The Opening Drive 2/28: Combine Stock Rising, and a Weekend Mock Draft
More RAS cards with athletes testing at the tight end, safety, and linebacker positions.
It’s a big day on the calendar, my people. Nothing to do with the NFL Combine, though. It’s my birthday and 37 feels so much older than 36. Not sure how that’s possible but the body tells you things. I hope my 36th year on the earth provided you the coverage of your favorite team you deserve and I hope this next year does the same. Thanks for sticking with me.
Yesterday was an insane day of testing. We had tight ends jumping 45 inch verticals, safeties running in the 4.2s, and just more of the trend of freaks testing is ways we don’t often see. The tight end group in particular was just extremely fast and explosive. While the class might miss the mark on elite talent it doesn’t miss on depth.
Let’s dig in on who helped their stock parallel to the Browns’ perceived interest and needs.
Daylen Everette, CB, Georgia
The Browns have their eye on some Day 2 cornerbacks and Everette really helped himself in testing and on-field drills yesteday. Smooth in the agility portions and hauling-in passes away from his frame. His sub-4.4 forty-yard dash was also excellent.
Jalon Kilgore, CB/S, South Carolina
Running a 4.4 at 210 pounds is excellent for Kilgore and when paired with the explosion scores he is a fascinating prospect. The majority of his time was in the slot at South Carolina and that could transition to the NFL but some also think some deep half safety could be in his future as well. He is a fun piece of clay to mold.
Malachi Lawrence, EDGE, UCF
Lawrence was an under-the-radar pass rusher entering his combine testing but he has jumped forward significantly. Still at best a Day 2 player but the testing now matches the production where he had a 22.7% pressure rate. If there was an EDGE to take, this one would be it.
Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech
The film was littered with strong play in both phases where he was a turnover creation machine at Tech this past year. He is an ample run defender who processes and fits the run and can cover space well. Now the tape matches the movement skills as Rodriguez was explosive and really fast in the testing. He also looked just as smooth in the drills portion. If the Browns go linebacker early, which I do not expect, he is the Day 2 guy to love as he helped himself immensely.
John Michael Gyllenborg, TE, Wyoming
Gyllenborg entered the season with some real NFL buzz but had an injury-riddled season without the production some saw coming. Now fully healthy he put on a display in both the speed and explosion categories. He was always very good in the skills portion of the day displaying soft hands and change-of-direction skills.
Matthew Hibner, TE, SMU
The Michigan turned SMU prodict didn’t have much buzz entering the combine but his film shows a more than capable blocking “Y” with some impressive lateral ability in the passing game. His elite speed grade and more than adequate jumps show there is even more room for growth and production in the right NFL offense.
Eli Raridon, TE, Notre Dame
Rairdon had a strong showing that backed up his performance at the Shrine Bowl. His impressive 40 yard dash time combined with his physical frame really makes him a much more interesting prospect moving forward.
Sam Roush, TE, Stanford
The offense he played in didn’t load up opportunities for the position but he plays extremely hard, is tough to bring down in the open field, and blocks his butt off. The athleticism now matches the tape. He will rise into early Day 3 range. The short arms are a concern but everything else necessary is there to be a nice piece of a strong tight end room.
Jadon Canady, CB, Oregon
Canady didn’t test but his on-field drills were so smooth and displayed that quick twitch vital to sustain success in the slot at the NFL level. He is on the smaller side of the position but he has the quickness, and toughness (all on display at The Shrine Bowl) to make a career in the NFL. We will watch his Pro Day results closely.
Today we get the first day of two straight with position the Browns will be paying close attention to in the wide receivers and offensive line. The quarterbacks and running backs will also be in action today as well.
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With some of the updated testing I got the urge to get into another mock draft. These are low maintenance types before my first true in-depth version next week. You really have to love how this first round played out before we get even more big pieces at wide receiver and the offensive line.
If the first five picks play out like this, the Browns will certainly have some really chances to trade down for teams seeking out offense help but it’ll be tough to pass up the names here.
Let me know what you think or post your own mock in the comments and I’ll leave some comments.
Browns Film Breakdown will return soon with some fresh content later today.
Happy birthday Jake! 37 is still young, compared to some of us Turkey Joe Jones guys.
Happy birthday Jake!