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INDIANAPOLIS — The first groups of NFL draft hopefuls—specialists, offensive linemen and running backs—went through the official measurement process at the combine on Wednesday. A few noteworthy results:
Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU: Of greater consequence to Fournette’s eventual draft position will be his medical checks—teams will want to know if his 2016 ankle injury could have any long-term effect. But Fournette checked in Wednesday at six feet and 240 pounds. At last year’s event, only Derrick Henry (6' 3", 247) carried more weight among running backs.
What makes Fournette’s number really stand out, though, is that he’s still very much expected to clock at 4.5 seconds or lower in the 40-yard dash. A silly combo of size and speed, which is why Fournette could land in the top 10 if those medicals come back clean.
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Taylor Moton, OT, Western Michigan: Not only did Moton drop 11 pounds between his Senior Bowl weigh-in and Wednesday (330 to 319), his arm length was an inch longer than it was in Mobile (34 1/8" vs. 33 1/8"). The same thing happened with Western Kentucky OT Forrest Lamp’s arms (31 1/8" at the Senior Bowl, 32 1/8" here), so something may have been off one spot or the other.
The arm length improvement is positive news for Moton if he wants to stick at offensive tackle, rather than push inside as a guard. At 6' 5" and 319 with 34 1/8” arms, he checks off all the physical boxes NFL teams want outside.
Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama: Speaking of checking off all the boxes, how’s this for Robinson: 6' 6", 320 pounds, 35 1/2” arm length. That’ll work for an NFL left tackle. The final number there placed Robinson among the OTs with the biggest wingspans: Bucknell’s Julién Davenport (36 1/2") and Florida State’s Roderick Johnson (36") were the only two prospects to top Robinson on Wednesday.
D’onta Foreman, RB, Texas: The Longhorns listed him as a beastly 249; there was a little chatter headed into this week that he had slimmed way down, in hopes of pulling a Le’Veon Bell-like transformation from college to the pros. He’s either done the latter, or he wasn’t actually a 250-pounder in the first place.
Wednesday, Foreman landed at 233 lbs. and, like Fournette, an even six feet. His 40 time will be one to watch, too. If he’s in the sub-4.5 range, he’ll leave Indianapolis carrying an awful lot of buzz.
Also in at an exact 233: Oklahoma’s Samaje Perine (5’ 11”). He could be a preferred ”big back” over Foreman on some draft boards.
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Donnel Pumphrey, RB, San Diego State: Here's the flip side of the weight discussion. San Diego State’s undersized star weighed in at 176 pounds Wednesday, up seven pounds from his Senior Bowl number. Will that extra bulk be enough to convince teams that Pumphrey can handle NFL physicality? Odds are, probably not all 32 teams. Even if Pumphrey had made it to 180 pounds, there would have been front offices unwilling to gamble on a back that size. And at some point, packing on pounds can cost a player quickness.
