Day 2 Combine Testing Notes: Defensive Backs and Tight Ends
The cornerbacks and tight ends had their chances to shine at the NFL combine on Friday. Here are a few notes from those workouts.
Cornerback Quinyon Mitchell (Toledo) has been among a handful of players that have dominated the pre-draft process. Just look at these numbers.
After a solid Senior Bowl week, Mitchell ended up being the second-fastest cornerback of the day on Friday afternoon, behind only Nate Wiggins out of Clemson.
Cornerback Kalen King (Penn State) recorded a 4.61 40-yard dash time, probably moving him down some draft boards.
Cornerback Max Melton (Rutgers) came into the combine with a reputation for being one of the most physical cornerbacks in the draft and one with positional versatility and ball skills.
His film is already solid enough, and he added to his draft stock with an overall strong combine performance in which the only area he didn’t grade well was the weigh-in. Still, his length and testing numbers were elite.
Safety Kamren Kinchens (Miami) also experienced some disappointment in his testing that could knock him down some draft boards. He posted a Relative Athletic Score of 2.11--for reference, the last time a safety was drafted within the first two rounds with a RAS that low was in 1988.
Safety Cole Bishop (Utah) has very good film and took advantage of the combine testing to address some questions surrounding his athletic testing. Bishop’s performance, along with his IQ and athleticism, is going to place him way up on team draft boards.
Safety/running back Sione Vaki (Utah) didn’t wow people testing-wise. His broad and vertical jump numbers were good, but his 40-time was below average. He is another prospect who would have benefited mightily from strong testing, but his lackluster times leave question marks around his upside and top speed.
In the tight end department, Theo Johnson (Penn State) might not have had record-setting numbers, but he measured in as a long athlete with decent size and then paired it with an elite day of testing.
Production has been a question and isn’t something he can answer during this process, but in further solidifying that he’s a tremendous athlete, that should help keep his name in teams’ minds.
