are invited to come showcase their talents for scouts, coaches and general managers as they try and improve or maintain their draft stock.
Three MSU players were invited to the combine: cornerbacks Johnthan Banks and Darius Slay and defensive tackle Josh Boyd. Banks has been one of the top prospects all throughout the college season, but after a disappointing 4.61 time in the 40-yard dash, his stock will fall. For now, he’s likely looking at being a second-round pick, late first-round at best. Banks can play and can be a legitimate starting cornerback in the NFL, but I doubt teams will want to use a first-rounder on a corner who runs a 4.6.
Slay, on the other hand, had a terrific showing at the combine, running a 4.36 in the 40, the fastest official time of any defensive player and fifth fastest overall at the event. After being a fourth-to-fifth round projection coming into the combine, I estimate Slay has jumped all the way up to second-to-third round discussion.
Slay is now in a great position as he has great measurable times to go along with his production on the field. Sometimes players produce on the field and don’t measure well, and that gives NFL scouts pause. But Slay performed well on the field, has good measurables and did it in the top football conference in the nation, all of which solidifies him as a big time prospect at cornerback.
Boyd had a solid outing at the combine and more than anything, confirmed what most people already knew about him: he is strong. Boyd had 32 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press, which was the fourth best mark among defensive lineman at the event, and he proved himself to be one of the strongest prospects in the class.
His 5.14 time in the 40, however, also reaffirmed what people already knew about him: he’s most likely not going to be an every down player due to lack of pass rush ability. This makes him a middle-round guy.
Perhaps the guy with the most to prove at the combine was Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o. Te’o is coming off the worst game of his career in the BCS National Championship game, and on top of that, he became victim to one of the biggest scandals in sports history shortly after the game.
With so much pressure on him and so much to prove, it would seem the distractions were too much for him as Te’o ran a disappointing 4.82 time in the 40, despite reports that he ran a 4.6 in his own personal workouts.
Obviously, 40 times are not everything, especially at the MLB position. Former Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes ran a 5.1 at his pro day back in 2010 and is now one of the better players at his position in the league. But low 40s will hurt players’ draft stocks whether it’s fair or not, and with the cloud that is hanging over him, Te’o has little to no room for mishaps. Luckily for him, he still has the pro day to make a final impression on scouts.
I have always been a proponent that way too much stock is put into the combine. We have seen way too many “workout warriors” who did little on the field and got picked high because of a great workout but who fall short of expectations in the NFL.
A perfect example is the two teammates Banks and Slay. On Tuesday, Slay’s workout was the talk of the campus, and I even heard people saying maybe Slay should go higher than Banks. This is the problem with the combine. No disrespect to Slay, who is a solid player, but he is not better than Banks and neither are a lot of the other corners who may have run better than Banks. With whatever speed or lack thereof Banks possesses, it was enough for him to be one of the best corners in the best conference in football the past two seasons in a row. The tape matters, and all the 40 times, vertical jumps and bench presses are nice, but at the end of the day, it comes down to if you can play.