Risers and Fallers - Defense

A few days ago we took a look at those player on the offensive side of the ball, who most helped and hurt themselves with their performance  at the combine.  Now prior to our next Mock Draft, we will take a look at the players on the defense whose performance in Indy most impacted their value.



Stocks on the Rise 

Dontari Poe, DT, Memphis

Except for RG3, no one player's performance was more talked about than Dontari Poe. All 348 pounds of this big fella had a remarkable combine performance which has redefined what can be athletically expected of a big man.  44 reps from a guy this size was excellent, but not unheard of.  Where he truly shined was in his 40 time.  For a guy of his size to run a 4.8 is simply jaw dropping.  Poe's combine feats we better than those of Ravens D-lineman Haloti Ngata.  No we can only wait to see if his career path reaches such heights.  He most definitely helped his draft stock with this performance.  Now, if he can answer lingering questions about his work ethic (took too many plays off at Memphis), Poe will be an early first round selection.


Bruce Irvin, DE/OLB, West Virginia

Heading into the combine, Bruce Irvin was one of those guys who had a great opportunity to use the combine to catapult his draft stock.  Everyone knew that he was an athletic freak, so if he could show it on the big stage, he would have some teams sniffing around.  Irvin did not disappoint.  His freakishly fast 4.5 40 time and his strong work on the drills made him one of the more intriguing prospects.  He will likely play OLB in a 3-4 defense at the next level, and he has moved himself into discussion for being picked in the end of round 1, early round 2 depending on how the board falls.



Josh Robinson, CB, Central Florida

The former UCF standout made his mark on the 2012 combine, becoming the official fastest man in attendance.  His 4.33 40 was blazing fast, and he was even hand timed at 4.29 by some scouts.  This along with a 38.5" vert has opened scouts eyes to this one-time 4th - 5th round projection.  Robinson can sure run fast, but looking at his tape, he doesn't seem to play as fast.  He struggle a little in man coverage, and his combine performance won't make all that disappear.  Having said this, his showing at Inday earned him some serious stock rise, now projected as a solid 3rd round pick at the latest.


Mychal Kendricks, ILB, California

The Golden Bear's, Mychal Kendricks was another one of the combine's football-player-turned-track-star stories.  This middle linbacker ran a blazing 4.47 40 and leaped an incredible 39.5" vert.  In college Kendrick was a productive presence in the middle of the cal defense, and his on-field attitude translates well to the pro arena.  He would best be suited to land in the middle of a 4-3 front, but he could play as an ILB if drafted by a 3-4 team.  Either way, expect Kendrick to be off the board before the end of the second round.





Andre Branch, DE, Clemson

On my board, this Tiger DE was already a first round prospect.  On the boards of some other experts however, Branch was looked at as a better value if selected in the second round.  After his all-around great performance at the combine, there will be very few experts left who do not project his name to be called on the draft's first night.  Branch did everything he was asked to do, and he did it all well.  His measures were all solid if not better, and his performance in position drill stood out as one of the best.  He seems to be fairly polished, and with his considerable athletic talents, he should be a valuable commodity in April.






Stocks Falling












Vontaze Burfict, LB, Arizona State

Those that follow this blog know that I have been a Vontaze Burfict fan for some time.  I have always loved his aggressiveness on-field, and felt that his play is exactly what you want from a middle linebacker.  unfortunately, Burfict seems to also be one of those guys with a real knack for shooting themselves in the foot.  There have always been questions about Burfict's character and when given the chance in Indy to show them to be unfounded, he failed.  He did not take ownership for his decisions, nor his mistakes, and that did not play well with the teams with whom he spoke.  Then he topped off the weekend with a inexplicably terrible 5.0 40 time.  Unfortunately for Vontaze, this will cost him and most certainly drops him to second or third round consideration.


Sean Spence, LB, Miami

Coming from "The U", Spence was expected to put on a great athletic performance.  When he ran his 40, he did not disappoint.  But when he hit the bench press, he sure did.  One of the qualities of an NFL linebacker is that he has to be strong.  With a 225 lb bar, the former Hurricane only managed to put up 12 reps.  Now for the average guy, this is nice, but Spence is not a weekend warrior.  he wants to play football for a living.  To put it in perspective, that was the lowest total for a LB.  Also 23 DBs, both QBs who benched, and 29 WRs all out benched him.  This does not bode well for him.  A team will still draft him, and they may do him a favor and look to move him to safety at the next level, but I have a very hard time seeing someone who only puts up 12 reps on the bench as a pro linebacker.



Michael Brockers, DT, LSU

Unlike many of the pundits out there, I have not been quite as high on Michael Brockers.  My reasoning has been two-fold.  First, he has a very small resume of games under his belt.  Whereas it is not always a pre-req to be a 4-year starter for me to grade you high, I would like to see enough tape to see how your performance is over time, and with Brockers, we don't have that.  The other thing I don't like is he is from LSU.  Now this is not a knock on the Tigers, as I respect their program quite a bit. There are just some schools however that seem to put out guys at a certain position that seem to have it all, only to fail at the next level.  With d-linemen, LSU fits that bill.  The last two Tigers to go high in the draft, Dorsey and Jackson, have done nothing thus far in their time in the league, and I am afraid Brockers could be on a similar track.  His below average showing in Indy dropped him down some draft boards, mine included.