The first day of drills at the NFL Combine was filled with interesting testing numbers. Here are the winners and losers for players on the Steelers radar.
It was an eventful day for the first day of testing and on-field drills at the 2020 NFL Combine. Tight ends, quarterbacks, and wide receivers took the field in an attempt to sort themselves out and to prove why they boost their draft statuses. Like every other team, the Steelers had their brass on hand checking things out.
While some players were able to wow us with stunningly good times in certain drills, others did quite the opposite. Now teams are forced to back to the drawing board to check out any red flags they may have missed.
This year’s group of wide receivers is particularly impressive. But it wasn’t CeeDee Lamb and Jerry Jeudy turning heads during testing. Others, like Denzel Mims, got their fair share of time in the spotlight.
At tight end, things couldn’t be murkier than they are right now. Though a few players impressed with their combination of size and speed, others fell well short of meeting early expectations. Harrison Bryant is a player that many analysts loved coming into this weekend, but poor testing numbers will have teams reevaluating what type of player he is going to be at the next level.
As Still Curtain contributor Eric Hassel recently wrote, it’s important to take Combine number with a grain of salt. However, we can’t ignore them altogether. The Steelers have a lot to dwell on after the first night of drills. Here are my winners and losers from the tight end, quarterback, and wide receiver groups:
Winners:
Denzel Mims
Denzel Mims was the biggest winner of the evening. After being labeled just a possession receiver most of the offseason, he showed why he is capable of doing it all at the next level. Mims posted a 4.38 40-yard dash, 38.5” vertical, 131” broad jump, and a 6.66 3-cone drill. He was the best all-around tester of the wide receivers.
Chase Claypool
Chase Claypool is a receiver who might be asked to transition to a tight end at the next level because of his size. But all Claypool did on Thursday was impress. His 4.42 40 and 40.5” vertical were excellent for a 6’4”, 238 pound receiver. He’s a player who should be on Steelers radar.
Albert Okwuegbunam
Albert Okwuegbunam only tested in one drill (the 40-yard dash) but it was as impressive as any single number recorded at the Combine on Thursday. At 6’5” and 258 pounds, Okwuegbunam recorded a blazing 4.49 40. You don’t see that every day.
Michael Pittman
Here’s a guy many thought would test as an average player, but Michael Pittman proved the general public wrong. The USC star recorded a 4.52 40, 36.5” vertical, 121” broad jump, a 6.96 3-cone, and 4.14 20-yard shuttle. These were terrific numbers – especially from a 6’4” wide receiver.
Winners:
Adam Trautman
Adam Trautman didn’t exactly explode out of the gate with a 4.80 40, but it was al uphill for the small-school product from there. While his explosion numbers were modest, he earned excellent agility scores – running a 6.78 3-cone and 4.27 20-yard shuttle at 6’5” and 255 pounds.
Cole Kmet
Cole Kmet was my TE1 heading into this weekend, and his performance only solidified my position on him. While he doesn’t have blazing speed, Kmet was able to run a 4.70 at 6’6” and 262 pounds. He also put up terrific explosion numbers with a 37” vertical and a 123” broad jump.
Jalen Hurts
There wasn’t a lot to note from the quarterback testing, but Jalen Hurts confirmed his athleticism on Thursday night. He ran a blazing 4.59 40-yard dash, and tested well in explosion drills (35” vertical and 125” broad jump).
Losers:
Harrison Bryant
Harrison Bryant may have been the most disappointing player of the night. Though some thought he was the most complete tight end entering the Combine, they may have changed after a rough performance. Bryant earned a respectable 4.73 40, but fell well short in every other area – recording a 32.5” vertical, 110” broad jump, 7.41 3-cone, and 4.37 short shuttle. Not the numbers the Steelers were hoping for.
Hunter Bryant
Hunter Bryant’s pro comparison was often Evan Engram before the Combine, but that may no longer be reasonable. While Engram tested incredibly in every area, Bryant fell short. He kicked things off with a 4.74 40-yard dash, and tested below average in his explosion and agility drills.
Jared Pinkney
Outside of the bench press, Jared Pinkney did just one timed drill at the Combine, and it was a colossal mistake. The 6’4”, 257-pound tight end ran nearly a 5.00-second 40-yard dash. He should have been advised not to test at all.
Losers:
Jacob Eason
Athleticism at the quarterback position doesn’t matter as much as it does in most other positions, but Jacob Eason’s numbers weren’t pretty. After running a 4.89 40, he posted embarrassing numbers in the vertical jump (27.5”), broad jump (110”), 3-cone drill (7.50), and the 20-yard shuttle (4.75).
Antonio Gandy-Golden
Antonio Gandy-Golden looks like a smooth athlete on tape for a player his size, but he didn’t test that way on Thursday. The 6’4” receiver had respectable explosion numbers, but ran just a 4.60 to go with a 7.33 3-cone and 4.55 20-yard shuttle.
Jalen Reagor
This was one of the most surprising disappointments of the night. Jalen Reagor looked great in drills and had terrific explosion numbers (42” vertical, 128” broad jump). However, he ran a 4.47 40 when many thought he could crack the 4.3s, and his 3-cone (7.31) and shuttle times (4.46) were both less than ideal for a 5’11” receiver.
The NFL Combine is just one means of evaluating talent, and the Steelers shouldn’t put too much stock into it. However, that’s not to say it should be ignored. Pittsburgh will go back to the drawing board to reevaluate these players after their Combine performances.