Combine Winners and Losers

[Saccopoo]

Winners:

TE:
Dorin Dickerson, Pitt: Ran a faster 40 time than all but one of all the wide receivers at the combine. The second highest vertical of the entire combine. Was near the top in most of the drills. The new Kris Wilson.

Dennis Pitta, BYU: Absolutely annihilated the TE group in agility drills. Stronger than expected. Looked very fluid and natural in every drill/test.

OL:
Marshall Newhouse, TCU: Showed remarkable agility and athleticism. Helped himself a ton for teams looking for agile, pulling guards in schemes like the zone blocking that the Chiefs run.

Jared Veldheer, Hillsdale: Was at the top of nearly every drill for his position group. While he didn't face the level of competition of the other OL combine invites, he proved he was one of, if not the, most athletic of all of them. Top performing offensive line prospect at the combine. Considering the athletic prowess he display at his size (6'8", 315 lbs.), he'll rocket up the charts.

RB:
Montario Hardesty, Tennessee: Incredible combine, outperforming nearly everyone in his group. Near the top of every drill.

Toby Gerhardt, Stanford: Displayed a huge amount of athleticism and agility. The two "big backs" in Toby and Montario outdid most of the smaller, "speedy" backs in the vast majority of drills.

Joique Bell, Wayne State: Right near the top in every drill. Like Veldheer, he showed he belonged with the D1 guys and could outperform them.

WR:
Blair White, Michigan State: Tore it up in the majority of position drills, and was particularly effective in the cone and shuttle drills.

Chris McGaha, Arizona: Other than pulling a Brandon Spikes and not running in the 40, he was superlative in all the other drills.

Scott Long, Louisville: Owned the combine in his group finishing near the top in every drill.

DL:
Jerry Hughes, TCU: Showed the speed and burst at the combine that he did throughout his career on the field as well as excellent agility (first in the 20 yard shuttle in his group).

Everson Griffin, USC: Tore it up. If his on-field production was consistent, he'd be the top edge rusher in the draft.

Torrell Troup, Central Florida: Look surprisingly athletic and lean for as big as he's listed (6'3", 314 lbs.). Pretty smooth in all the drills.

LB:
Josh Hull, Penn State: Was the top performer in the 20 and 60 yard shuttle and was near the top in most other drills. Thoroughly outperformed his more highly regarded teammates Sean Lee and Novarro Bowman. Big enough and athletic enough to play inside in either scheme.

Dekoda Watson, Florida State: Like Hull, was near the top of every drill, showing excellent speed, agility and burst. Exact same size as Weatherspoon, and has played inside and outside during his career.

DB:
Brandon Ghee, Wake Forest: Owned the cornerback group at the combine.

Eric Berry, Tennessee: Yep, he's the best safety in the draft, and put down on paper what everyone knew - that he's insanely athletic. A freak.

QB:
Tim Tebow, Florida: Didn't throw, but neither did any of the other top quarterbacks. But destroyed the rest of the combine showing his amazing athleticism. Tied a record for the highest vertical by a QB. Was first in four of the drills by a wide margin. Was said to have the best team interviews in memory.

Jarrett Brown, West Virgina: Most likely moved ahead of a lot of other quarterbacks in the draft that were being considered in the mid-rounds by participating fully and doing very well in all the drills.

Losers:
Biggest: Tie.

Rob Gronkowski, TE; Arizona: Was cleared medically to participate and was considered at the top of the TE class, but didn't do any drills. In an insanely deep TE class that is over-loaded with talent, I wouldn't even consider a guy with a back injury and who is scared to run drills against other guys in his position.

Rolando McClain, MLB; Alabama: WTF? Maybe the injury was real, but there were reports that he wasn't going to do the drills before the "injury" popped up. Shades of Andre Smith. What is with these Alabama guys?

Mike Williams, Syracuse: So much for his athleticism. I guess he'll have to fall back on his solid character and work ethic...