The battery of tests that NFL Draft prospects were subjected to at the NFL Combine and at Pro Day’s across the country reshaped this draft and future of franchises for years to come. It's the moment when 4 years of collegiate production along with 18 years of body and mind calibrations are compressed into tenths of a second and single reps of weight worth millions each.  

After witnessing the resuls of the spectacles that were the combine, the various Pro Day’s and their impact on draft positioning and each prospects career expectations I realized it's purpose resembled the premise of the motion picture, Gattaca, revolving around a not to distant future when children are genetically enhanced before birth and the few remaining “natural” babies in society called “invalids” are discriminated against and relegated to menial jobs because of their weak genetic makeup. 

Unfortunately, for the NFL’s batch of young talent, this is no cinematic adventure.

            Conversely, the NFL Combine and Pro Day workouts have become an hostile environment where athletes put their freakish skills on display solely to distinguish the “valids” from the “invalids”.  While collegiate production is tossed aside mad scientists known as scouts denigrate young men for under performing on these exams and relegate them to the late rounds of the draft.  

However, for every Calvin Johnson type physical specimen, there are a plethora of “Vincent Freeman’s”, born with physical limitations, but with the mentality, determination and instinct to eclipse expectations and convince us “There is NO Gene for the human spirit”.  In a future, where genetic engineering of humans is common and DNA plays the primary role in determining social class, Vincent is conceived and born without the aid of this technology.

Following a series of events, he assumes the identity of “Jerome Eugene Morrow”, a former swimming star who, despite a genetic profile "second to none", won only a silver medal in a high-profile competition in order to achieve his life-long dream of becoming an astronaut.

The story centers on the irony of the perfect Jerome failing to succeed despite being given every advantage while the imperfect Vincent transcends his deficiencies through force of will and spirit.  And such is the tale of the NFL combine.

           The Ultimate “Vincent Freeman” emerged from the 1987 Draft when the 49ers selected a sure handed, collegiate record setting receiver turned off suitors by displaying mediocre straight line speed and agility at the combine.  Hardly an intimidating physical presence, Rice managed to parlay his acumen into a record shattering HOF career and the undisputed measuring stick for which all receivers are measured. 

Ultimately, the Draft Combine also helped launched a litany of over hyped “Jerome Murrow’s” into the early rounds of the Draft.  The antithesis to Jerry Rice’s story was the failure of Johnny “Lam” Jones who possessed the greatest physical attributes.

      After the successful career of gold medal winning Cowboy’s receiver Bob Hayes the New York Jets decided to take Texas Longhorns receiver, Johnny “Lam” Jones with he second overall pick in the 1980 NFL Draft.  Since Jones was a world class sprinter with an Olympic gold medal, the perception was that he could beat any coverage, but unlike Hayes had trouble catching the football.  Hayes’ impact had also lead to the development of the zone defense and bump and run coverage which negated Jones’ value.   He was essentially more of an athlete than a receiver and took 5 seasons to record 138 receptions, reach 2,000 yards and manufacture 13 touchdowns.  

        Honestly with the rate, ESPN’s draft crew is growing, they should seriously consider hiring a guy before Saturday who after each draft pick is announced, Chris Berman turns to him and asks his opinion just he can blurt out whether they’ll fail or flourish in their situation.  If anything I can put this in a time capsule, look back at this in a few years pat myself on the back or laugh at my ineptitude.  

“Vincent Freeman” Group (Bad Combine Great College Players, Better  Pro’s), Ex: Troy Smith, Jerry Rice, Anquan Boldin, Marion Barber, Justin Tuck

Andre Woodson, QB, Kentucky

Andre Woodson improved drastically as a junior and senior into arguably the best senior quarterback in the nation and despite posting one of the fastest 40 times for quarterbacks at the combine, his stock has declined because of a minor quirk detected in his throwing mechanics.  However, scouts have conveniently forgotten Woodson’s masterful season in a pro style offense in the country’s toughest conference and have criticized his slow wind up release.  In contrast to Matt Ryan, he actually rose in the big moments.

There was his 6 touchdown 430 yard duel against Tennessee’s Eric Ainge or his last second heroics in a flawless 4 touchdown performance against Louisville.  “Wait there’s more!”  Need I mention how he carved up the nations most intimidating defense in LSU before following it up with a 35/50 415 yard and 5 touchdown, 0 interception mural against Florida.

Matt Ryan may become a good pro, but in my mind his Thursday night thriller against Virginia Tech along with Boston College’s surprising undefeated start vaulted him up the rankings and made him one of the most over hyped prospects I’ve seen in a long time.  ESPN highlights didn’t emphasize his 48 % completion percentage.  In fact on four occasions last season, Ryan couldn’t hit water jumping from a boat finishing with a mediocre completion percentage below 50% against NC State, Virginia Tech, Florida State and Michigan State.

Darius Reynaud, WR, West Virginia

Reynaud is not so much disrespected as he is under appreciated.  I could spout off about his blinding speed or quickness but Reynaud best compares to Florida’s Percy Harvin and the Patriots’ Wes Walker.   Despite playing in a run oriented offense that played 5 top 25 defenses, Reynaud was a threat in the red zone on every trip down the field, catching 12 touchdown passes and is even more dangerous after the catch with the escapability of a gnat on an open field. 

Dennis Dixon, QB, Oregon Ducks-

Dixon’s pro career can take three separate routes at his point

a)      take his long arms , height and and athletism to become an impact WR or pedestrian WR ala Matt Jones and Antwaan Randle-El.

b)      get drafted at quarterback only to fail just as miserable as fellow Oregon Alumni’s Joey Harrington and fellow one year wonder Akili Smith who has detroyed all credibility for Oregon qb's.

c)      Or Dixon can earn a starting job at quarterback and follow in the quick footsteps of Randall Cunningham straight to the Hall of Fame or at least a respectable legacy. 

Listening to the clamoring for a potential position switch ala Antwaan Randle-El  of Woody Dantzler perplexes me because at 6’5 Dixon does not fit the mold of Randle-El who was 5 foot 9 or Woody Dantzler at 5-foot 10.  And unlike Matt Jones, Dixon was a more than adequate signal caller.

To his advantage Dixon also possesses longer arms (36.25 inches), bigger hands (9.75-inch span) and a faster 40 time of 4.49 seconds last year at Oregon(excluding Josh Johnson’s 4.4) than any quarterback in this draft.  If lingering effects of his ACL tear should worry the NFL cognoscenti, thanks to Oregon’s high tech rehab regimine, Dixon is recovering at a remarkable rate.  This ain’t your daddy’s ACL tear.  In this era of extensive surgeries and high tech rehabs, if Willis McGahee can recover from his devastating collegiate injury to embark on a Pro Bowl career, NFL GM’s shouldn’t even bat an eye.

In my opinion the Seahawks would be the wisest to take a gamble on Dixon in the 3^rd round for the same reason his prototype Vince Young was discussed as the solution to the Texans quarterback woes.  (Unless San Francisco wants a piece of the Oakland product) Between Matt Hasselbeck and Seneca Wallace he can learn the nuances of the game behind a perennial Pro Bowler and a quarterback in Wallace with an identical skill set.  As a plus, in 2009 the Seahawks will hand the reigns over to Jim Mora Jr., who knows a little something about coaching mobile quarterbacks after coaching Vick in Atlanta for three seasons.

Brian Brohm, QB, Louisville
Brian Brohm is the classic example of a prolific collegiate quarterback who outperformed his lofty expectations for 4 years only to get nitpicked, overanalyzed and dissected as the result of overexposure.  A year ago, Brohm topped the majority of experts’ draft boards but after a 6-6 season in which he actually posted his best career numbers his weaknesses(arm strength and mobility) have been highlighted while everyone has turned a blind eye to his strengths.

Peter King put it best: “ Brohm, who likely would have been a top-five pick last year had he come out as a junior. Instead, he stayed in school and completed 65 percent of his passes for 30 touchdowns on a college team with a poor defense and a .500 record.”  He once passed for 555 yards in a loss.

As we’ve seen time and time again, scouts cannot grasp the simple concept that completion percentages in pro-style offenses signals game accuracy.  Compare Brohm’s 35.5 career completion percentage in 33 starts to that of Ryan’s 59% in 32 starts and the numbers have a voice of their own.  

Steve Slaton, RB, West Virginia- He is the drafts forgotten man.  Lauded as a can’t miss prospect after his sophomore campaign, Slaton was hampered by injuries as a junior limiting his effectiveness and game-breaking runs.  It didn’t help that he ran a marginal 4.53 at the combine, which was not representative of the way he sprints towards the endzone like Pac-Man to a strip club. 

He’s flashed enough ability catching the football that teams have inquired about using him as a slot receiver, which isn’t surprising considering was compared to Reggie Bush as a freshman and was a  home run threat using the Mountaineers bubble screen.  8 months ago he was vying to be first running back taken and now it’s laughable that he is projected behind Tashard Choice, Chauncey Washington, Matt Forte, Jamaal Charles and Chris Johnson.  Slaton has been unreasonably likened to Warrick Dunn fo his physical attributes but he has 20 more pounds on his frame at 5’10 resembles Tiki Barber with the unfortunate fumble concerns.  

Erik Ainge, QB, Tennessee- Here’s a paragraph I never thought I’d write.  Erik Ainge is my sleeper pick for the signal caller who a quarter century from now is discussed as the biggest steal of this draft.  Perhaps it was the mediocre first half of his career that threw us off like his 45 and 55% completion percentages, resentment over the oust of Brent Schaeffer or the meteoric rise of Tim Tebow’s celebrity and Andre Woodson’s ascention but somehow over the past 2 seasons I failed to acknowledge Ainge’s ascention.  At 6’6 he towers over the line and after posting a completion percentage of 45%  in limited action as a sophomore before skyrocketing to 67% and 62% in his junior and senior campaigns.

Somehow, I mistakenly ignored his 50/20 TD-INT ratio since 2006 and on Saturday all but one out of 32 teams will make the same error.

Kevin Smith, RB, UCF- Kevin Smith must have felt like the prettiest girl at prom for Hellen Keller’s School of the Deaf and Blind because no one noticed him as he was snubbed by every major award including the Heisman and the Doak Walker Award despite finishing 61 yards shy of Barry Sanders’ single season rushing record. Now he is projected to be drafted behind Chris Johnson in the 3^rd or 4^th round despite out rushing him by nearly 1,000 yards in the same conference.  The knock against him is that he ran against Conference USA defenses but in his defense he also had C-USA linemen blocking for him when he romped through the Longhorns’ 5^th ranked rush defense for 140 yards and two touchdowns or his 217 yards through NC State’s vaunted defensive factory.        

Jordy Nelson, WR, Kansas State- From walk-on defensive back 4 years ago to focal point of the Wildcats offense, Jordy Nelson has defined the overachiever label.  Despite underachieving with his 40 time at the combine, his totals of 122 receptions for 1600 yards are impressive.  Even more remarkable was the way he showed out against, arguably the nations top corner, Aqib Talib, whom he burnt for 137 yards in October, including a 68 yard catch and run touchdown.

In a side note, I recently heard a cpmparison to Wes Welker and almost fell out my chair laughing.  Not out of disrespect to either of them but because they have nothing in common besides astronomical receiving numbers and a paucity of melanin in their skin.  For starters, Wes Welker is 5’9-- 6 inches shorter than Nelson.

Tom Zbikowski, S, Notre Dame- Zbikowski is a tenacious hitter who has notched 160 tackles and 7 interceptions the past 2 seasons who’s stock has declined along with the Fighting Irish’s season.  His strength is also his weakness as every play he puts himself in position to make the big play which can occasionally backfires.  In his defense, though Raves safety Ed Reed also has the same M.O.  Along with his punt returning ability, there’s no way he is only the 10^th best at his position in this safety thin draft.

Sam Baker, OT, USC- For the past 12 months Baker was touted as a top 5 pick for the masterful job he did protecting John David Booty’s blindside.  However, after his 3^rd consecutive All-American season, Baker worked out poorly at the combine and the slate was wiped clean dropping him into the 2^nd round range behind half a dozen offensive tackles.

The “Jerome Murrow” Group (The Physical Specimens that’ll leave their legacy-- at the combine), Ex: Matt Jones,  Adam Archuletta, Tony Mandarich, Johnny Lam Jones

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Joe Flacco, QB, Delaware- Flacco who shot up the rankings after a strong combine, didn’t begin his career as a Delaware Fighting Blue Hen. It just troublesome that he left Pittsburgh to play for one of the most talented teams in D-IAA, instead of another D1 powerhouse after losing a quarterback battle to Tyler Palko. 

 (In a completely irrelevant side rant, which has nothing to do with X’s and O’s arm strength or accuracy is there a worse team name than the Fighting Blue Hens—at least a Yellow Jacket have stingers Do Hens lay eggs…on the scoreboards? Not a good omen.)

He is apparently late with his delivery on timing patterns and his biggest strength is the universal draft bust red flag—he possesses the strongest arm in the draft.

   Antwaun Molden, CB- Half a decade from now Molden’s legacy will be that of a workout warrior, who tested better than he actually played and suckered some poor organization into drafting a few other established college corners, including Antoine Cason of Arizona.  Worries me for the same reason as Flacco.  Molden transferred to Eastern Kentucky  from Toledo-- to get more playing time.  Molden was the strongest cornerback at the Combine, with 23 repetitions of 225 pounds on the bench press, and at 6’1 has the size to matchup against bigger receivers.

Chad Henne, QB, Michigan- The prospect that’s picking up steam as we edge toward the draft has been Michigan record holder Chad Henne.  Rumors are swirling that there is a team somewhere between 8 and 17 interested in trading down a few slots(apparently the Ravens as I suspected) and drafting Henne with a first-round pick—while Brohm and Woodson wait. Henne was the paragon of consistency since the first game of his freshman season in Ann Arbor to his senior farewell in the Capital One Bowl Game but never spectacular.  Henne has the quickest release in the draft and holds a plethora of Michigan passing records which is equivalent to being the prettiest waitress at Denny’s—still not that attractive.  Though I hold him in higher regard than Ryan, the franchise that selects him over Brohm will regret that decision for he next decade.  Plus the prospect of a Wolverine battling another Buckeye in Troy Smith(for the starting job) would divide the fabric of that organization. 

Eddie Royal, WR, Virginia Tech- After a phenomenal combine he has to be dubbed this year’s official overachieving offensive combine player who will surely tempt some poor GM into wasting an early round draft pick.  His 4.39 40 was no fluke but his he never established himself as anything more than a subpar receiver,as Virginia Tech’s 3^rd leading receiver and would vanish for stretches when he wasn’t getting punt return opportunities, though in his defense he never had the luxury of a competent passing game. 

Chris Johnson, RB, ECU- Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson boast the fastest recorded 40 times, however, pre 1990 hand timed sprints were inaccurate by human error.  A peak at the fastest official 40 times since 1990 reads like an early retirement special.  It’s not that I don’t think he can’t be a serviceable situational back in the league, it’s just that I don’t buy into the fact that he can be a feature back in the NFL.  In addition, the list of running backs who have run the fastest 40 at the combine is depressing.  Johnson’ sproduction spiked this season as a senio and against BCS defenses as well as UCF and Southern Miss Johnson struggled mightily.

·        North Carolina: 8 carries, 18 yards, 2.3 ypc (+136 receiving yards)  

      Virginia Tech: West Virginia: 14 carries, 76 yards, 5..4 ypc

          NC State: 19 carries, 63 yards, 3.3 ypc

<!--UCF: 23 carries, 89 yards, 3.9 ypc

     Southern Miss: 13 carries, 45 yards, 3.5 ypc

Mike Pollack, C, Arizona State- came into the draft season with a 7^th round grade until running the second fastest 40 vaulted him into round two territory. 

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