Combine notes, day 1: OL/TE

Thoughts on yesterday's workout coverage, a/k/a big men jumping:

* Is there any less illuminating interview in the NFL than Steve Spagnuolo? NFL Network interviewed him after yesterday's workouts, and what we got was plenty of nothin'. The most notable things Spags did was try to hit on Kara Henderson (Coach did you give Kara my number?) and say that if the Rams did get a young QB, he'd like to play him a few series a game, which is what Andy Reid did with Donovan McNabb. I guess the news item there is that Spags is thinking that far ahead as far as drafting a QB.

* NFL Net must really hate the Rams. Because they're filled with nothing but awful advice for them. One talking head after another continues to insist the Rams HAVE to draft Sam Bradford despite an injury history that's keeping him out of this year's Combine and that hasn't given anyone any film to watch on him in like a year. Let's at least see him work out before declaring him The Man, eh?

Or you've got Jamie Dukes and now Rich Freaking Eisen continuing to try to cram the Michael Vick Project down our throats, when we've got almost as little evidence of what he can do on the field post-prison as we do with Bradford post-college. Dukes insists Vick will give the Rams the #1 running game in the NFL, though the presence of Steven Jackson wasn't enough to get them any better than a 1-and-15 record last year.

And God bless Mike Mayock for ripping into Eisen about a nanosecond after his Vick offering. “How much value is Vick supposed to have as a starting QB?” Mayock had the wisdom to ask.

Indeed.


* Everybody settle down about Bruce Campbell. The year I finally wise up and go into a Combine determined not to go nuts over a player's performance in gym shorts (or are those ridiculous get-up they're wearing this year pajamas?), NFL Network uses up its hype budget the first day on the Maryland OT. After his 34 bench presses and 4.85 40, the fine NFL-N announcers all tried to breathlessly one-up each other on how high Mr. Campbell is going to be drafted now. First round. Mid-first round. Top ten!

SETTLE DOWN! This isn't as much about Campbell's performance as it is NFL Network's desperate effort to make the Combine appear relevant. This year, I've never heard more that teams are determined to rely much more on game film and campus workouts than on Indianapolis' gym class. In this case, Campbell, who is just a junior, is said not to look nearly as good on film as he does at the NFL's annual pajama party. The hardest hit he may have delivered in his short career was to the Vertex machine yesterday.

The Combine is a good tool. For fans. We can learn more about players we don't have a great chance to watch very much. But unless the NFL changes overtime to a match race between right tackles, teams would be very smart if they draft the likes of Bruce Campbell for much more than their abilities as workout warriors.

* Prospective kick returner Trindon Holliday ran a 4.34. Well, hooray. He should. He's one of the country's most heralded track stars.

Also, I think he's about 4.34 feet tall.

* Not bubble stocks. Indiana lineman Rodger Saffold, who Mike Mayock called a 2nd-3rd round pick at guard, is someone the Combine should be getting people excited about. He's a 4-year starter. He was reportedly the best player at the East-West Shrine Game. His workout, which included a broad jump that was over a foot better than the average at his position, backs up his on-field performance. He looked as good as any of the tackles during the kick-slide drill, which I wish NFL Net would have shown in its entirety. In fact, he was a tackle for the Hoosiers, which confuses me given Mayock's insistence on calling him a guard. Rodger Saffold's a player who I think can really help out an offensive line.
Trent Williams' draft stock hasn't been in much danger, and he did nothing to hurt it yesterday. He looked fine in drills and put up a 4.88 40. Now there's a lineman who pushed himself into legitimate top 10 consideration. Russell Okung's 38 bench presses and overall performance should also keep his stock very high. Mike Iupati and Brian Bulaga came in a little lighter, but I doubt any lineman did much to hurt their stock yesterday.

It sounds to me like the 307 reported for Ndamukong Suh's weight was his Combine weigh-in. I'm happy about that if I've got it right; I was really afraid he was going to show up under 300 lbs. Which Gerald McCoy did, at 295, if I've got it right.

* Senior Bowl redux. A couple of players I liked at the Senior Bowl did nothing to hurt their stock yesterday. John Jerry ran a very good 5.15 and looked very good in the mirror drill. He looked badly slow in kick-slide, but that is not a drill at which interior linemen excel. As one of the commentators put it yesterday, that's why they're interior linemen. Shawn Lauvao looked good at whatever he was doing every time he got on screen. His 33 bench press total was impressive and he looked as quick as the tackles in kick-slide. Mayock has never had Lauvao in his top five of anything, so I've got hope that the Rams, who need to pick up some offensive line depth, can steal him away in the middle rounds.

* Bear stocks. Some players saw their prospects decline yesterday, at least in my eyes. More and more teams are looking at Vladimir Ducasse as a guard, a rabbit punch to his (and his agent's) pocketbook. I'll get to TE in a minute, but Oregon's Ed Dickson had the unfortunate luck to drop nearly everything I saw thrown to him. I'm flummoxed on how Jermaine Gresham and Rob Gronkowski are the top two tight ends when neither played last year, and Gronkowski barely even worked out yesterday.

And the big one, Colt McCoy measuring in at just over 6'1”. And he's not throwing this weekend, either. Yeah, that's not helping me out a lot, at least.

* Tight ends go deep. My hopes are realized in this year's tight end class. It's very deep and the Rams don't have to use a high pick to come away with a legitimate starter at the position. Liked Jimmy Graham of Miami. Has the basketball pedigree you always like to see at the position. He ran well and caught very well. He didn't need throws to be perfect to bring them in. He wasn't even the only Graham to excel. Garrett Graham of Wisconsin caught everything. The Badgers put out NFL-quality tight ends one year after another. BYU's Dennis Pitta would be a great under-the-radar player to come away with. Very smooth player with very respectable workout numbers (27 benches, 4.67 40) and Mayock says he has the best hands of any receiver in the draft. After two years of Randy McMichael, I guarantee you the Rams need that. Though his 40 time wasn't stellar, Gresham seemed too fast for the QBs in the gauntlet drill. Lot of throws behind him and a tough time making catches as a result. Coming off injury, though, a very respectable effort. Tony Moeaki did well, but I don't know; he looks really squatty, more like a fullback than a TE. Clay Harbor of Missouri State looks like a workout warrior. 30 benches, 4.68 40, not the greatest hands. Dorin Dickerson's lighter than any TE this year by 20 lbs, so his 4.4 40 was suitably well ahead of the rest of the field. He outlifted some of the big names, too, and Mayock put him over as a tough inline blocker despite his smaller size and a matchup nightmare because of his speed. Though he dropped a couple of passes, he's really the tight end the Rams need, though he's likely too high a draft pick by now for the Rams to actually get him.

As a fan, at least, I'll have to spend the rest of the weekend looking for the most suitable second-round pick for the Rams. Maybe it's Dickerson. I'm not so sure any more it's McCoy. And of course, if the Rams do decide to go QB #1 overall, it'll be helpful to know the second tier of defensive linemen.

Business is starting to pick up in Rams Nation.