One thing I have noticed lately... | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

One thing I have noticed lately...

BocaHighQB

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As we get further and further from the College football season the "workout warriors" are starting to jump over the players that were origanilly put on top of boards for their play instead of their numbers. Players such as Cedric Benson, Antrel Rolle, David Pollack, and Derrick Johnson have all been jumped or almost jumped by players such as Ronnie Brown(BPA in my opinion), Pac Man Jones, Erasmus James, and Shawne Merriman. Ronnie Brown showed his athleticism overall both on field and on paper better than anyone in the draft in my opinion. But why are guys such as the other 3 I listed being jumped because their 40 time is slightly lower than another's? I love the combine, but do you think scouts use it too heavily in their recruiting process?
 
A lot of those guys are great college players but like they say, everyone's faster in the NFL.
 
I think the the combine is indeed overrated. When Culpepper was a prospect, scouts were concerned about how small his hands are when he's throwing really long bombs. Plus, how many times does a NFL player run a 40 yard dash.
 
I totally agree with the original post. I think people get too swept up in combine and pro day numbers. I'll take production on the field over a blazing shuttle or 40 time in most cases. This is why even Ronnie Brown scares me a bit. Out of the RBs, he is the one most easily classified as a workout warrior. He shot up the draft boards from being the consensus #3 back in the draft, to the #1 on most boards. While I do think he showed good production on the field as well, he is in my mind a more unproven commodity than a Cedric Benson.
All of these backs have strengths and weaknesses.
Caddy's is the durability question, Benson has his character concerns, and Brown may be a workout warrior.
 
i would actually love that draft but exchange the cb in round 3 to QB Adrian Mcpherson. Overall that draft prolly couldnt happen though. Some of those players will go earlier than the rounds you have em gone in.
 
i agree whats up with pac man jumping over rolle by a huge margine that gets growing everyday on everyones draft board. rolle might not be good on #s but the guy is a game breaker and huge hitter. looks like a safety but has the skills of a corner. imo there should be no reason pac man is over rolle and im not just saying that because im a canes fan but because he is a play maker.
 
Its tough. But, I don't think Pollack was quite as high as you think prior to the workouts, because the only thing he has done with his workouts is HELP his draft stock. He ran some pretty darn good times, better than folks expected, and even though he didn't show up as tall, people already knew he wasn't.

Shawn Merriman is becoming the quintessential workout warrior.

The best example is Cedric Benson & Ronnie Brown. Brown didn't even run the blazing warp speed 40 times that most people think he did. He ran just as fast as Cadillac Williams, and was only about 15 lbs heavier than Cadillac when he did it, but he's become like this perfect player that has everything you want. All Caddy and Benson do is gain yardage and break tackles. But Brown has all the athletic ability and the size to boot, so its assumed he can do it in the pros. I'm not convinced, we'll see.
 
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