Scouting Combine Day 1 Winners: Packers Edition

GREEN BAY, Wis. – At the NFL Scouting Combine on Thursday, quarterbacks, receivers and tight ends sprinted, jumped and went through drills inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

As usual for the Green Bay Packers, there’s a lot of focus on the receivers. However, tight end could be a big need, too.

Robert Tonyan, who missed the second half of last season with a torn ACL, is scheduled to be a free agent. The Packers badly missed his playmaking ability. Veteran Marcedes Lewis, who will turn 38 in May, remains a dependable blocker and revered leader but could be a cost-cutting cut after a critical fumble in the playoff loss to San Francisco.

SI.com’s NFL Draft Bible listed Virginia’s Jelani Woods among the winners from Thursday’s workouts.

“Woods arrived at the Combine with a considerable buzz thanks to his large frame that measured out at 6-foot-7 and 259 pounds,” Draft Bible’s Robert Gregson wrote. “Seldom do athletes of that height prove to be fast and/or fluid in their movements. Woods pushed back against the notion with an impressive 4.61 40-yard dash and crisp routes during passing drills.”

Of the 12 tight ends who ran a 40, Woods was the fastest. Of the 10 tight ends who competed in the 225-pound bench press, his 24 reps were the most.

A 28-game starter at Oklahoma State, he transferred to Virginia for his final season. In 11 games, he tallied 44 receptions for 598 yards and eight touchdowns – one score in eight games.

In high school, he played quarterback, was an all-state basketball player and played the drums. During bowl prep in 2017, the OSU coaches asked Woods to play tight end on the scout team. Little did he know, the move would be permanent.

Lewis is among the tight ends he looks up to.

“I looked at a lot of his games when he was with Jacksonville,” Woods said at the Combine. “We have the same body type, the same frame, kind of look the same, so I tried to study his techniques when he was coming out and when he was at UCLA. Take what I can and make it into my own. Now at Green Bay, he’s an excellent blocker. I try to emulate that as well and try to marry it to my game.”

Among the winners at receiver is this player, who seems like a tailor-made replacement for free agent-to-be Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

Two quarterbacks were listed as winners. One was Liberty’s Malik Willis, who is making his pitch to be the No. 1 passer off the board. The other was Southeastern Louisiana’s Cole Kelley, who is considered a late-round prospect.

Kelley, who measured 6-foot-7, spent his first two seasons at Arkansas before transferring down a rung to FCS. During the Spring 2021 season, he won the Walter Payton Award – the FCS equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. During the traditional Fall 2021 season, he was runner-up for that award. As a senior, he threw for 5,124 yards and 44 touchdowns while adding 491 rushing yards and 16 more scores. Only Mississippi Valley State’s Willie Totten – that would be Jerry Rice’s college quarterback – recorded more total touchdowns (61) than Kelley (60).

He completed 73.5 percent of his passes as a senior.

“One thing my coordinator at Southeastern always said is that accuracy is a practiced skill. It’s a skill that is developed,” Kelley said at the Combine. “Some people can go out there and sling it, but the consistency part of the accuracy is something that is developed.”

Kelley’s performance during throwing drills continued a strong offseason. He was MVP of the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in January. That’s got him in position to be a 25-year-old rookie – perhaps for the Packers if they want to challenge Kurt Benkert for the No. 3 role.

“Once I transferred, I wasn’t too high on myself at that point,” Kelley said. “But looking back, I wouldn’t trade my college career for the world. I learned so much and it made me who I am today and prepared me for this moment.

“I know I’m ready to go into the NFL. I know there are going to be things I don’t know and things that I need to learn, but I know I’m prepared for this moment and I’m ready to learn it because of all the things I have been through.”

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