My Combine Winners & Losers

*Disclaimer* A player should not be judged, valued or have his potential fully marked on what he achieves in shorts, on a track or in positional drills without any opponents. The winners are not the players that I necessarily believe we should draft and the losers are not players that I would avoid at all costs. *Disclaimer*

One thing I will get out of the way first, I can't stand players who attend the combine but decide not to work out for non injury related reasons. I understand the pitfalls of it, I understand the reasoning but I want to see some competitive spirit. You're there with the top 50 players at your position, I want to see you compete to prove you are the cream of the crop. Moving on

Winners

Dontari Poe, DT, Memphis

I don't think there is a player who I was more impressed with at the combine, we all knew that he was a big guy; 6'4 and 346 lb's. However his performance in the 40 yard dash was spectacular, 4.98 to move a 346lb frame down the track. 44 reps on the bench, even a 105 inch broad jump. Explosion, power and speed in the positional drills, this guy is going to anchor some teams 3-4 defence for a long time to come.

Stephen Hill, WR, Georgia Tech

One of my personal favourite draft prospects this year did himself no harm at the combine and probably pushed himself into the middle of the 2nd round. 4.36 in the 40, 39.5 inch vertical and catching 14 out of 14 in the gauntlet. He looked a lot more fluid in the positional drills that I thought he would. His route running needs work coming in and out of cuts, but he just screams big play potential.

Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame

At 6'3 and 220lb's there were some serious concerns about his speed, however he silenced these doubts with an impressive 4.47 40, he also tested well in all other tests. He also caught 14 out of 14 in the gauntlet and looked extremely good in the positional drills barring one drop which I saw. On the deep routes he got down the field quickly and tracked the ball well, readjusting his body to make the play. A WR who can adjust to some throws off the mark is probably a good idea for a team led by Sanchez.

Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama

I think Janoris may be one of the only guys (that we know of) that impressed people as much with his interview as with his onfield play. He has several character concerns but he was upfront with them, taking responsibility for what has happened and convincingly promising that it's behind him. It doesn't hurt that he ran a 4.46 and looked as fluid and as comfortable in drills as I can remember from a CB at the combine. Many believe that he has all the first round talent in the world, and that every place he drops after the #15 selection is attributed to his personal demons.

Cordy Glenn, OT/G, Georgia

After the first days workout I popped up a post about how impressed I was with Glenn so I'm popping it back in here. Glenn ran a very impressive 4.96 in the 40 yard dash (although I think when it was officially released it may have been over 5) but all the same his 10 yard split was good and he showed excellent burst for his frame. He put up 31 reps on the bench and his feet looked good during drills. He really looks like he could play all over the offensive line, probably more suited to a guard than a tackle but he could do a job at RT, he showed the burst and feet.

Casey Heyward, CB, Vanderbilt

I do like Casey Heyward but always thought he looked pretty stiff and didn't play the ball very well. Well he ran a respectable 40 dash in 4.57 and put up 19 reps. There was never an issue with his physicality. However during positional drills I thought he looked very fluid and he played the "locate the damn football drill" very well at the end of his workout. He's not up there with Claibourne or Jenkins but I came away thinking he may not be as stiff in the hips as I thought he was.

Harrison Smith, S, Notre Dame

Harrison looked and weighed in in great shape, a physical 6'2 and 213 lb's. I think he cemented his place as the 2nd rated safety prospect behind Mark Barron with his drill work and I think Steve Muench said it best recently after the combine when he said " He may not have elite hip fluidity but everything is smooth and under control, there'e even more to like about the way he played the ball and his potential to develop into a playmaker. He is a natural pass catcher".

James Hanna, TE, Oklahoma

Hanna really improved his draft stock at the combine with a very strong workout in all areas. He ran an impressive 4.42 in the 40 and measured in at 6'3 and 252 lb's. Although he had a shaky start to the positional drills dropping a pass, he soon got into it and was plucking balls from the area and showing a good burst in and out of his cuts.

Losers

Vontaze Burfict, OLB, Arizona State

I can't express how disappointed I was with Burfict at the combine. I was never his biggest fan to begin with due to his out of control play and his inability to locate the football in traffic. In interviews he blamed everyone but himself for his down year, he ran a 5.09 40 dash which is slower that the 346lb Poe. He just didn't look bothered and that ties in with some reports from Arizona State about his weight issues and lack of discipline. I wouldn't touch Burfict as I see him being uncoachable and we don't need a defensive diva to go with our offensive one.

Mike Adams, OT, Ohio State

Just one week after placing him as our first round selection in my latest mock (a decision I am regretting now) Mike Adams put up a very poor 19 reps on the bench press (that's defensive back numbers) and he generally didn't stand out during drills. It was a completely forgettable workout, and I was looking for him to really cement his place as a first round selection.

George Iloka, S, Boise State

I really like Iloka, and he measured in with great length 33 1/2 inch arms and 9 1/2 inch hands but watching those positional drills was nasty. He couldn't sink his hips and he was extremely slow changing direction in coverage, he looked quite slow due to the problems changing direction and a lot of people are starting to question his hips stiffness at the next level. Like I said, I like the guy but those drills were not easy to watch.

Dwight Jones, WR, North Carolina

In a combine where I thought the top receivers really brought their game, Dwight Jones further sunk his draft stock with some terrible route running. He strayed off course several times, on some of the sideline routes he seemed to lose track of where he actually was. He rounded off his routes and failed to make cuts when he should have. He also got told to speed up his gauntlet drill which is the first time I can remember that happening.

Michael Brockers, DT, LSU

Coming into the combine Brockers was building himself up as the man to beat, in reality he will return to baton rouge with his tail between his legs. He put up a measly 19 reps on the bench which was the lowest total at his position and didn't look particularly comfortable in his drills, not getting low enough. His 5.36 40 time which was the 5th slowest at his position also didn't do him any favours.

Chris Galippo, LB, USC

Chris was one of my sleepers forthe 2012 draft and at the combine I wanted him to show that he was a 3 down linebacker. Unfortunately all it did was further cement his reputation as a strictly 2 down guy. He didn't test that badly but with positional drills he looked completely uncomfortable backpeddling and falling back into coverage, in fact he also fell over on more than one occasion. It can be taught, and improved upon but his main question and concern looks to be a big question and concern.

Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor

This is all based on his very poor40 yard dash time, and I think Mike Mayock said it best when he said "On tape, I thought he was Desean Jackson, just a notch below him from a speed perspective. To see him run a 4.6, I was stunned" I fully expect Kendall to run a much quicker time at his Baylor pro day and for that question mark to be eliminated. However for the combine at least, questions are there.