Cornerback is a position of depth in this draft even if it is lacking for elite talent beyond Jeff Okudah of Ohio St. Safety is a position lacking in depth and elite talent period. No offense to Xavier McKinney and Grant Delpit but neither of them are going to be mistaken for Ed Reed or Troy Polamalu. Okudah has a chance to be a perenniel Pro Bowler. The race at the combine was to prove who was the second best CB and whether or not they are worth at least a mid-first round pick. Coming in to today the contenders were; Kristian Fulton, Trevon Diggs, CJ Henderson, Damon Arnette, and AJ Terrell with an outside possibility of a Cam Dantzler or Bryce Hall. There were some clear winners and clear losers in this race. At safety some players enhanced their value but overall it’s a group that was lacking star power.
Cornerback
- Jeff Okudah is the star of the group and he showed why when he ran 4.48 at 6’1 205 lbs., he couldn’t be a more prototypical CB if you made him in a lab. He’s also competitive enough that even with no competition for the top CB spot he still wanted to work out. He ran his forty and then went to compete in the on field drills. He ended up leaping for a pass and coming down hard and hitting his head on the turf. He was a shook up by it but he wanted to continue. Luckily for him Deion Sanders was on the field covering the combine for the NFL Network and literally talked Okudah into skipping the rest of the drills (the guy has nothing more to prove). Even though he was supposed to call it a day he decided to still do the jumping tests (he just couldn’t help himself) and even a little banged up he hit 41 inches on the vert and over 11 feet on the broad jump. This guy is unreal.
- The race for the second CB had two guys bow out early as Bryce Hall only did the bench press (he’s still coming back from an ankle injury) and Cam Dantzler ran a 4.64 in the forty (see you round 3). Trevon Diggs didn’t workout other than the on field drills but he looked good enough to stay in the competition but he lost ground today. Damon Arnette ran 4.56 which doesn’t eliminate him from the competition either but it does make teams start to wonder if he ends up as a safety. CJ Henderson ran 4.39, Kristian Fulton ran 4.46, and AJ Terrell ran 4.42 and the competition was on.
- CJ Henderson showed why it seems like he has such great makeup speed on the field, because he does. He also proved highly athletic with a 37.5″ vert and a 10’7 broad jump. He looked very smooth in drills and he may have had the best overall day.
- AJ Terrell ran plenty fast at 4.42 and his 34.5″ vert and 10’9 broad jump showed his athleticism too. He wasn’t quite as natural as Henderson in the drills but one thing Terrell has that every CB needs is a short memory. He got torched early in Clemson’s game against LSU by Ja’Marr Chase but he rebounded to play well in the second half. Chase is a stud and Terrell never backed down.
- Kristian Fulton went 4.46 in the forty, 35.5″ in the vert and 10’3 in the broad jump. He is a slightly less athletic player than Henderson and Terrell but he’s just a tough guy to shake in coverage. All three guys are 1st round picks but I think Henderson pulled slightly a head overall.
- Javelin Guidry from Utah made himself some money. He’s 5’9 and most likely going to be a nickel corner but that’s an important position to everyone in the NFL and Guidry ran a 4.29 forty to make everyone go back and watch his tape. He apparently played in the slot a lot at Utah which only helps his cause, he has plenty of experience.
- UCLA’s Darnay Holmes had a good day. He ran faster than expected (4.48) but it was his work in the position drills that really stood out. This kid is smooth and looks natural at everything he does. It’s easy to forget UCLA’s football team (their fans are trying to anyway) but Holmes is a bright spot for them.
- Iowa’s Michael Ojemudia ran a faster than expect 4.45 forty and that’s going to help but he looked a little stiff in the position drills. I’m not sure he can stick at CB in the NFL but I can see him making a Micah Hyde like transition to safety and playing that position for a long time in the league.
- One guy who is for sure going to have to transition to safety is Florida St.’s Stanford Samuels. He ran 4.65 but honestly it was the slowest looking 4.65 I’ve ever seen and I’ve been watching the combine intently for quite some time.
Safety
- Xavier McKinney pulled up with cramps during his forty and ended up with a 4.63, he’s not actually that slow, but then he pulled out of the rest of the workout. Grant Delpit didn’t work out at all and Ashtyn Davis only did the bench press. That took the top three safeties out of the day and those guys are by far the best of the bunch.
- Jeremy Chinn of Southern Illinois had a fantastic day. He’s 6’3 221 lbs. and he ran 4.45, had a vert of 41″, and a broad jump of 11’6. That’s a freaky athlete that almost every team would be glad to take a chance on. Considering there’s an opening for the fourth safety in this draft, Chinn put his best foot forward and had a good day.
- Two other players on the opposite ends of the physical stature spectrum both turned in good days. Clemson’s Tanner Muse is 6’2 221 lbs. and ran 4.41, jumped 34.5″ and 10’4. Minnesota’s Antoine Winfield Jr. is 5’9 203 lbs. and ran 4.45, and jumped 36″ and 10’4. Those are good numbers for anyone of any size. Winfield looked especially good in the on field drills but that’s not a surprise considering he’s the son of Antoine Winfield and was born to play defensive back.
- Iowa’s Geno Stone had a day to forget. I believed when he announced his decision to turn pro a year early that he was making a mistake. Today only confirmed that idea. In what was a very pedestrian group of safeties Geno Stone managed to finish in the bottom five of all four physical tests he did on the day; forty, vert, broad jump and bench press. Technically 5 guys finished with worse forty times but one of those guys was Xavier McKinney, the top safety in the class, who pulled up with a leg cramp about 5 yards shy of the 40 and still only finished .01 seconds behind Stone’s time.
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